Charlotte gave the captain a quizzical look. "Not yet. Should I be worried?"
Jordan could only smile innocently as Jack casually tossed his arm over Charlotte's shoulder. "Listen, I'm not one to pressure people, but we're auctioning off dinner with Jordan to raise money for the Community Garden Project. Maybe you can throw a few bucks in." He gave her a little wink. "If you pay enough, I could find a way for Jordan and his big ego to actually not show up."
Jordan pretended to be hurt by the owner's comments while Charlotte laughed. "I've still got some New York swagger left in me. I could handle him."
"Then let me know if you're around when we have to renegotiate his contract," Jack joked. "And seriously, Charlotte. I'm getting sick of hearing about the finance guys eating steak with him every year."
They said their goodbyes to the owner, giving Jordan another chance to chat up the lovely Miss Stone when a waiter announced dinner was starting. Thwarted again.
Charlotte grabbed her drink from the bar before turning to him one more time. "So just out of curiosity, how much would dinner with the captain cost me?"
"Well, you can outbid the finance guys," he said, stepping just a little closer. "Or you could just give me your phone number."
She gave him a defiant look. "Then I guess you better hope the finance guys forgot their wallets."
Charlotte tipped her drink in his direction before walking away, leaving some scent that smelled like vanilla and cookies lingering in the air behind her.
He knew it would be a smell he would never forget.
Charlotte had decided on a black dress from her closet that night that was classy and conservative, not too flashy while still being different enough that it would draw attention to her. Of course, she didn't want to draw too much attention to her. After her meeting with Jordan, she was trying to talk herself out of being interested in another hockey player and was worried what would happen if she did actually see him here.
Sure enough, she hadn't been in the arena for more than ten minutes — just enough time to order a drink — before she ran into Jordan. To be fair, it felt like he was looking for her, but she wasn't about to question it. He didn't specifically go to the bar because she was standing there, and he definitely didn't order the same drink because it was what she was drinking. Nope, none of those things happened. It was all just coincidences.
Charlotte turned to find her seat mates standing at a cocktail table nearby and headed over to join them. She had really enjoyed getting to know Adam and Rachel these past two weeks both at the games and away from them. The Ward family met her before a game at a great burger place nearby, and they went without little Aiden to a local dive bar after a particularly tough loss a week ago.
"You look stunning, Charlotte," Adam said, leaning in to give her a small hug. "Almost the most beautiful person here."
"Well, I understand your bias," she replied.
"I'm going to grab another and meet you at the table. Charlotte, need anything?"
She shook her head before Adam gave Rachel a quick peck on the cheek and went to the bar. Charlotte could tell Adam and Rachel were great together by just the little things between them. It was those little things that she really missed about being in a relationship.
The women headed over to their table with Adam following and began to happily chat as the servers brought in more and more food and took away empty plate after empty plate. Apparently, Charlotte wasn't the only one who was trying to escape New York. Tonight's meal was set up by Chef Marco who, like Cher, had no last name. He had an amazing restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and Charlotte had eaten there several times with the socialite crowd. But the chef decided he wanted to open a second restaurant somewhere in the country that wasn't so snobby. He must've seen the same potential in this city that Charlotte had, and she made a note that she would have to visit his new place soon.
Dinner was soon followed by dessert and coffee, and Charlotte started to notice a buzz beginning to fill the air that seemed to be fueled by caffeine, sweet Michigan cherry pie, and the fans' excitement.
"So are they starting the charity auction soon?"
"Anything in particular you have your eye on?" Adam asked teasingly.
"Maybe," she replied with a smile. "I promised Jack I would try."
He laughed. "If Jack asked you to bid on something, he's expecting you to really bid. Don't let him down."
"Or us!" Rachel yelled. "We're your seat mates. We share everything."
"Is that the rule?"
"It is now," she replied, raising her glass in Charlotte's direction.
The first item up was a trip for six on a chartered plane followed by a diamond bracelet from a local jeweler.
"Don't even waste your time," Rachel said. "Once you let me borrow it, you won't get it back."
The table laughed, knowing full well that there was quite a bit of truth to Rachel's statement. It was all just as well after the bracelet went to some poor suffering husband in the back. At least his wife looked happy about the bauble that he paid more than its worth for.
And so it continued. Access to a suite for four Detroit Pirates' home games. A river cruise dinner for two. A romantic weekend getaway to Canada.
