The Quarterback Sneak (13 page)

She wasn’t the spoiled heiress everyone
thought she was, but from this day on, he’d spoil her with love.
The words sprang to his lips, but he didn’t say them yet. To tell
Hayden now that he was in love with her wouldn’t be fair. His
declaration would forever be attached to this sad day. Hayden
deserved more than that. In fact, she deserved a real proposal.
Would she say yes?

He tilted the bottle. The amber liquid
swirled down the drain just like his life had once gone down the
pipes. But today he was sober, another day won.

Now he needed to win his wife.

E
xhausted, Hayden slumped
against the elevator wall. With Harry in rehab, she was left to
pick up the pieces of his division at Middleton Nuts, while still
juggling her candied-nuts division, her own business, and her
charity work, not to mention being the wife of the top-rated
quarterback in the league. Now 12 and 1, the team was primed to
sail into the playoffs.

The disappointment in Liam’s voice when she
canceled their dinner date earlier echoed hers. Hayden hoped he
understood that it was only temporary until Harry was ready to take
back his responsibilities. Her assistant, Judith, had really
stepped up her game, and Hayden planned on delegating more once
everything was back to normal.

The elevator door opened and she trudged to
the front door.

Maybe she’d take a long vacation once the
season was over so she could enjoy time off with Liam. Maybe think
about having a baby.
Wow, where did that come from?
The
thought of creating a child with him excited and scared her. He’d
be a great father, she knew, but how would she do as a mother?

She chewed on her lip. Perhaps if she did
the opposite of everything her parents had done, she’d be okay. She
unlocked the door and turned the handle. The wall inside still had
the small dent from when she threw back her head in ecstasy on
their wedding night. Liam called it his trophy wall and refused to
have it fixed.

“Hey, beautiful.”

She blushed like a pre-teen instead of a
married woman of three months. But there was nothing innocent about
the way Liam’s warm smile heated her insides. He gave her a quick
kiss. Too quick for her liking.

Handing her a glass of red wine, he said,
“Merlot. I figured you’d like a glass before dinner.”

“But—”

“Just because I have a problem doesn’t mean
you should deny yourself. You need to unwind.”

He maneuvered her into the candlelit living
room. Jazz played low in the background. In no time he had her
reclining on the couch, shoes off, and her feet in his lap. She
took a sip of the wine.
Ahh.

He massaged her tired feet with hands worth
millions on the field. She relaxed into the cushions, releasing the
day’s worries from her mind and body. “I think my feet are going to
have an orgasm.”

Liam laughed. “You can show me your undying
gratitude later.”

“Oh, I will,” she said as he continued to
rub her feet. She considered asking him to move his hands a little
higher up her legs. Like all the way up, to work his talented
fingers on her pussy.

“Hayden?”

“Hmmm…?”

“I—”

Her dreaded cell phone buzzed. She didn’t
care if Middleton Nuts was on fire, she was not answering. Then
Liam’s phone rang.

“It’s my agent,” he said.

Her cell continued to buzz. She peeked at
the screen with one eye. “My assistant.”

“Might be important.”

While Liam left the room to take his call,
with a sigh she answered her own phone. “What’s up, Judith?”

“I’m sorry to bother you at home, but…” Her
assistant hesitated on the other end of the line.

“But what?”

“That reporter Ender called looking for a
statement.”

“A statement about what?” All the tension
Liam worked out of her body returned. What could possibly be wrong
now? She’d been good. Very good. And very happy.

“Ender’s writing a story about your husband
that claims your marriage isn’t legal. He’s calling it “The Saint
Living in Sin.’ Ender says he has a source.”

“Who?”

“He’s not saying. Ender discovered your
marriage documents haven’t been filed with the City Clerk’s Office.
There’s no record of your marriage.”

“That’s ridiculous. Judge Mayer presided
over the ceremony.” Hayden heard her voice rise with each word.
She’d never had yelled at an employee before. “I’m so sorry. I’m
not yelling at you.”

“I understand. I’d be upset too.”

Hayden was fuming. Was Liam receiving the
same news from his agent? She instructed Judith to issue a “no
comment” statement until they could figure out what was going
on.

But when Liam walked back in to join her, he
was whistling like he didn’t have a care in the world. Was he happy
to learn they weren’t married? Or had his agent called about
something else?

He hadn’t.

“How can you whistle at a time like this?”
she demanded, pacing the living room.

“Hayden, it’s a technicality. The judge is a
busy man.”

“No, my father had a hand in this.” Her
panic rose with each step. “I tore up the pre-nup so he destroyed
the marriage license. Harry must have seen him do it.” She stopped.
“Harry said we would regret not helping him. This must be what he
meant. How could he do this to me?”

“Harry must have spoke to Ender before he
went into rehab.” Liam enfolded her in his arms. “People do crazy
stuff when they’re addicts. Who am I to judge? I think Harry
deserves a second chance too.”

“But what are we going to do?” she sniffed
against his chest. They weren’t married. Liam would kick her out
and be done with her and her screwed-up family.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” she screeched out.

“It’s just a piece of paper.” He held her
chin and tilted it up so their gazes met. “In my heart we’re
married.”

Did that mean he wanted to be married? Did
it mean he loved her? Hope burned in her heart.

“I meant every word I said to you that day,
Hayden. And I mean them more each day. I hope you do too.”

“I do. I love you Liam.” She stood on her
tippy-toes and kissed him with all the love in her heart. She
pulled away first. “But what about your reputation as a Christian,
your vow of celibacy until you married? We’re living in sin.”

He stroked her cheek. “God knows what was in
my heart that day.” He pressed her hand to his chest. “He knows
what’s in it now. But I can see that you don’t.”

Liam guided her to the couch and sat her
down.
What’s happening?
When he got down on one knee, her
heart fluttered wildly, trying to escape the confines of her chest
to hand itself over to him.
My husband is about to
propose!

“As I was about to say before we got
interrupted—” He pulled a ring case from his pocket and opened
it.

She didn’t look, not even a peek, because
the light in his eyes already held the sparkle of a whole diamond
mine.

“I love you, Hayden. Marry me. For real.
Forever.”

“Yes, yes!” Unable to contain her happiness,
she jumped up, nearly knocking the ring out of his hand.

Her hands shook as she slipped off her
grand-mère’s
ring and put it on her right hand. Liam
replaced it with a princess-cut diamond sparkler. “It’s beautiful,”
she said, her breath catching in her throat.

The number of carats didn’t match the ring
bequeathed to her, but that didn’t matter. The man who stood before
her, looking into her eyes was beyond any price. “When did you buy
this?”

“A couple of days ago. Figured our
three-month wedding anniversary was a good time to propose to
you.”

“What are we going to do about the press?
They’ll be brutal once Ender’s story breaks.”

“We’ll leak it to the press that your father
didn’t want us to marry, that he pretended to relent by hosting the
ceremony, fooling us into thinking it was the real deal. Our tale
of star-crossed lovers will keep the tabloids busy right through
the playoffs.”

“And here I thought you didn’t have a sneaky
bone in your body.”

“Well, the Quarterback Sneak is my
specialty.”

“No, it’s not.” She laughed. “I happen to
know it’s going deep.”

Liam raised a brow. “Practice makes
perfect.”

“Then let’s hit the field,” she said,
leading him to their bed.

H
ayden gazed at the azure
blue of the ocean stretched out before her. The breeze billowed her
silk robe around her legs. Peace filled her soul, love filled her
heart, and her body was sated to the point of numbness.

“Admit it. You’re going crazy,” Liam said
from the king-size bed.

“That was a sigh of contentment.”

“Liar.”

She turned to face him. “Okay, so it’s
strange not having a camera in my face 24-7.”

“You may not be able to tweet from the
island, but…” Liam picked up his phone from the nightstand and
wiggled it in the air. “I could film you doing naughty things to
me.”

Her eyes widened. “A sex tape? With
everything I’ve done, I have never gone
there
.”

“You could make millions,” he teased.

“We have millions.” But how could she resist
such a tempting offer? “We could release it when we’re like ninety.
Shock the hell out of our great-grandchildren.”

“I have a feeling they won’t be so
shocked.”

“Probably not.” Hayden giggled then turned
serious. Untying the knot of her robe, she let the silky fabric
skim over her to pool at her feet. Goosies pricked across her skin
as she anticipated Liam’s rough hands gliding over her body.

“Ready for your close-up, Mrs. McQueen?”
Liam pointed the phone at her.

She approached the bed, swaying her hips
like a forties’ starlet. “I was born ready.”

But made just for you.

Thank you for taking the time to read The
Quarterback Sneak.

If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your
friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s
best friend and much appreciated.

Liz Matis is a mild mannered accountant by day and
romance author by night. Married 29 years she believes in
happily-ever-after!

Fun Fact: Liz read her first romance at the age of
fifteen and soon after wrote her first romances starring her
friends and their latest crushes!

Fun Fact 2: Liz kept an inspiration board for The
Quarterback Sneak on Pinterest. Check it out here:
www.pinterest.com/lizmatis/

Website:

http://www.lizmatis.com

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