Read One Perfect Night: A Sports Romance Online

Authors: Bec Amber

Tags: #Sports Romance, #Football Romance, #Contemporary Romance

One Perfect Night: A Sports Romance (2 page)

BOOK: One Perfect Night: A Sports Romance
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What? Hold up, there, buddy. When did I start checking out women’s chests right off the bat?

Logan flushed, taking a sip of his club soda. It wasn’t like him to be flustered like this. He watched as she stood back, letting Belle mingle. Right then the woman made eye contact, still holding her smile.

Something primal passed through Logan in that moment. He didn't believe in love at first site, but there was an instant attraction, and an instinct to connect that he couldn't deny. The way she held his gaze seemed to indicate recognition on her part too, Logan was sure of it.

Fate had come tapping on his shoulder.
 

Her friend, Belle tugged at her arm leading her towards the bar. Mystery woman's smile faltered a little, and her eyebrows knitted together slightly before her eyes broke contact with his. Whoever this girl was, he needed to get to know her better.

Chapter 2

Julie was overwhelmed when she and Belle walked into the room. For starters, this place was amazing, more upscale than the hotel she worked at. But if that wasn't distracting enough, there were the tall men, some beefy, some not so much, dominating the room with their energy and charisma. She hadn’t known what to expect, but a bunch of men in suits hadn’t been what she’d pictured. Though, really, what had she thought, they’d come in all sweaty from a game? They weren’t even playing now, though they’d had a respectable season.

And there was that weird moment when she'd met the gaze of one of the players, and stared. Everyone knew the newcomer, Logan Morris, quarterback, widely considered to be the most instinctive and intellectual quarterback the game had to offer. All that talent packed into a six foot, three inch frame, muscular but not puffed out. He was as gorgeous as Tom Brady, as smart as Peyton Manning, and had the poise of…well, everyone wanted to be him. Or be in his bed.

She’d been mesmerized by a bolt of instant attraction. Surely she’d imagined it?
 

Just as expected, Belle immediately peeled off, heading for the team’s star running back—Jordan Howard, one of the most handsome and eligible men around. Belle hadn’t exaggerated when she’d told Julie she intended to find a guy tonight. If it wasn’t Mr. Right, it clearly was Mr. Right Now, or Mr. Right Tonight. Given the number of women here, Belle probably had better odds than she ever had before. Wives seemed to be in clear abundance, but there were only about half the ratio of women to men here, and some of them skewed older, the wives of coaches, probably.

She drifted to the bar, watching the groups of people and trying to figure out the socialization. The coaches and trainers seemed to be in one corner of the room, their wives sitting at a table together. The businessmen were at the other end of the room, their wives not nearly as tight knit as the coaches. They were also wearing a heck of a lot more jewelry.

Julie suddenly felt a little naked with only a gold ring and a smallish sapphire pendant on. Maybe she should have opted to dress like Belle, necklace, bracelets, earrings, several rings.

Then again, Belle was projecting an image Julie didn’t share. She was so beyond uninterested in the hookup. But she was sure there wasn’t a man here for her either.

“Baby, where have you been all my life.” Julie whirled at the voice; she recognized it from sports TV broadcasts. Adam Irving had been a career player, and even at sixty-something, he was still handsome and charismatic.

“Probably in school,” she replied, teasing him rather than outright flirting.
 

“Adam,” he said, extending his hand.
 

“Julie,” she replied, sticking to her first name just as he’d done. He shook her hand, his grip firm.
 

“Julie, I haven’t seen you around before—Excuse me, could we have a couple of glasses of wine? White or red, Julie?”

“White,” she said, trying not to smile or let on just how cool this was. She’d grown up with Adam Irving’s voice and handsome face on her TV screen and it was incredible to actually be here, standing next to him. Getting wine from him!

She tried to calm herself, knowing it would be all too easy to just fall into it and go all fangirlish. That could lead to way too many problems. She might even start asking for autographs and that would be…embarrassing.

“Where are you from, Julie? I don’t recognize you.” Adam took the glasses from the bartender—while she’d been trying not to fangirl, she’d vaguely heard him ask for a red—and handed Julie hers, his fingers lingering a little too long.

Okay, this was even more cool than the wink she’d gotten from Taylor Lautner when she’d been stalled in traffic on Hollywood Boulevard and had glanced over to find him in a car next to her. It wasn’t as if her hotel catered to famous people; it was a solid three point five star place, and while they got some interesting people, it wasn’t as if the rich and famous checked in.

“I’m a local,” she told Adam, trying to be all cool and calm.
 

Okay, it was official, she was getting a little carried away. She sipped her wine, trying to ignore the flutters of excitement taking up residence in her stomach.

“California girls are the most beautiful,” he told her in a sexy whisper. If he hadn’t been her father’s age plus ten years, she might have melted into a puddle, and as it was, she resembled ice cream on a hot day.

“We are,” she agreed breezily, trying to ignore the klaxons in her head wailing “Adam Irving is flirting with me. Oh my God.”

Where had casual, uninterested Julie gone? She missed her and wished she’d return. Because this new, flirtatious Julie was getting herself into trouble. And that wasn’t good. Not. At. All.

She was so not going to flirt back with someone old enough to be her grandfather. Well, technically. God no, she was not going to do the math!

“Hey, Adam!” When a voice sounded at Julie’s shoulder, she turned, giving the person interrupting a huge smile.

And stopped. And stared. Again.

Hell, she probably swallowed her tongue in the process, as well.

The guy was more impressive up close.

“Logan,” Adam said, and all of a sudden he sounded a little wary. Could he know that just by standing here, Logan outclassed him, and Adam wasn’t exactly bad to look at.

But few were as good looking, as talented, as Logan Morris.

“Good to see ya again,” Logan continued, as if Julie wasn’t there and she wanted to say something, wanted to demand attention, but she didn’t dare, yet.

“Is this your daughter? I didn’t realize she was so young.”
 

Oooh, burn! Julie was genuinely impressed with the way he’d disarmed any hope of Adam getting lucky, at least with Julie.

“No,” Adam said shortly, and it was clear he knew he’d been played. Oh well. “I’ll talk with you both later,” he said before hurrying off.

“Now where were we?” Logan asked, locking his gaze on Julie.

When he said that, Julie almost full-on melted. His voice was warm and husky, and she could sense amusement there, too.
 

“I’m Logan Morris,” he told her, extending his hand. “I didn’t mean to be rude, but I could see Adam casting a line out, hoping he got such a beautiful fish.”

“Julie,” she replied, her lips curving into a smile. “I think you need to work on your technique though. First you called me young and then a fish.” She shook her head, the realization that she was flirting—well, kind, of—with a football superstar forcing the rest of her witty comment to get stuck in her throat.

“I think I do too,” he told her with a wink.

And she melted. That puddle of goo on the floor was her.

Logan Morris was most definitely, most assuredly, most abso-positively, flirting. With her.

She gulped her wine down, trying to look anywhere but at him. Football players were players with women, too, and she didn’t need to do anything but be distantly polite with Logan Morris.

Her gaze finally stalled on him. Now that he was standing close to her, she looked up—and up—into his eyes. Green, which never showed up in photographs well, but even in the harsh light of this extended room, looked crystalline, almost a clear sea-glass she’d never seen before. His curly hair was a little longer than usual, and there was something about him she couldn’t quite describe.

Something that made her heart race, and her breath stutter in her chest.

This easy charisma thing he had was dangerous.

“Let me start again. Hi, I’m Logan and I’m here to rescue you from Adam. He looked like he was moving in on you and I wasn’t sure you wanted that, but if so, Grandpa’s over there. However…” He paused and she looked up at him, waiting him out even though she wanted to squirm, or do something, anything. What did puddles of goo do anyway? Slither?

Oh yeah, that was a great image. Slithering made her think of two twined bodies, and that made her think of sex with this tall, handsome hunk and…

“Earth to Julie.”

She blinked a few times, realizing she’d been daydreaming or fantasizing again. So not like her.

“Sorry. I’m…it’s just a little…strange.”

“Strange how?” Logan asked, taking her empty glass from her and handing it to the bartender.

“A little overwhelmed. So many huge men in one room. You all fight for my eyes’ attention, just by being here, I guess.”

She didn’t know how to explain it any better. He met her eyes for a long moment and nodded. “Excuse me,” he said to the bartender. “Could we possibly have two plates brought out to the terrace? It’ll be quieter there. Julie, do you have any food allergies?”

“No.”

“Is water okay with dinner or would you rather have wine?”

“Water is fine.”

“Can you do that for us?” Logan asked, and the bartender nodded quickly.

“Come on, Julie, let’s eat outside. It is a beautiful night and this place may feel less overwhelming with the evening sky above you.”

“Okay,” she agreed. Apparently, she would be speaking small phrases in his presence, because Logan was so damn charismatic, he had knocked her brain completely offline.

His hand pressed against the small of her back, causing her to shiver, as she let him lead her outside, smiling as they passed people who greeted him. And just as he’d promised, she could breathe a little easier outside, with the warm air drifting over her skin. There were several couples and small groups out there, but it was much quieter.
 

He led Julie to a small seating area, an all-weather love seat and wicker chair with a small table between them. She took a seat on the wicker chair, her thigh brushing up against his, and then wished she hadn’t, though sitting on the love seat might have caused a little awkwardness between her and Logan. She didn’t need to put herself on offer like that anyway.

“Tell me about you, Julie.”

That was…unexpected. In the main room, she’d heard the players recounting this game or that game; it had all seemed to be very focused on who they were and what they were doing. Logan seemed interested in her, or at least his question indicated that.

“I work at a hotel,” she told him. “Front desk operations, shift manager now.” She gave him a tiny smile. “I got a degree in hotel and restaurant management. I guess I wanted to be a chef, but…” She trailed off and shrugged.

“I didn’t ask what you do, I want to know who you are.” He was so close, she could feel his warmth radiating through her thigh where they touched.

“Oh.” It seemed as if every first question in social atmosphere was to find out what everyone did, and usually how it pertained to them and what they could get out of it. Not so with Logan and it made her want to get to know this man and what he was about. She didn’t know him well enough to have a read on who he was as a person but she suspected that he was genuinely interested in her.

“I’m an LA boy,” he said, filling the silence. “My sister and I have a great bond and my niece gave me a goldfish for Christmas. I send her photos of “Fishyface” every day. My dad teaches at UCLA, so he was thrilled that I chose to go there. My mom is a pathetic cook, so Mom and Dad have every restaurant in a three mile radius on speed dial. Your turn.”

“I’m an LA girl,” she replied. “My folks are happily married. Dad works on a cruise ship; he’s an entertainer. Mom is a school librarian. I have a sister I barely see anymore, and I’m a horrible green thumb, but I love to make desserts.”

“Julie, you sound perfect to me.”

Chapter 3

Logan couldn’t believe how compatible he and Julie were. They’d talked their way through dinner, had danced a few times, and she’d leaned against him while the football reel had run.
 
She’d given him the space he needed to talk to his now-former teammates, but had stood close enough that he could meet her gaze, whenever things got tough. That initial spark was turning into a burning need.

And things did get tough in the room. Saying goodbye was a huge bitch, especially when he loved the people so much.

Logan asked Julie to ride the elevator down with him, not really sure why he didn’t want to part with her yet. Belle had said she was leaving with one of the players—no name mentioned, but it had to be Hank or Jordan, Logan thought. Julie had already arranged a ride home on her Uber app on her phone. Logan had offered to drive her, but had gotten a solid “no thanks” in return. He understood. They’d just met, she didn’t want to give her address away.

As the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside, Logan decided to make his move. He cupped Julie’s delicate face in his hands, pressing his lips to hers gently. She stiffened, and then relaxed, her body uncoiling its knots, her mouth soft and welcoming for his.
 

Logan kept the kiss light and gentle, though he wanted to give her more passion. When her hands wrapped around his neck, his cock tightened against his suit pants. He thought about driving his cock into her warmth and almost gave up his self-control. But he kept it reigned in. He wanted…everything. But not in semi-public, and sure as hell not in a public elevator. He wouldn’t disrespect her like that. Julie was special and he wanted to savor every moment he had with her.

BOOK: One Perfect Night: A Sports Romance
3.56Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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