 by Brenda Rothert.jpg)
Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Boone
I’m supposed to be a guest at my coach’s daughter’s wedding to a player from another team, but instead I find myself helping her escape it. The timing couldn’t be worse—I have to stay in Coach’s good graces to secure the trade I need. But when the sexy, newly single redhead with legs for days shows up in my life again, I can’t say no.
Jolie
After escaping marriage to a man who made me feel like I was never enough, I plan to focus entirely on completing my dissertation. Science has never let me down—I can avoid emotional entanglements by focusing on cold, hard data. But when I’m powerfully drawn to a man who is warm and, okay, I’ll admit it—also hard—all bets are off. Mr. Right Now is exactly what I need, until both of us find ourselves wanting the one thing we can’t have—more.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER ONE
Boone
I opened my eyes, blinking to bring the face just inches from mine into focus. When I saw the enthusiasm in her expression, I suppressed a groan.
“Good morning, handsome,” she said softly. “What are we going to do today?”
Damn, I’d done it again. I’d fallen asleep after a couple of hours of sex with a woman I’d just met instead of leaving. I knew better. And now I had to deal with the fallout.
“Oh, hey,” I said, sitting up. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Sorry about that.”
Cami smiled sweetly. Or was it Katie? Shit. It was definitely Katie.
“Oh, no worries. I’m off work today so whatever you feel like doing…I’m game.”
She snuggled up to my bare back and a wave of guilt hit me. I’d assumed that when she asked if I wanted to get to know her better at the bar we’d met at, while unbuttoning her shirt, that she was thinking casual sex, like me.
It was always more with women, though. Even when they said no strings, there were always strings.
“I’m actually busy today,” I said, patting her hand to signal she should move it so I could get up. “I have to go to a wedding. But last night was great. Thanks.”
Katie didn’t miss a beat.
“Oh, I love weddings! And I have the perfect dress!”
I’d done this to myself by falling asleep. I just hoped I could undo it without having anything hurled at my head on the way out the door.
“It’s a…” I cleared my throat, picking up my jeans from the floor and stepping into them. “It’s my coach’s daughter, actually. And the team…we’re like family. I can’t just invite someone.”
Katie slid out of bed and walked over to her closet.
“I’m great at weddings,” she gushed from inside the small walk-in closet. “I was a bridesmaid three times last year. I’m basically a pro.”
She wasn’t making this easy. I quickly threw on my T-shirt and laced up my shoes so I could haul ass out the door. I grabbed my wallet and keys just as Katie came out of the closet with a dress in each hand.
“Pink or red?” she asked.
“I have to run,” I said. “Got to grab some coffee. But last night was great, so”
“Oh, I can make coffee.” She discarded the dresses on her bed. “And I can make waffles, too. You do like waffles, right?”
I glanced at my watch. Shit, it was later than I thought.
“Listen, I really have to go,” I said.
“But”
“I only RSVP’d for one to the wedding, and I’m not looking for a relationship, so…”
Her hopeful expression slid away. “Oh. You should have been open about that, Boone.”
“I wasn’t not open about it. You came over to me and my friends and we had some drinks, and then you asked if I wanted to get to know you better. You brought me home and we had a good time.”
She sighed softly. “I’d be a really good girlfriend for a professional athlete, though. I’ve been thinking about it since I woke up, picturing me at your games and at charity events.”
I nodded, mentally kicking myself for drinking so much beer I’d been too tired to get up and leave after the sex.
“If I wanted a girlfriend, I’m sure you would be a good one,” I said, walking out of her bedroom. “Thanks again, Katie. I really did have fun.”
“It’s Cami!”
Shit. Now she was pissed. I picked up the pace, making it to the front door and getting my hand on the handle before I felt the thunk of something hitting my back. A black shoe with a high heel landed on the ground next to me.
“Asshole!” Cami cried. “Get out of here.”
“I’m trying, but”
The fucking dead bolt wouldn’t open. I pushed and pushed, but nothing. Briefly, a Misery-situation with a woman who wanted me to marry her to avoid being maimed flashed through my mind. I had to stop falling asleep like this.
“It sticks,” Cami said with a huff, pushing me out of the way.
She pushed on the door with her shoulder and slid the dead bolt open. I opened the door and darted out without another word, keeping my head down.
“I don’t even like hockey!” Cami yelled at my back. “Real men play football!”
That was a low blow, but I still didn’t engage. I had to get my ass home and get ready for Coach’s daughter’s wedding. I couldn’t risk inviting his ire by being late.
An hour later, I was shaved, showered, and dressed in a charcoal suit paired with a light blue dress shirt and a navy tie, turning into the parking lot of the church in Ladue, a St. Louis suburb where the wedding was being held.
Hopefully this wedding would be short and sweet and we wouldn’t get stuck waiting hours for the wedding party to take photos before we could eat. I was ravenous—borderline hangry.