Ten minutes later the auction is in full swing.

The host, local TV reporter Sierra Franklin, is running the bidding and extolling the virtues of Jones. As she waxes on about his hands, I find Cooper backstage.

He paces, tension written all over his face.

I ask what’s wrong, but he simply jokes about having Holly’s friends bid on him when it’s his turn. The comment nags in my brain, makes me wonder if something went down in the hall.

I touch his elbow. “Is everything okay? Did something happen with Maxine? You mentioned her right before you left the suite, and now you don’t quite seem like yourself.”

Before he can answer, Sierra’s voice echoes from the on-stage mic. “And now we’re getting ready to bring our starting quarterback on the stage.”

Cooper whispers quietly. “I wouldn’t use the term okay to describe my interaction with her.”

The tension winds tighter, and I wrap my hand around him, feeling protective of him. “What happened?”

Through tight lips, he says, “Let’s just say I would rather ride the bench again than have her win me.”

With that, he strides onto the stage, and I can hear everyone in the ballroom cheering and clapping for their chance to bid on the star athlete. While a part of me is thrilled the crowd is excited to see him, his comments worry me, and that part of me takes over. I scurry through the hotel and make my way to the ballroom, scrambling to watch his blind side.

The ballroom is packed, and I wedge my way through crowds of cheering women and men, laughing and clapping as Sierra interacts with Cooper on stage.

He gives her a peck on the cheek, and she clasps her hand to her face, saying, “I’ll never wash this cheek again.”

She gestures to Cooper and sings his praises before the audience. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, for the pièce de résistance, this year’s starting quarterback, at long last, and the winner of the Most Valuable Playboy auction for the last three years in a row. After all, who wouldn’t want to take this handsome and talented man out for a night on the town? Everyone loves the quarterback.”

Truer words were never spoken.

Cooper smiles for the crowd, seemingly shucking off his backstage concerns, as he takes off his jacket and shows off how absolutely decadently delicious he looks in his pants, shirt, and vest.

Yes, I am a vest woman indeed.

He scans the crowd and finds me easily. I mouth, Vests are hot.

When he smiles, it feels like a private grin just for me.

Even though I know it’s a friendship grin, and I’m completely cool with it being just that.

Sierra sings his praises, from his stats to his skills—six-foot-four inches, light brown eyes and dark brown hair, great cheekbones, talented in the kitchen, and a rock star at karaoke.

Yes, yes, yes.

I know all that cold.

Cooper launches into a few lines from his favorite Bon Jovi tune, and all seems well. I’m not so sure what he was worried about with Maxine, but I do know she’s a little flirty with the players, and her brother, the team’s owner, lets her get away with basically anything.

But she’s nowhere in sight, so perhaps it’s much ado about nothing.

When the bidding begins and my brother and Holly offer measly bids for fun, I figure there’s truly nothing to worry about.

Until a flash of red catches the corner of my eye.

Maxine is here. She thrusts a jeweled hand high, and when her voice rises above the crowd, upping the bid from a paltry fifty dollars to a startling three thousand, I understand why Cooper was concerned.

She wants him.

Her hands are parked on her hips.

Her eyes are guns, aiming for him.

Chills skate down my spine as she stares at the quarterback, licking her lips.

Holy smokes. The owner’s sister wants to take Cooper home tonight, and that can’t sit well with the guy who’s trying to prove his worth to the team.

“That’s quite a large jump,” Sierra says.

“And that handsome fellow is worth every penny,” Maxine replies, her voice dripping with desire.

“Three thousand,” Sierra repeats. “Do we have thirty-one hundred?”

A few others in the crowd jump in with higher bids.

But Maxine raises her price every time, staring at Cooper like she wants to eat him for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a midnight snack.

She keeps outbidding everyone, determination in her tone.

Sheer certainty she’ll win him.

And in that moment, the stark realization hits me.

I don’t want her to get her hands on him. I know Cooper is no saint. I’m not trying to keep him pure for me because this isn’t about me. This is about Cooper. I can read him. I can see something in his face. It borders on fear. A whole new kind of worry.

This is the owner’s sister making a play for him. This is his first year as the starting quarterback, and all I can think is Cooper doesn’t want to ruin his big chance by having to fend off an out-of-nowhere bid from a woman who wants to sink her sharp teeth into him.

My friend. My guy. Mine.

Maxine stares at him, slashing an arm through the air and declaring five thousand dollars, eliminating pretty much anyone else.

Sierra’s eyes light up. “Going once?” she asks, scanning the crowd, waiting for one last bid.

My brain whirs.

My mind races.

When I see Maxine wink at Cooper, I burn.

She thinks Cooper wants her.

I clench my fists, flashing back to what Cooper said to me about footing the bill.

I can’t let Maxine win him. I can’t let his entire season go to hell over something he’s not expecting.

She’s gunning for the quarterback’s blind side, and that does not fly with me.

I’m his left tackle. It’s my job to protect him. I won’t let him get sacked.

I make eye contact with him, tapping my nose, a signal.

“Going twice,” Sierra says, her voice trailing off.

Cooper’s eyes light up, and he brushes his finger on the side of his nose.

We are the only ones speaking each other’s language. He wants me to do this.

My arm shoots high in the air. Like a determined woman who won’t let anything take her guy down, I shout, “Ten thousand dollars!”

Sierra smiles crazily. “Do we have ten thousand one hundred?”

No one else speaks. No one says a word. I’m not sure if Maxine is shocked into silence or if everyone is.

But I think I am, too, especially when Cooper sweeps me up on the stage, and before I know it, he kisses me in front of the whole crowd.

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Cooper and Violet’s story continues in , available everywhere.