Page 71 of The Defender

Noah

I hate you so much

I shook my head. The group chat was always chaos, but that didn’t explain why I wanted to march over to Gallagher’s house and punch him right now. He was notorious for talking shit, and it wasn’t the first time he’d made suggestive comments about Brooklyn.

My jaw tightened.

I could handle his digs at me, but Brooklyn was off-limits. I had no tolerance for his sleazy jokes anymore.

I tried to breathe through the irritation. It wasn’t Gallagher’s fault that I was suddenly messed up in the head about Brooklyn. He had no idea what’d been going on the past month.

Still, I wouldn’t mind one punch. A quick one.

“DuBois.” Coach’s voice pulled my attention away from the chat and to the doorway. He stood just outside my room, his expression measured.

Maybe he’d upgraded his spyware if he was showing up when I justthoughtabout her.

I straightened. “Hey, Boss. What’s up?”

My survival philosophy was if I acted like everything was normal, everything would eventuallybenormal.

Nevertheless, my inner alarm bell rang as he walked in and swept his eyes over my new room. A double bed covered by a navy duvet, wooden floors, a single desk and chair—it was Spartan with a capital S. The small window would’ve provided a welcome ray of natural light if it weren’t so gray and dreary outside. It reminded me of a prison cell, which was fitting because I was basically trapped in this house outside of training and matches.

I never thought I’d say this, but I missed the stuffed animals and sparkly pink sheets in Brooklyn’s flat.

I also missed Brooklyn. A lot.

We saw each other at Blackcastle, but we had an unspoken agreement not to interact unless necessary at work. Neither of us wanted to trigger Coach’s anger again.

Our texts were my only lifeline, but even they lacked our old spark. Our kitchen conversation and near-kiss had smothered it. They were the elephants in the room, the topics we’d avoided talking about since I left her flat, and it was impossible to have a real conversation about anything else without addressing them first.

“I have some news.” Coach stopped two feet in front of me. “We’re expanding the bachelor auction at this year’s gala. Every player is expected to take part, including you.”

“What?” I shot to my feet, my pulse thundering. “You can’t be serious.”

The annual Blackcastle Holiday Gala was the club’s biggest social event of the year. Everyone came—players, staff, sponsors, fans who were willing to shell out hundreds of pounds for a ticket. It was an excuse for Blackcastle fans and staff to gather in one place, eat free food, and drink copious amounts of champagne, all while raising a load of money.

The highlight of the gala was the bachelor auction. Attendees bid to win a “date night” with each player, and all proceeds went to a local children’s hospital.

“I’m dead serious.” Coach’s mouth twitched. He was enjoying my discomfort a little too much. “This comes from the top. All players must participate so it doesn’t look like we’re playing favorites.”

“What if I decline and donate enough money to cover the lost proceeds?”

“That’s not the point.”

“You’re telling meeveryoneis doing this? Including Noah?”

“Yes.”

Shit. If they’d roped Noah into participating, there was no chance in hell for me.

As captain, I’d pulled rank and successfully excused myself from participating years ago. Everyone thought I’d love being the center of attention, but while I thrived in the limelight, I didn’t want to spend a whole evening with someone who was only using me for clout. My “date” from my first and last auction kept posting pictures of us from dinner with kissy face emojis, despite my repeated requests for her to stop. She later went to the tabloids and lied about us having sex.

Besides me, Noah was the only player who’d been exempt. I didn’t know what he’d told management, but it had worked—until now.

I made a last-ditch attempt to save myself. “My intruder is still out there. What if they show up and win the bid for me?”

“If they cough up enough money to win, then I wish you two a very happy date night.”