Page 61 of Sacrifice Bunt

Noah had never seen Heath so obviously agitated and angry. “It's for charity and a pretty good one at that. I'm not sure why you're so against it.”

“I do not want to do a bachelor auction. I’m not twenty-two anymore. I don't want to be auctioned off to some woman who’s salivating over me.”

“It's not like you're required to date this woman or have sex with her. It's an outing, a dinner, something simple. You go out, take a few pictures, thank her, and move on.”

“ You think it's so easy. Why don't you come do it?”

“No, thank you. I have plans that involve Zara and my bed. Not being hit on by someone I don’t even know.”

“First, can I just say barf?” He mimicked throwing up.” And second, you don't like the idea either, so why the fuck are you giving me shit?”

“Dude, you're single. What does it matter? If I were single, I would do it.”

“That's how it is, then? It's been a week, and you’re already saying you're in a relationship with Zara. After a week. A freaking week.” He was shaking his head as he ran.

“How long is it supposed to take? Do you think I need a month? Two months? That's not how it works.”

“How what works?” He stopped running, forcing Noah to come to a stop with him.

“Love. When you fall in love, there is no timetable.”

Heath cursed, leaning down and bracing his hands on his knees. “You're in love with her? Like seriously in love with her? Why does everybody I know keep falling in love?”

“It's not a disease.”

“Might as well be.”

“You know, if you're going to be this negative, I’m going to stop running with you.”

“Good luck finding someone to put up with your bullshit.” Heath started running again, Noah falling into stride next to him. The rest of the run was pretty silent, both of them concentrating on their runs. After they’d finished their three miles, they parted ways, Noah heading directly to the gym. He liked to get in a small workout if he could before night games and then relax and chill before heading to the ballpark.

After his workout, he was leaving the gym and headed back to his home when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He smiled, thinking it was probably Zara, but when he pulled it from his pocket, he saw that it was, in fact, Hannah.

“Hey, Hannah, what's up?” He pulled his ball cap lower, hoping not to be recognized as he walked down the street.

“I have an emergency, and I know you're going to kill me, but I need you to do something for me.” She sounded frantic.

“You can ask me anything, you know that.” In the few months Hannah had been his agent, they’d become friends. He knew she wouldn’t ask him for anything unless it was important.

“You say that, but this will test your limits of what anything means.”

Fear crept in. “I guess you’ll never know if you don't ask.”

“I need you to be in the animal shelter auction tomorrow night, and yes, I know, Zara is coming. I already talked to her, and she's super annoyed but also completely on board because it's one of her big things and I was going to stand in for her so that she could spend time with you, and now we had a guy who dropped out, and we really need another big name, and I need it to be you.”

She’d rambled for so long that she was out of breath. “Take a breather. Who dropped out?” Not that he would say yes, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

“Lamar Whitaker. He had a family emergency, and now he can't do it, and seriously, I need you. You are the only person remotely high profile enough to fill in.”

He whistled into the phone. Lamar Whitaker was the biggest name in professional football. Finding a replacement would be hard. “I understand your dilemma, but this is LA. There are plenty of big name athletes around.”

“Anyone willing has already signed up. Noah, I need you. Please, you have to do this for me. And really, if you think about it, it’s for Zara. This auction is her baby.”

He sighed. “I don't want to do this. I want my protest to be known.”

“Zara said you'd say that, and I completely understand that I'm ruining your weekend with her, but I promise I'll make it up to you. I will find you a great sponsorship from some awesome company.”

“I already have great sponsorships.” Thanks to her being a fantastic agent. “What I want is to spend time with Zara.”

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