Page 54 of Peach Blossom Hollow

“If anyone bids higher on this, put your name down.” Maverick Blades waved a sheet of paper in front of Leo, tapping it impatiently.

“What is this?”

“I’ll pay you back later. I need to win this blanket.”

“Uh? What?”

Maverick pointed a finger at Leo. “You got my back?”

“Um, sure. Of course.”

His friend’s shoulders eased, and he went to return the silent auction bidding sheet to one of the long tables lined with items.

“What’s with you and Dak tonight, man?” Leo asked, automatically following him. First, he’d found Dak, the team’s head charity dude, in the bathroom, basically standing up his date, who’d been looking for him all night. Now Maverick was getting all squirrelly and stressed out about some knitted blanket.

If this was love, count him out. It looked stressful. Not at all what Leo had been imagining over the past few weeks.

Maverick shot him a warning look. “Just do it, Socks.”

Leo grumbled at the nickname the team had given him for “losing” his socks before their firstexhibition game of the season. He was still certain he’d been the victim of a prank. “Fine.”

Violet had wandered off and was checking out the auction’s tables. He caught up with her, asking, “Anything catch your eye?”

He passed a jersey signed by the entire team. Seeing his name scrawled on the fabric beside big names like Maverick’s still felt odd. He’d looked up to these players for so long his brain still hadn’t caught up to the fact that he was now one of them.

“Check this out.” Violet pointed to a getaway to a South Carolina beach town called Indigo Bay.

“What is it?” He bent over the table, reading the bidding sheet. It offered an overnight in a resort’s ocean-side cottage, and included scuba diving.

“No way,” he said. “Are you going to bid on it?”

Violet shook her head. “It’s already at $1700.”

“Does that include airfare?” Indigo Bay was about a twenty-hour drive from their part of Texas.

She shook her head again.

Leo did some rough mental calculations. You could probably get the same package for less by booking directly. But two people? Beach-side cottageandscuba? He scrawled his name on the sheet with a bid of $1800.

“If you win, you have to take me with you,” Violet said, clasping his arm.

“Sorry, already told Sara-Lynn I’d bring her.” He gave a hapless shrug as though to say, “What can you do?”

“You haven’t had time to contact your sister,andshe doesn’t scuba,” Violet said, narrowing her eyes.

“How would you know?”

“We chat on the phone every night.”

“Do not.”

Violet gave him a smile best described as devious.

“You don’t.” She didn’t. There was no way. They’d never even met. No, wait. There was that time his family had come to one of his games and had swarmed Violet afterward. They’d adored her and threatened to bring her home with them, Sara-Lynn in particular. How had he forgotten that?

“I get to go with you.” She held up her little finger as if she was asking for a pinkie swear to seal the deal.

“I am not six years old,” he said, crossing his arms, staring at her raised finger with the peachy-pink-painted nail.

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