One Perfect Night: A Sports Romance by Bec Amber Read Free Book Online Page B

there was no way she could let him in. He was with one woman or another; the only reason he wanted to be with her was because of Greg, and she couldn’t do that. She had far too much pride to be the wife on the side.
    His voice filtered in, a pre-taped interview running before the game, and Greg settled in her arms. Julie stared at the TV, tears welling in her eyes. He hadn’t needed that shoulder surgery after all, and he was starting quarterback for the Harriers. He was doing great for the team; they were having a winning season.
    As soon as the interview was done, Greg got fussy and Julie finally put him in his playpen, her attention on a piece they were doing on Logan. A bunch of photos came onto the screen, one of him in high school, a couple of him in college, then his time with the Condors, and several with various women.
    Those hurt. Julie knew she had no hold on him, but it still rankled to see him living a carefree life a thousand miles or more away.
    Her life was Greg, providing for Greg, and working, in that order. There was no time for anything else, and certainly no emotional energy. She hadn’t eaten more than frozen dinners after work, and her social life, which had never been exactly hopping, had ground to a stop.
    Mom watched Greg during the day, and Julie raced home at night, sometimes stopping at a grocery store, and relieved Mom of her duties. If she hadn’t had Mom and Dad, she wouldn’t have been able to manage. Child care was so expensive, and Julie didn’t make a great living at her job.
    She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. Being a single parent was rough, some days harder than others. She had so much to do, to fix the wreck of her apartment, go through the bills, and try to figure out a budget. She shouldn’t be watching a game.
    And yet Julie couldn’t help it, seeing Logan, even on TV, was a soothing balm to her soul.  
    Julie went through the mail, sorting it into a bills pile, and a junk mail pile. The bills were starting to pile up; she wasn’t making her basic expenses, and that was just depressing.
    She got a small glass of wine when the game started. It’d help to take the edge off and she desperately needed that.
    Logan was playing wonderfully, his throws meeting their targets and soon they were ahead 21-0; the expansion team New Jersey Bobcats getting hammered. Julie couldn’t help a smile as Logan nailed a thirty-yard pass—Touchdown!
    She watched him call the next play, confident, his voice rising over the chatter from the fans, and the offensive line set up for the play. The handoff was smooth, and Julie watched Logan scramble back, and then…
    “No!”
    Julie watched as Logan was slammed to the ground, head and shoulder first. A quarterback sack wasn’t exactly a rarity, but this one looked especially bad. And she wasn’t surprised to see Logan lying on the ground, either stunned or injured.
    “Logan…” Even though he couldn’t hear her, she felt better saying his name. She bit her knuckles, waiting, waiting...Endless moments and then the network went to commercial, leaving Julie with her heart in her throat.
    Logan had messed up his bad shoulder, she just knew it.

    ***

    Logan looked at the best orthopedist in Des Moines grimly. He knew the score; knew this was a career-ending injury at this point in the game The X-rays showed the damage, the torn tendon and the damaged cartilage.
    This was the conclusion, three days of testing, everyone from the team doctor and trainers, coaches, even the businessmen behind the team weighing in. They would keep him on the team for now, but he was out for the rest of the season, at minimum. They weren't even trying to pretend they weren’t disappointed and upset. So was Logan.
    They’d asked him why he’d fallen as he did, as if he’d had any choice in the matter. They asked why he hadn’t dodged to one side or another, even though the film clearly showed that he’d been blindsided.
    He was fed up. He wanted