ROMANCE: SPORTS ROMANCE: Bad Boys of Sports: A Complete Collection (Alpha Male, Football, Hockey Secret Baby Romance) (Contemporary Sports Romance) by Mallory Hart Read Free Book Online Page B

even given him a chance; just one look, and she was convinced.  Janie had badly wanted to prove her wrong–that she knew more about love and men than Janie.  She took a big gulp of her wine.  In her twenties, Janie was never much of a drinker. As her relationship with Andrew had unraveled, however, so did her inhibitions.
    “Here have some more wine.”  Alyssa got up abruptly and went to open the fridge.  Her definition of ‘some’ turned out to be three bottles. She adeptly juggled all three in one trip from the kitchen to the living room, neatly placing them onto the sleek, acrylic coffee table.
    “So,” she said, handing her a cocktail napkin that said ‘Classy Betch’ and gestured for Janie to take it. “That bad?” she began filling her own glass.
    Janie took her glass and rested it on her lap between her legs, staring at the clear light yellow liquid framed between her cupped hands. “He cheated on me,” she admitted quietly.
    Alyssa shook her head knowingly.  “I knew it.”
    “It didn’t even matter,” Janie closed her eyes. “The girl, she didn’t even matter. She was just someone at a bar. Someone who made it easy. But he did it, because…” She shrugged. “Because I guess I didn’t matter, either.”
    “Don’t say that! You do matter!” Alyssa fumed. “You’re smart, cute, and just so… so damn nice! I bet those kids–what do you teach? Kindergarten? I bet they adore you!”
    Janie had to laugh at that. “I teach the first grade. And they’re kids; they love everybody.” Taking a sip from her glass, she realized Alyssa was already pouring herself another.
    “Please, that’s just not true. Kids hate everybody–everyone’s a target.” She paused to for a long pull. “And they aren’t scared of anything. They’ll pick up the nastiest bugs–”
    “That’s true. I caught some boys trying to find a snake at recess yesterday.”
    “See?” Alyssa demanded. “That right there is exactly what I’m talking about. That’s crazy! They’re crazy!”
    Janie laughed at her friend. “I take it you still don’t plan on having any?”
    Alyssa, for once, didn’t say anything. She froze, glass brought up to her lips, just waiting to be tilted back. Janie realized she’d probably said the wrong thing, and she hurriedly drank her own wine, trying to think of a safe subject to talk about. “You know, the fabric on these chairs are just so chic–”
    “Connor wanted to have kids,” Alyssa blurted, bringing her drink down to rest on the coffee table. “Three, actually. But I mean, could you imagine?” Alyssa raised her voice. “My stomach–not to mention my breasts, and my legs. It would’ve been a nightmare! Okay, the breasts wouldn’t have been so bad. But my point is, in the modeling world it’s an end to a career, and–oh Janie, I haven’t seen you in ages, but I finally did it! I left my modeling gig for bigger and better things. I’m going to be an actress!”
    “I saw you posted about that not too long ago. That’s amazing!” she smiled, lifting her glass to Alyssa and then kicking it back. As she savored the hints of peach, Janie wondered if maybe it wasn’t wrong, not for Alyssa to know what she wanted. Janie herself had given up so much for her job, for Andrew, and where had it gotten her?
    “Right?  You know that it’s been my life-long dream. I mean, modeling does pay the bills, it’s true. But it wasn’t what I wanted. I don’t want to stand still in front of the camera anymore, you know? I’ve got a reputation for being chatty, and I just view it as a positive thing. After all, that’s what acting is, isn’t it? In fact, I’ve got an audition next week, and my agent says I’m almost guaranteed the role!”
    “What’s the role?” Janie asked, genuinely intrigued.
    “Okay, picture this: girl has bad luck all her life, girl meets boy who has equally terrible luck. Boy turns out to be a dragon , runs away with girl. Girl turns out to be