Page 34 of Forever After All (Pine Harbour #2)

Carter

A fter deciding to let Alice cool off, I haven't called or messaged all week. I've wanted to, but I'm trying to respect her wish at being left alone for a while.

She's got until the end of this fucking auction, and then I'm going to her apartment to throw her over my shoulder and show her all the ways I've missed her. All I want is to see my girl, say sorry a million times over, have make-up sex and lick cream off her naked body.

Speaking of auctions…I regret ever agreeing to it. If I didn't care about the kids so much, I'd have bailed.

Wearing a dark blue suit, I pose for a photo in the mirror and take a selfie to send it to Alice. I'm not a poser, but I make damn sure that I look great, just so I can show her how well I clean up.

Me: Shame you're not going to be at this auction tonight, princess. *sends selfie*

Three little dots appear on the screen almost immediately.

Alice: Who says I'm not going to be there?

Alice: *sends photo taken in a mirror, wearing a gold dress that looks like liquid metal draped over her body, adjusting the strap of her dress and biting her bottom lip*

Well, you fucking win, princess. Her long hair is bouncy and rolls over her shoulders. The dress has a small slit up one side, stopping at the knee.

Me: Well, fuck.

Alice: See you there, big guy. Bring cash. You're gonna need it.

"Welcome to the first annual Calder Marketing charity ball and auction.

" Anna's voice fills the room as people shuffle to their seats.

"Please make your way to your seats and someone will come to your table to take your drink orders.

Thanks to Mr. Green—oh, where are you, Carter?

" She holds her hand over her eyes and then looks over at me, so I give her a small wave.

"Thanks to Mr. Green over there, the drinks are free.

" And the room of two hundred people clap and whoop.

I sink down a little in my chair to shield the attention.

I didn't ask Anna not to tell people, but I didn't think I'd have to either. So I’m a little flustered as spotlights single me out.

I glance over at Alice as she peeks over the top of someone's head that blocks her view then sends a beaming smile my way before turning back to her colleague.

Her and Brenna are laughing together at their table which is a little over to my left.

Alice's smiling face disappears behind the heads of people moving around, and I wish the room would empty altogether so I can get a better view of my girl.

I can only see her from the waist up, and she slips out of my view again when someone bends down to talk to her.

The arms of her gold dress hang off her shoulders like they're begging for me to pull them down.

Her long hair trails down her back, and I imagine what I think the rest looks like, because, like I said, I can't see her from the waist down.

Taking a sip of the ice-cold scotch in my glass, I swallow it hard. The burning travels all the way down to the pit of my stomach, then warms me from the inside out. If I'm paying for this liquor, you bet your ass I'm drinking it.

I will the night away so I can take Alice home.

I'm sitting at a table with Mac De Luca, Ryan Taylor, Callen King, Emmett Irish, and Silas Harkins. Ryan and I are both retired Glass players since we hung up our skates at the end of last season. De Luca and King currently play for the Glass, and Emmett and Silas play on the Saltern Serpents football team. We’re all waiting to be auctioned off like cattle, but instead of going off to be slaughtered, we’re waiting to be bid on by people who think they have an in with a chance at dating an athlete.

King rocks back on his seat and whistles. "Fuck, I wonder if she's with anyone yet." He cranes his neck, clearly trying to get a look at Alice. "She's such a knockout."

I kick him under the table.

"Yeah, she's with me, dumbass," I say, trying not to let him get under my skin. I’ve tried my hardest to avoid looking at Alice most of the night, because if I look for too long I'll back out of this thing altogether and take her home instead.

So I throw another glance her way, just in time to see her twist the ends of her hair in her fingers as she chats with Brenna.

"Is she blind, buddy?" he asks, leaning forward to punch me in the arm. "Ow, fuck," he replies as I punch him back harder than he expected. "She’s obviously with you, I just like making you angry." He chuckles like a kid, and it draws laughs from everyone else around the table.

I get annoyed at myself every time I rise to the bait.

"Her friend is stunning too," Mac joins in the conversation.

"Yeah, and married." I nudge him, unintentionally hard, causing him to spill the beer he just put to his mouth.

"You guys need to fucking stop." I shake my head.

"Leave the poor women alone. Maybe you'll get lucky with the person who wins the date with you.

" I laugh, and Silas joins in too. "I don't know what you're laughing for.

" I nod at him. "You're up, man." I grin as he's called to the stage.

"Tonight, up for auction is a date with none other than Silas Harkins. The Serpents' very own wide receiver." Anna's voice booms over the microphone once more as Silas stands from his seat to clapping and cheers.

He walks onto the stage and opens his jacket to flex his muscles. His dark, buzzed hair, neck tattoos, and dark eyes contribute to him being on the Top Ten Hottest Football Stars in the Country list, and his presence is probably why two hundred tickets sold for this event in less than an hour.

Screaming, yelling, and whistling erupts around the room, and as much as Silas entertains the crowd, I know he's modest, humble, and would do anything for his wife. It makes him a pretty good guy as far as I'm concerned.

The attendees of this charity event are mostly women, likely attending to try and bag a one-night stand, and I can't say I blame them. We're a pretty sexy bunch of dudes.

"We’ll start the bidding at one thousand dollars," Anna speaks again as Silas does a twirl on the stage, pretending to be a model.

A paddle is raised in the air and a bidding war commences between two women.

Fifteen hundred. Two thousand. Five thousand. Fifty-five hundred. Eight thousand. Ten thousand.

"Going once…going twice… SOLD to the beautiful blonde in red." Anna finalizes the auction, and a young woman gets up from her seat about halfway back in the room, dancing around her table of friends and shouting.

"Wow, these girls are competitive," Silas announces as he sits back into his seat, pulling a beer towards him and taking a long drink.

"I bet I get a higher offer than you," King tries to goad Silas without success.

"Good for you, Callen, but unlike you, I'm going home to my wife, so I don't care." He grins at King across the table. "You might get lucky enough to have a wife one day."

"The person with the highest bid wins."

"It's not a competition, you fucking idiot." I shake my head at King once more, trying my hardest not to act like his big brother, to let him have some fun. "But if anyone is going to win, it's me." I grin at him over my scotch glass.

"Oh, it's on." He grins back.

The auction continues in between pleas for donations.

Mac's auction finishes with a winning bid of nine thousand, Ryan's is close behind with eighty-five-hundred, Emmett isn’t too far behind that at eight-thousand, and King walks back to the table like the smug dumbass he is.

"That's right, eleven thousand dollars." He flashes a shit-eating grin, and we all allow him to continue thinking we give a shit. The thing about King is that he's a prick, but he's our prick.

"It's between you and me now, Callen. We never did talk about what the prize was going to be, did we?"

"A kiss with your girl." He winks, and it takes all my strength not to punch him in the face.

Before I can respond, Anna calls the final auction of the evening before the ball starts.

Yep. That would be me.

"Carter Green, get yourself up here, sir." Anna smiles and waves me to the stage, and if I was able to will the ground to open up and drag me downwards, then I would.

I slap on a smile and walk up to the stage, passing Alice's table as I do. I look down at her as she looks up at me, smiling, twirling a paddle in her hands. Her smile turns to a devilish grin as I ascend the few stairs up on to the stage.

"As you all know, Carter retired at the end of last season, but he was one of the most influential players on the ice. I think we'll start the bidding at one thousand dollars," Anna announces to the room, and I stand under warm spotlights, feeling all eyes on me.

I keep reiterating to myself that this is for charity, and hundreds of kids will benefit from it.

A paddle goes up midway back in the room.

"Two thousand," she says, and another paddle is raised in the air, over to my left.

"Three thousand." The first paddle raises again.

"Ten thousand," Alice's voice squeaks from the front row and she raises her paddle in the air.

What is she doing? This is so stupid. She's mine, I'm hers. She doesn't need to bid for a fucking thing. I look at her, narrowing my eyes slightly.

"Fifteen thousand?" Anna asks, and the paddle to the left raises up again.

"Twenty thousand," Alice says, waving her paddle a little higher in the air this time, and a few voices in the crowd gasp a little. "Thirty thousand," she outbids herself.

Oh, princess, that's not how auctions work .

"Going once, going twice, SOLD !" Anna announces as my girl grins at me, a little menacing smile on her face.

What are you up to, Alice?

I walk down from the stage and stride over to Alice's table. I squat next to her and the material of my pants leg strains against my thigh .

With everyone watching us, I lower my voice to a whisper.

"You didn't have to spend your money on me, princess. You've got me for free." I pick up her hand and press it to my thigh. She looks down at the spot where it rests.

"Oh, big guy," she murmurs, "I didn't spend my money on you. I spent your money on you. I hope you brought plenty of it." She grins and my mouth gapes a little before I quickly close it again, blindsided by her devious tactics. "You can't let Anna down now, can you?"

"You're so going to pay for this," I whisper into her ear, trying to will away a boner. Should I be turned on after falling victim to her scheme? Absolutely not. Am I anyway? Yep.

"Oh, no, I think that's what you just did." She shoots me a beaming smile. "You'd better get back to your friends, but you should meet me upstairs in meeting room D-Four on the third floor in fifteen minutes so I can claim my prize." She winks at me, and I push myself to standing.

Alice wiggles her fingers at me in a little wave and a small flush of red washes over her chest.