The Quarterback Sneak by Liz Matis Read Free Book Online Page A

scramble,
but she couldn’t do that now. It wouldn’t do for Liam’s fiancée to
lose her cool in front of her father’s guests.
    Only seconds remained on the clock as Liam
threw an impossible pass. The opposing cornerback beat out Billy
Burner to catch it in the end zone. Interception. Game over. A loss
for the Cougars—and Liam.
    “See you at the next home game.” Angel
grabbed another bag of nuts on her way up the steps, apparently
unconcerned that her husband had missed the pass.
    Hayden nodded, biting her tongue.
    Hannah followed Angel without a word but
then stopped and came back down the steps. “Hayden, a word of
advice.”
    “Sure.”
    “Be Liam’s fiancée, not the owner’s
daughter. The players get enough grief from the coaches, press, and
fans. Your man needs your support.”
    “I’ll break out the pom-poms.” She’d shore
up his ego for the sake of next week’s game. She knew her football
in and out, but she’d play dumb and pretend he didn’t stink up the
field today.
    Just a week ago, she would have called him a
loser to his face, but now she couldn’t bring herself to do it. His
poor play was partly her fault with all the media coverage leading
up to the game. She’d done enough damage.
    Besides, she had a part to play—the adoring
fiancée. Unfortunately, it was becoming less and less of an
act.

Chapter 9

    W hile Liam iced his
shoulder in the trainer’s’ room, the team’s cute but no nonsense
public relations liaison kept the press at bay. Thank God for
Meredith. Faced with a no-win scenario, Liam didn’t know which he
dreaded more—tackling the sportswriters or Hayden, who he was sure
would have a lot to say.
    He didn’t need his quarterback rating to
tell him he’d played his worst game as a Cougar—or ever—which was
saying something since he’d had a lot of bad games as a
professional quarterback.
    Today, he couldn’t hit the side of the barn
he’d use for practice as a kid. The quarterback was the pulse of
the offense and Liam’s arm was dead on arrival. Throw after throw,
too hard, too soft, too high, or too low. Getting sacked three
times didn’t help. His body ached from the blunt force of the
tackles, but nothing hurt as much as losing did.
    Near the end of the final quarter, he’d
thought the only good thing the analysts might say is that he
hadn’t thrown an interception. But he jinxed himself even thinking
about that. Not that he really believed in jinxes, but the thought
rattled his confidence on the last play.
    He didn’t need to see a replay on ESPN to
remember how he lost the first game of the season.
    Billy Burner ran from the sideline to join
them in the huddle. “Hail Mary the ball to me.”
    Liam hated the stupid nickname for the
desperation move. Long pass in the final seconds, low probability
of success. The quarterback who originated the term said he’d need
to pray for divine intervention to connect with his receiver.
    “Right up your alley, McQueen,” Hondo had
said.
    Liam ignored him. Just as he didn’t believe
in the jinx, he didn’t believe that God cared much about football.
Miracles belonged to the dying, not to millionaire athletes. Liam
never prayed to the win the game. He did pray for God to make him
strong and to keep him and the players free from injury. “Just keep
Dunham off my ass.”
    The huddle broke and Liam read the defense
as he approached the line of scrimmage. Blitz. They were
going to come at him. He could call an audible to try and throw
them off, but the defense, heck, the whole stadium knew there was
only one play, one chance for the home team to tie the game.
Instead he decided to throw them off with a quick count. He backed
off into the shotgun position. “Code red one,” he’d yelled.
    Hondo knew the signal and hiked the ball
back to Liam’s waiting hands. His linemen bought him precious
seconds as Burner flew down the field, but Liam needed more time as
Dunham broke through and chased him out of the