Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,300

see her shoot me her sweet-ass smile. I nod more to the tablecloth than my friends.

That’s when I notice that that blonde woman from the table beside ours has taken a seat at our table.

The woman who has joined us turns out to be Chelsea Walsh, who I figure out is the cousin of Skylar Walsh, the local Winter Classics skier. And of course she knows the Bianco brothers because although she went to public school and we went to a small Catholic school, she was popular and well…it seems like all the popular kids find each other if they’re within a fifteen mile radius.

She gushes on and on about what great guys they are, only serving to twist the dagger in my back. Lauren fills them in on how I’ve always loved Mauro. Love is too strong a word. Lusted might be more accurate and if you caught sight of his arm porn or his pecs you’d be wanting a piece of him too.

At some point her friends join us and somehow Chelsea convinces us to make the night more fun by picking each other’s dates and suddenly we’ve switched paddles. They leave us to sit back at their table and retreat back into their own world like some movie or book where fate sent someone in to set all the pieces in place.

I have Vanessa’s paddle in my hand instead of my own and Lauren sits across from me holding my paddle. I can’t help but be scared of who the hell she’ll stick me with.

“Hey, single ladies!” the MC booms over the microphone. “Let’s meet the bachelors up for auction tonight.”

Vanessa swivels in my direction, eyes narrowed. “Please just no cops, okay?”

I bite my lip not wanting to make any promises. “We’ll see.” I joke with a smile.

“Okay here’s the deal. You can’t argue with the person bidding for you. You have to be quiet,” Lauren says, always wanting to lay out the rules ahead of time.

“Just bid on someone in my league,” I whisper.

Her face distorts into a whatever expression and she turns her back to us, granting her full attention to the MC.

The MC does a brief introduction on how the event will work and talks a little about how all the money raised will go to help families who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. Finally, it’s time to get the auction started and I feel like I have a heavy bolder laying on my chest.

“Turn to page one and you’ll find our first bachelor,” the MC says. “Steve is a police officer from the first district. He’s looking for that Mrs. Right to live his happily ever after with. Bonus ladies, he works the day shift.” A short male with a runner’s body emerges, tipping his hat and spinning around with a casual smile on his face.

“He seems nice,” I mention, hoping she’ll get the idea that a man like him is someone I could see myself going out with.

Lauren looks back at me. “We’re not looking to be wined and dined. We’re looking to be screwed sideways.”

Vanessa sits back with her phone in her hands, her thumbs texting as fast as a teenager’s.

A few more bachelors get snatched up, most of them older than I would prefer.

Leaning back and relaxing a bit into my chair, I recall why we’re here. This is all for a good cause. I can tolerate one date with whoever Lauren picks out for me.

Ordering another drink when the waitress appears, I decide to focus my thoughts on finding someone for Vanessa instead of worrying about who I’ll end up with.

“Our next bachelor is a police officer in the eighteenth district. He’s the happiest when he’s skating on ice with a hockey stick in hand, hitting a softball out of Grant Park, or eating Sunday dinner with his Mama. He’s looking for a woman who irons her t-shirts, makes her own cleaning solutions and organizes the soup cupboard in her spare time.” All the woman look at one another like the guy is crazy before he even steps out. “I should also mention that his brothers wrote this bio up for him. Come on out, Cristian Bianco.”

I smile watching a rosy cheeked Cristian being pushed out from the back room, no doubt by Luca or Mauro. I didn’t really know him, but Cristian always seemed sweet in high school. He tips his hat at the crowd like he just pulled them over, his intense