“Another night,” Matteo promises them. “We’ll be back,” he says, whisking me away from the table. “Sorry about them,” he says to me after we get out of earshot. “My mom loves to know everything about people.”
“Don’t apologize. They seemed very nice.”
His throat bobs as he swallows. His eyes are unreadable and he shifts his weight on his feet, his voice dropping lower. “I just wanted them to meet you. I’ve uh—I’ve never brought anyone to meet them before.”
The butterflies in my stomach flutter to life. “So, I was your first?”
A ghost of a smile dances across his lips. “You’re a first for a lot of things, Sunny.”
“So are you,” I admit, right before we’re interrupted by a few of his teammates.
And fuck me for wanting him to be my last.
Matteo’s hidden in a separate room with the rest of his team, and Elena and I are lowering ourselves down into seats near the front row.
“Remember,” Elena says quietly, grabbing two more flutes of champagne from the server who passes us. “It’s all for a good cause.”
The auctioneer’s voice breaks through the speakers at the front of the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be starting our auction with the first player of the night.” He pauses as the crowd claps, before he begins again. “First up, we have one of our power forwards, Mr. Matteo Ford.”
My stomach flutters as Matteo comes through a doorway to the left. He’s still wearing his mask and stops beside the auctioneer.
“We’ll start the bidding at $100.”
His mouth begins to move, the auctioneer chattering away as he moves through a few playful raises, the price climbing up to one thousand dollars. It makes a massive jump to two thousand as a woman’s voice calls out from the other side of the room.
My head turns and I see a woman sitting in a sleek gold gown, lifting her paddle with a confident smile. My head whips back to the front of the room, locking gazes with Matteo.
“That’s Grace Hartwell,” Elena whispers to me. “She bids on him every year and usually wins.”
Every year?
“Who the hell is she?”
“Someone who’s always wanted Matteo’s attention and never truly got it.”
Without a second thought, I lift my paddle. The number jumps again and the corners of Matteo’s lips slowly lift. The woman on the other side of the room counters. I bid again.
We volley back and forth, the bid creeping over ten thousand dollars.
“Twenty thousand,” I call out, lifting my paddle again. I do not have twenty thousand dollars to bid, but no way am I losing.
I outbid her by a considerable margin and murmurs ripple throughout the room. A low whistle comes from somewhere in the back.
“Yes, girl. Get your man.”
“I’m going to need to borrow 20k from him,” I laugh nervously.
Elena laughs. “He’ll pay it. It’s for charity.”
The auctioneer drags it out dramatically, bouncing back and forth between the woman across the room and me. I don’t bother looking at her. She doesn’t deserve a second of my attention.
“Going once… going twice… sold!” the auctioneer calls out, pointing at me. “To the lady in the ivory mask!”
Applause fills the room and I rise to my feet as Matteo comes stalking my way, his eyes hooded as he stops right in front of me. His mask obstructs half his face still, but I don’t miss the fire in his eyes.
“That was bold,” he murmurs, his eyes raking across my face. The auctioneer’s voice fills the room again and the attention shifts away from us. He leans in so his mouth is right next to my ear and says just loud enough for me to hear, “I’m glad you won.”