Page 71 of Sacrifice Bunt

“He's the MC tonight.” She stepped forward, away from the closeness of Noah and already missing it, giving Jase a handshake. “It’s great to see you. Thank you again for doing this.”

“I'm excited,” he said. “I never get to do anything like this anymore, and I love animals. You know I have three dogs, two cats, and a gerbil. All rescues. Well, if you count rescuing the gerbil from my nephew, who liked to squeeze him a little too hard.”

She threw her head back, laughing. “Probably smart that you took over care duties from your nephew.”

Jase's eyes shifted to Noah next to her. “Noah Ashe,” Jay said a little in awe, “you're my favorite ball player. That home run you hit yesterday was amazing. It’s so nice to meet you, man.” They shook hands, and she visibly saw Noah relax a little. Jase was a nice guy even though his reputation with women preceded him.

“Thanks. It's great to meet you too. I loved your last movie.”

“God, that was a bitch to film. You do not want to know how much I would have preferred to be at the ballpark watching you.”

Zara rolled her eyes. She would never understand how guys could go from not even knowing each other to being completely at ease with each other within seconds. “If you guys will excuse me, I've got a bunch of things to check on.”

“Yeah, go,” Jase said, shooing her away.

“Go do what you need to,” Noah said quietly, giving her a grin and a small wink just for her.

They’d talked about how to handle being together tonight, and while they weren't planning to hide it, neither were they going to flaunt it. During the auction, they needed bidders to think that he was single.

So, instead of a relationship, it was more like a friendship.

A naked friendship, but they were keeping that part to themselves.

She made her way through the hotel lobby, heading toward the ballroom. That’s where she found Grace. Grace Dyer was the director of animal welfare for the city of Los Angeles, and she was the mastermind behind this whole event.

They’d met a few years ago at another function, and when Grace contacted Zara about doing an athlete bachelor auction, Zara had jumped in with both feet. She loved animals, despite not having one of her own. She was too busy with work to give a pet the appropriate amount of love and care.

“Grace,” she said, giving her a quick hug. “You look fantastic.” Other than the first time they met at a professional event, she’d only ever seen Grace in jeans and t-shirts. Given her job, the attire made perfect sense.

“You too,” Grace said, checking out her dress. “That color is amazing on you.”

Zara gave a little shimmy. “When I saw it, I knew I had to have it.”

Grace jumped right into business. “I checked off everyone’s names as they came in, and it looks like everyone's here except Heath.” She rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed.

“He'll be here,” Zara said. “He's coming with Hannah, so I know she’ll ensure he gets here.” Heath wasn’t happy about doing this auction and had been bitching since she'd asked him to do it. She wasn’t sure what his problem was, and she really didn't care. Tonight she just needed him to show up.

Grace sighed. “Oh, good. I was starting to worry that he was going to back out, and he's a pretty big draw. Everyone I talked to was excited to have the opportunity to bid on him. That is, until you snagged Noah Ashe to replace Lamar Whitaker. I will never know how you pulled that off. Someday you're going to have to give me your secrets.”

Zara laughed. “Those go to the grave with me.”

They gathered all the guys in the ballroom to go over a few things before the event officially started. Grace and Zara used the stage to address the group.

“I'd like to start by saying thank you to every single one of you for being here and agreeing to do this,” Zara said. “I know this is time out of your lives, from your families, and from your training, and we really appreciate everything you're doing. I know most of you talked to her already over the phone or Zoom, but this is Grace.” She motioned for Grace to step forward. “Grace is in charge of the animal shelters in the LA area, and without her vision, none of this would have come together. That being said, there are a few rules you all need to follow. Number one. Yes, this is a bachelor auction. Yes, people—women, men, everybody—will be bidding on you. But these are dates or outings. There is no implied sexual favor. If you choose to do that, it’s up to you and at your discretion, but that is not what this auction is about. I cannot stop you if that’s the route you choose, although if you’re my client, you know how I feel. Second, if you've changed your mind about what your planned activity is for the date that you originally sent me, please let us know now, and we will make sure that Jase, our MC, has it all taken care of when he calls out your name. Are there any questions before we start?” All the guys shook their heads. Zara gave a glance over to Noah, who was standing next to a couple of other baseball players. He was smiling and also shaking his head.

“Then you’re free to go. Grab yourself a drink, try to stay mostly sober, and have a great night. Remember, this is for charity, so you know, be funny, be sexy, be sweet. Anything to drive up the bidding.”

“You’re so good at that,” Grace said when the guys at all dispersed, and the two of them walked backstage. “I do not like talking in front of big groups.”

“It gets easier the more you do it, and as if you couldn't tell, I'm not shy, nor have I ever been.”

Hannah came hustling toward them. “I'm so sorry I'm late,” she said breathlessly. “I had a wardrobe malfunction and had to stop on the way here and pick something else up.”

Zara eyed her speculatively, looking at her stomach and knowing exactly why she had a wardrobe malfunction. There was no bump there yet, but she imagined that the dress Hannah had wanted to wear was pretty tight, so it was very possible it no longer fit. “No worries,” she said. “We've taken care of everything, and also, you were only ever coming here to take my place. Now that I'm back in charge, you can enjoy yourself.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “You know damn well that's not going to be possible. Although, have you seen some of those guys? I might want to bid on them myself.”

“Aren’t you married?” Grace asked.

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