Page 24 of The Game Changer

“It’s obviously not happening anytime soon, but I could see the possibility when Beckett is done with his pro career. Or at least splitting our time between locations for part of the year.”

“That’s so crazy. How was his family?” I ask as we take our seats.

“They were so amazing. His sisters were so fun, his parents and grandparents were some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. I’m one lucky girl to be marrying into such an amazing family.”

“I’m so happy for the two of you,” I tell her once again. Our attention is pulled to the on-stage speaker and then to the meal that is being served before the fun of the bachelor auction starts. They also have tables set up along the perimeter of the room with silent auction items that people can bid on and take home with them tonight.

“Don’t forget, I go home with you tonight,” John reminds me as he presses his lips to mine before it is time for him to go backstage for his turn up on the auction block.

“What’s that all about?” Julia asks, leaning toward me as I watch John walk away.

“He agreed to do this when I asked, but only under the condition that I bid to win him. When I expressed my concern on not being able to afford that kind of donation, he insisted that he’d pay for it. When I asked him what kind of budget he was thinking, just in case, since I’ve seen some of these get pretty out of hand, he told me to try and keep it under six-figures,” I tell her, still a little shocked at that conversation.

“Well, then. I guess we’ve got some bidding to do,” she tells me, like dropping one hundred thousand dollars at a charity function is a normal everyday thing. I’m over here in my chair sweating over the thought of spending that kind of money when I don’t even make that much money in an entire year.

“Don’t overanalyze it, just have fun with all of it,” Julia tells me as the first bachelor is brought on stage. Some women right next to it go a little crazy, cheering him on. I watch as paddles pop up around the room as the auctioneer starts calling out numbers so fast I can’t even understand him.

“What is he even saying?” I ask Julia.

“Good question.” She laughs as we both strain to understand him.

A few guys are auctioned off before John steps up on the stage and is introduced. A few cheers go up around the room and my nerves shoot up once again as the auctioneer readies the crowd to start bidding. I’m hopeful that it will only be a few thousand if the other auctions have any telling as to how much people are willing to spend on these types of things.

The bidding starts and almost immediately jumps up to over a thousand dollars before I can even get my damn paddle up. The auctioneer is busy, calling out bids from all over the room. My palms are sweaty, but I keep raising my hand to outbid the other women in the room. The bids finally start to slow down, bouncing between just one other woman and me. She stares me down from a few tables away, the determination on her face to win the date with Johnathan. Little does she know that I’m even more determined.

“We’ve got fifteen thousand, do we have sixteen thousand,” the auctioneer asks, pointing at me. I know that as soon as I say yes that she’s just going to accept the next bid.

“Twenty-five thousand!” I call out, shocking everyone in the room, myself included. I don’t know what in the hell came over me to yell that out, but I can’t take it back now.

“We have twenty-five thousand, do we have twenty-six thousand from the woman at table three?” the auctioneer asks, turning his attention to the other woman. She glares at me from her place and then sits down in her seat, obviously a little pissed off that I beat her out.

“Twenty-five thousand, going once-twice-sold to bidder number twenty-seven,” they call out and I fall back into my seat, the room suddenly spinning around me as the realization of what I just did sinks in. I really hope that John isn’t mad about my outburst and spending so much of his money.

“That was awesome!” Julia says as the auction moves on. “You were a badass the way you took control and won your man!”

I grab my glass of wine, chugging what is left in it. “I still can’t believe I just spent twenty-five thousand dollars of someone else’s money like it was nothing,” I tell her.

“Yeah, but he told you to and it’s for a good cause.”

“That was awesome,” John’s voice pulls me from my daze as he sits back down next to me.

“You’re not mad?” I ask, almost scared to look at him.

“Mad? Hell no,” he tells me, tugging on my chair to get me to turn and face him, “I might be a little turned on by how take charge you were.” He whispers so only I can hear him. “That was hot, babe,” he tells me before kissing me on the lips. The stress from the last ten minutes melts away knowing that he really is okay with it.

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