Page 94 of The Defender

I couldn’t believe it. I’d been twisting myself up in knots over this confession, and she’d been anticipating it theentire time.

“So you’re really not mad?” I ventured.

“No.” Her face softened. “I admit, Iama little nervous. He’s my brother, and you’re one of my best friends. I don’t want you to hurt each other. Not that I think you will, but relationships are unpredictable. That’s why I asked if it was a one-night stand.Those have a higher likelihood of going astray—” She broke off with a startled laugh when I threw my arms around her.

“I love you,” I said, my voice muffled against her hair. “You’re the bestest friend and sister ever. I’m so glad you’re not pissed at me.”

“I love you too.” She sounded amused. “If you guysdoend up dating, just promise not to share any explicit details with me, okay? I don’t want to be traumatized.”

I laughed, pressure easing from my chest. “I promise.” I pulled back, my smile wide enough to split my face. I felt like someone had lifted a twenty-pound weight from my shoulders and chucked it into the river.

We didn’t get a chance to talk more before Carina returned from the loo and the rest of our tablemates took their seats for dinner.

Carina raised a questioning brow and grinned when I gave her a discreet thumbs-up.

Told you it’d work out, she mouthed.

She had. I was never questioning her instincts again.

The players and coaches were all seated together near the stage since the auction was scheduled to start after the main course. I deliberately avoided looking at my dad. I was having a great night, and I didn’t want to ruin it.

Right before dessert, the emcee bounded onstage to kick things off. I didn’t recognize him, but he looked vaguely familiar. Maybe he was a lesser-known celebrity or sports influencer? They often emceed at these events.

“Ladies and gentleman, I apologize for interrupting your meal, but I’m happy to announce that it’s time for our fourth annual Blackcastle Bachelor Auction!” he proclaimed to loud cheers and wolf whistles. He explained the rules before adding, “All proceeds will go to the St. George Children’s Hospital, so get your checkbooks out because our first bachelor is alreadywaiting to meet you. All the way from Morocco, we have the one, the only…Adil Chakir!”

More cheers as Adil jogged onto the stage and spun around in a dramatic fashion.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, “Work it, Adil!”

He grinned and did a little shimmy that had the crowd going wild. Now that the weight of telling Scarlett had been lifted off my shoulders, I could actually enjoy myself. The auction was silly and a little cheesy, but it was also fun and raised money for a great cause. It was exactly what I needed after the rollercoaster of the past few months.

The free-flowing champagne and the chance to eat dinner with a famous footballer had the bidders in a frenzy. Samson, Gallagher, and Stevens all went quickly, but Noah and Asher brought the house down—Noah because it was his first time participating, and Asher because he was Asher.

“Yes! Take that!” Scarlett said triumphantly when she “won” Asher for a whopping forty thousand pounds. He’d given her carte blanche for the auction, so he was in essence paying for himself, but he didn’t look at all upset about it.

He winked at Scarlett before sauntering offstage to disappointed murmurs from the other bidders. The woman in the leopard print dress glared at her likeshewas the girlfriend, and Scarlett had robbed her of a night with her partner.

“I like this event so much more when I can participate,” she said, ignoring Leopard Print’s hostility. “Poor Noah though. I bet we won’t see him in public again for at least six months after this.”

“He might quit the team if they make him participate again next year,” I said, only half joking. Noah had spent his entire time onstage looking like he’d rather swim back to the US nakedthan be here, but that hadn’t stopped a statuesque brunette from bidding the second highest amount of the night on him.

“Finally, our last bachelor of the night needs no introduction,” the emcee said. “Making his first auction appearance in years is none other than the captain himself, Vincent DuBois!”

My stomach flipped. I swallowed past a dry throat and ignored Scarlett and Carina’s knowing smiles as Vincent strolled onto the stage, all easy grace and clean-cut devastation. His navy suit molded perfectly to his frame, and he greeted the ecstatic crowd with a dazzling smile. It fooled the majority of people in the room, but I recognized his fake PR smile when I saw it.

It was a little too bright, a little too forced. His eyes didn’t crinkle the way they did with his genuine smiles, and a flicker of tension disrupted his jaw before he smoothed it out.

Like Noah, he was hating every second of this. He just hid it better.

Unlike with the other players, I didn’t cheer as the bids quickly escalated. It was a bloodbath. People were outbidding each other before the emcee had a chance to acknowledge the last offer, and he was growing visibly flustered as he tried to keep up.

Vincent kept smiling even as his shoulders tensed.

“Twenty thousand!”

“Twenty-one thousand!”

“Twenty-two thousand!”