The San Antonio Generals Charity Foundation Bachelor Auction.
Or, as Ryder referred to it, fresh meat for slaughter.
As a professional hockey player, there were a number of things expected of Ryder. For example, as one of the Generals’ Alternate Captains, he was expected to make himself available to the media following games, and answer their questions. He didn’t always want to, especially after a tough loss in which he’d failed to get on the scoreboard, but it came with the territory, so Ryder did it. After all, nobody liked a sore loser.
Some of the things expected of him, Ryder enjoyed, such as contributing his mother’s spicy meatball and mushroom pizza recipe to the Generals Foundation cookbook, or visiting sick kids in the hospital. He had no reason to complain about those, especially since both were for a good cause.
So was the bachelor auction, but Ryder still considered it torture. Even though he’d never before wished he was married, now Ryder did. Or if not married, at least seriously dating someone. If he were, he’d get a pass on this dreaded event.
Instead, he sat on a stage, dressed in his best suit and tie, and prepared to be paraded in front of the audience so that women could bid on him. Or rather, they could bid on a date with him. That was the most Ryder agreed to. One date, for the highest bidder. A drink and dinner, perhaps even dessert if things went sort of well. But nothing beyond that. No way. He was a hockey player, for goodness sake, not a gigolo or an escort.
“This is going to be great,” his teammate, Casey Deanult, said from the seat next to Ryder. “Lots of women out here, and probably plenty of hot ones.”
If they’re so hot, why are they so desperate? Ryder wondered, then felt a little guilty. It was a charity event, after all, so maybe their intentions were good. It wasn’t fair to judge all of the women in attendance as either cheap or desperate. “Maybe they’re all here for you,” he said to Casey.
“I hope so. The more the merrier,” Casey said with a grin. “As I like to say, the only thing better than one smoking hot chick is two smoking hot chicks. Or maybe three. I don’t like to discriminate.”
Ryder grimaced at the crude implications of Casey’s remark. No doubt about it, his teammate was a horn dog of the worst kind. He knew he wasn’t the only guy on the team that worried Casey would someday get himself into trouble with his womanizing ways, but what could they do about it?
“Great. Hopefully they’ll all bid on you and you can have an orgy,” Ryder muttered under his breath. “I don’t want anything to do with this whole charade.” Except it was for a good cause, so he couldn’t exactly say no. Instead, the best Ryder could hope for was that whoever bid on him—assuming anyone did—turned out to be a nice, respectable woman who’d done so only to further a charitable cause.
“Oh, lighten up, Carrigan,” Casey said. “It’s all in fun. Hot women and charity. And as a bonus, we even get the babe from channel twelve covering the event.” He whistled softly under his breath. “Man, I’d love to tap that.”
“Sheesh, Denault, are you ever not an ass?” Ryder muttered. “You might as well get over that fantasy. She’s a professional here to do her job. Not pay money to spend an hour with you.” He couldn’t deny, though, that the local news anchor sent to report on the event for the local news was one beautiful woman.
***
Jessica Rowan wished she could be any place else but where she was, forced to cover a celebrity bachelor auction for the local ABC affiliate. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in the cause—suicide prevention and awareness—she just wasn’t convinced the event was the best way to support said cause. Win a date with a professional hockey player to help prevent suicide? Jessica had a hard time seeing the connection.
She’d agreed to cover the event because Char Simmons, who headed the Generals Charity Foundation, was one of her closest friends, and because her boss at the station, who’d lost a teenager to suicide, insisted channel twelve should be there. None of the other local news stations thought the auction was worth covering, so it was Jess’s gig, and hers alone. Since that wasn’t anything to sneeze at in the echelon, Jessica was determined to make it work for her, even if she did think the whole thing was rather silly.
After interviewing Matt Johnson, who was the son of the Generals owner and the marketing director, and Char, it was time to move on to the big stars. The Generals players. Since the team captain and marquee player, Colton Tremblay, had recently announced his engagement, he wasn’t participating in the auction. Neither was Alex Gray, one of the Generals Alternate Captains, who was married with a young son. That left the team’s other Alternate Captain, left winger Ryder Carrigan, to be the first player Jessica spoke to.
“Ryder Carrigan finished last season fourth in points among all Generals players, and looks forward to building on that success in his second season in San Antonio,” Jessica said. “But before that can happen, he has to survive tonight’s bachelor auction.” She strived for a dramatic tone and hoped it didn’t sound completely over the top.
“Ryder, can you tell us what you’re looking forward to the most about tonight’s event?” As she thrust the microphone at him, Jessica was struck with two thoughts. The first was that he had the bluest eyes of anyone she’d ever seen. Eyes she could easily get lost in.
The second was that Ryder Carrigan looked like he’d rather be any place else at that moment, which Jess could certainly relate to.
Books by Michele Shriver
Women’s Fiction:
After Ten
Tears and Laughter
Aggravated Circumstances
Contemporary Romance:
Finding Forever
Leap of Faith
The Art of Love
Starting Over
Love & Light
Dissonance (2016)
The Men of the Ice Novellas:
Playing for Keeps
Crossing the Line
Winning it All
Scoring at Love (2016)
Chasing the Prize (2016)
Making an Impact (2016)
Breaking the Ice (2016)
Going all In (2017)
Boxed Sets:
Heroes to Swoon For
Spring into Love
Score One For Love
Christmas Pets and Kisses
Spring into Romance (March 2016)
Love Notes (April 2016)
First Glance (April 2016)
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the story and will consider posting an honest review of this book on the site you purchased it from.
If you purchased this book prior to October 31, 2016, please visit: http://bit.ly/1U1T4iD
to enter to win an autographed San Antonio Generals jersey.
Author’s Note and Acknowledgements
What can I say besides “Wow.” This series keeps on growing, and I am so grateful for the support. As a result, the series that was supposed to be three books is now up to eight. But that’s okay. After all, I have an entire hockey team I can write about, plus the minor league franchise. So, yes, the possibilities are endless.
I hope you enjoyed reading Becker and Kendall’s story and will also come back for more books in the Men of the Ice series, featuring Ryder and Jess (Chasing the Prize), Casey and Char (Making an Impact), Noah and Riley (Breaking the Ice) and Trenton and Lauren (Going all In).
As always, I am grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way in my publishing journey. Your support and encouragement means the world.
And I owe major props to my personal assistant, Valentina Rodriguez, who continues to impress me with her great ideas for branding this series. With her help, I definitely feel like the sky is the limit.
Michele Shriver writes women’s fiction and contemporary romance. Her books feature flawed-but-likeable characters in real-life settings. She’s not afraid to break the rules, but never stops believing in happily ever after. Michele counts among her favorite things a good glass of wine, a hockey game, and
a sweet and sexy book boyfriend, not necessarily in that order.
Contact:
www.micheleshriver.com
twitter.com/micheleshriver
Facebook page: Author Michele Shriver
[email protected]
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For more about the Generals and the Men of the Series, visit the website and Facebook page:
Website: https://menoftheice.wordpress.com/
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Scoring at Love (Men of the Ice Book 4) Page 10