Page 13 of Proposal Play

Everly’s voice cuts through the tension, triumphant. “Sold! One hundred thousand to the woman in the vest! Congratulations, Maeve! You’ve just won a date with Asher Callahan!”

A wild laugh bursts from me, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. Next to me, my brother’s face is paleand he’s clutching his stomach like he can’t quite believe he gave the go-ahead on that.

Reina is rubbing his back.

And Asher looks equal parts impressed…and bewildered.

5

THE ICE STREAKER SCALE

Asher

I’m not usually thrown for a loop. But consider me officially loop-thrown here on stage. It’s like that time last season when some dude jumped over the glass and onto the ice during a break in game action. Wearing only a bathing suit, a sandwich board, and skates, he flew down the ice toward the tunnel, advertising his new adventure tour business. Talk about a stunt.

And on a scale of one to ice streaker, I’m definitely off-the-charts surprised right now. Because I’m going on a hundred-thousand-dollar date with my best friend. Why would she do that? It can’t be a real date she wants. She wouldn’t need to throw down money for a real date since, well, we hang out all the time.

Then, like a puck slamming into the boards, it hits me. She wanted to drive up the price to make sure I didn’t break my streak. She did it for me because I wouldn’t havegone for the top amount if she hadn’t started a bidding war with Miranda Blush.

She did it because, well, I asked her to be my good luck charm.

Did I…overplay my hand? Force my luck? Shit. Tinkering with chance can be a big mistake. I don’t even want to think about whatcouldgo wrong.

Everly’s voice breaks through my spiraling thoughts. “And there you go,” she announces, turning the mic toward me. “For the third year in a row, you’ve gone for the highest amount in our Win a Date Auction. What’s the secret?”

I push aside the unease gnawing at my gut and take the mic with a practiced grin.Think fast. Don’t be the buzzkill.I’m the guy who keeps the party going, not the one who kills the vibe.

“It must be my good luck charm,” I say, shrugging like it’s no big deal.

“Do you have a rabbit’s foot in your pocket? Or maybe a lucky puck?”

I shake my head and nod to Maeve, who’s sitting in the front row wearing an outfit that matches mine perfectly. “My friend Maeve’s my good luck charm. She’s been here for the last couple years, but tonight she decided to surprise me with a date,” I say easily.

“Did it work?” Maeve chimes in, as if this is another of our big adventures.

“Sure did but you know what I like,” I say, up for the challenge too.

“Are you a big fan of Outrageous Record?” Everly asks, cutting in.

That must be the date package we’re going on—a concert. I didn’t pay close attention to the details. But noharm, no foul. “Love that band,” I reply, smoothing over my earlier distraction. A concert will be easy enough to attend with Maeve. Just like every other time we’ve hung out. It’ll be like old times—bonfires, amusement parks, spelunking, cake-making. “I’ve always wanted to see them in concert,” I add, keeping control of the situation.

Maeve grins, victorious. “That’s why I wanted to surprise you.”

“It seems it worked,” Everly says, wrapping up the auction. “Thank you again to everyone who came out tonight. We raised more than half a million dollars for some great causes and on behalf of everyone at the Sea Dogs, we are so grateful to all of you. And here’s hoping the winners post pics of their dates—we’ll be sure to reshare. Thank you again.”

As the crowd begins to disperse, Everly nods to me as we head backstage. “Stay with me while we finalize the details. We need to record everything formally.”

“Absolutely,” I say.

A few seconds later, the winners of the dates are ushered into a room backstage. I cut through the crowd, making a beeline for Maeve. I need to know what she was thinking.

I pull her aside. “What was that all about? And where are you hiding one hundred grand? You know you could get adatewith me for less than a dime,” I say, sketching air quotes as I try to keep the moment light, even though the truth of that statement unnerves me in a way I don’t want to deal with right now.

Or ever, to be honest.

“To protect you,” she replies, her expression serious. “I’ll explain more later.” She pauses, a playful smirkcrossing her face. “But it’s a good story. There’s always a story with me.”

Truer words. But this is a Maeve plot twist I didn’t see coming. And it’s driving me a little batty. “Give me a hint,” I whisper.

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