Happily Ever All-Star: A Secret Baby Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,350

him. Not yet. Not when he needed to concentrate on the field, the offensive plays, and his technique.

So I’d keep it as another secret. I collected enough things anyway, why not life-altering crises too?

The Rivets’ cheating.

My feelings for him.

Our baby.

In the fairy-tales, the princesses were usually the ones ensnared in danger. Most waited for their prince to rescue them.

Not this fairy-tale. I had to help my Charming anyway I could.

And I’d make sure that no one could destroy our happily-ever-after.

16

Lachlan

I expected my first exhibition game to go badly.

And it did.

But the second game was going worse.

I hadn’t learned shit since our preseason game—only that my body, knees, arms, back, and fingers would inevitably get crushed on the field.

And that was fine. I didn’t mind the pain. It was part of the game. Just another adrenaline rush, something to keep me moving, my mind on the play, and my feet planted in the grass.

But this was not like college ball. The players charged faster, the tackles hit harder, and the plays crashed over in seconds. Every snap became a game of Russian roulette, but instead of a gun to the head, I had cleats kicking my temple.

The second quarter blitzed faster than the first. I stared at the play clock.

Did the seconds speed up? How was I supposed to catch my breath?

I took my spot on the line of scrimmage, listening to Jack’s barked cadence. The ball snapped, and I rushed forward only a couple yards, just enough to block the linebacker’s timed charge through the line.

He hit me like a goddamned train, slamming through me. I dug my feet in and surged from my hips to keep the monster busy as Jack handed the ball off to Bryon. Our running back churned through the opposite end of the line for a four-yard gain.

The whistle blew. My opposing linebacker roared at me.

“Coming for you, rookie! I’m gonna fuck you so hard you’ll hand me that signing bonus!”

I got in his face. “Just say you love me and promise to cuddle.”

“You gonna eat those words.”

Caleb hauled me into the huddle. I blinked away the spots before my eyes, rubbing away the sweat. Nothing eased the ache in my muscles. I had to force my hands to clap at the end of the huddle.

This wasn’t exhaustion.

This was a beating.

We lined up again. Second down. Similar play. A run up the middle, and I was supposed to pick up the blitz.

I saw it coming—I could read a defense. But nothing prepared me for catching a three-hundred-pound prick as he thrust through the line and raced into the backfield.

I collided with him, our bodies crashing hard enough to twist my helmet and block my vision. He cut left. A fake-out. I lost a step as he spun to the right. I couldn’t stop him, but Bryon had already darted past the center and earned us another three yards.

Was this what it was going to be like?

A couple seconds of agony interspersed with a bone-chilling fear that I’d missed my block and let a defender past?

My entire fucking future rested on a split second after a ball was snapped.

Jack grabbed my facemask in the huddle. I panted, trying to fill unresponsive lungs with as much air as I could get.

“Step it up, rookie.” He patted my helmet. “This pass has got your name on it.”

“Give it to me, baby.”

Jack grinned. “That’s what I like to hear.”

At least I could still fake the confidence.

We ran the same play we’d drilled for so goddamned long at training camp. I had fucking dreamt of the timing pattern, chasing away any and all sexy visions of Elle. I preferred dreaming of a naked, desperate woman, but all I had were nightmares anymore. Every night, I ran along endless hash marks, towards an end zone that never got any closer.

We lined up. I exhaled, expelling the shadowing doubts and lingering pain. I’d be damned if I let tomorrow’s bruises fuck with me today.

The ball snapped.

I sprinted down the field, counting the seconds in my head.

Three. Two. Hook back. One. Catch the ball.

I spun. Jack delivered the strike directly into my hands. I clutched the ball.

And the blindside hit nearly shattered every bone in my body.

I crashed to the grass as the cornerback wrapped me up the instant the ball hit my fingers. I grunted, saw white, and, for one frightening second, everything faded to black.

Until I blinked and realized I was face-down in the fucking grass.

No ball.

No catch.

No first down.

And no