by Hope Ford
I stretch and immediately feel the pull in my thighs. I reach blindly beside me, wanting to pull Violet into my arms for a replay of last night. When I feel the cool sheets beside me, I jerk fully awake. The sun is bright in the room, and I don’t even have to look around. I can feel that she’s gone. I can feel it in every sore muscle of my body.
My phone rings, and I don’t know why, but I think it’s her until I recognize the ring tone for my agent. “What?” I bark into the phone.
“It’s eleven o’clock. You’re supposed to be on a plane right now. You have a game tonight.”
“Fuck!” I jump out of bed and start out of the bedroom, darting room to room, looking for Violet. There’s no way she just left. Maybe she went for breakfast or coffee. Maybe she’s downstairs.
When I get to the first floor, I’ve hung up on Nick and am yelling for Violet through the house. The house is so quiet it’s almost eerie. When I get to the front door, I yank it open, not even caring that I’m bare-ass naked, and stalk down the walkway to the driveway. I stare at the empty spot where her car was once parked. “Fuck!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
My phone rings again, and I click the call button. “Nick, I don’t have time...”
“You’re right, you don’t. I don’t know what’s happened to you since yesterday, but you better get your shit together. This is the game that will seal your bid for the playoffs. You can’t just blow this off.”
“I don’t care about the fuckin’ playoffs,” I yell into the phone. Nick gasps, and I know he’s probably freaking out right now. I’ve never acted this way. I’ve always been his ideal client. Work hard, not a lot of partying, good reputation, responsible. And I’m about to blow it all up. “I don’t care, Nick. I have something I have to take care of.”
“Shit, Josh. You can’t do this. You have the sponsor a kid night at halftime tonight. You have twenty kids that are going to be at that game. When you did this last year, you raised almost twenty million dollars. You can’t just blow this off. Not last minute like this.”
“I can’t go...” I start to tell him there’s no way I can play tonight, but the fact that tonight’s game is where most of the charity’s money comes in, I know I can’t just blow it off. “Fine. I’ll go. But I need you to get me a private investigator to meet me at the airport and then get me on another flight. I’ll make it there by game time.”
I hang up the phone, not willing to give any more details to Nick. I’ll go to the game. I’ll get a PI to find Violet, and we’ll be back together by tomorrow. There’s no way I’m just letting her go... not now... not ever.
Violet
Two Months Later
I’m a genius, if I do say so myself. I’m looking around my little diner, and seeing the couples in the room all happy and enjoying their lives makes me smile. I’ve helped the majority of them get together, and I swear I should open a matchmaking company. I could make a killing.
My friends Evan and Sierra are sitting in the corner, and they can’t keep their hands off each other. I get a small thrill knowing that I brought them together. I’m sure there’s going to be an announcement soon about upcoming nuptials, and I’m sure I’ll get to be a bridesmaid... again.
Without thinking about it, I put my hand in the front pocket of my jeans and run my fingers across the smooth metal ring that I carry there every day. It’s great seeing all the people of Whiskey Run finding love, it really is. But there’s a part of me that is bothered that I’ll never have that. I won’t ever go to sleep in my husband’s arms or wake up with him next to me. No, as a matter of fact, I probably won’t even be married much longer.
Two months and I swear I can still remember what it feels like to be in his arms. I wake up every night covered in sweat because even in my dreams I’m reliving that one night with him.
I turn and wipe down the counter, not wanting Sierra to see me upset. She knows a little about things. Well, she at least knows I’m married, but I never told her the details. I couldn’t. I am so embarrassed; I feel my face heat just thinking about it.
The bell over the door chimes, and I turn with a smile plastered to my face, ready to welcome the newcomer. But instantly my smile drops because in walks Josh Chambers, the running back for the Jasper Eagles... and my husband. I drop the cloth in my hand, and all the blood drains from my face. I grip the edge of the counter to try and stay upright.
He looks around the diner before his gaze finally lands on mine. There’s a hush in the diner. Everyone knows who he is. He’s a football legend. The youngest player to ever had made it to the big game and score the winning touchdown. Little Tommy, who’s in one of the booths, rushes toward him. “Mr. Chambers, can I have your autograph?”
Tommy’s mom is behind him with a pen and napkin, and Josh takes it, signing his name but never taking his eyes off me. I’m about to bolt. I know it, and I’m sure he does too. He smiles for the kid, pats him on the head, and walks toward me.
“Hello, Mrs. Chambers.”
I wince when he calls me by my married name. I look around the diner, and sure enough, everyone is hanging on every word.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him and then hold my breath. He must have finally received the copy of the divorce papers. But that doesn’t explain why he’s here. All he had to do is sign them and send them back. I put that in the note.
He cages me in, one hand on each side of me. “Why do you think I’m here?” he asks softly. His tone doesn’t match his stance. He’s rigid, and I can almost feel the electricity raging through his body. It was the same way the night I met him. Just being next to him is like being near a live wire.
I shrug, not answering him.
There’s a hush in the diner, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is going to be spread all over Whiskey Run before sunrise. Everyone in town will know about legend Josh Chambers being in the diner to talk to me. But that’s the least of my problems.
I reach out to put my hands at his waist and pull back instantly. I was going to push him away, but I know I can’t touch him. I know what happens when I do.
“Is everything okay, Violet?”
I look over Josh’s shoulder, and Sierra and Evan are standing behind him. Josh grabs my hand and turns to face them. “Yeah, everything is fine. I just came to talk to my wife.”
There’s a gasp in the restaurant, and everyone is obviously shocked. But not Sierra—no, she’s looking at me with a smug look on her face. She may not have known the whole story, but she saw the marriage certificate; she knew who I was married to. Evan steps in front of Sierra, no doubt able to feel the waves of testosterone coming off Josh. I swear I wouldn’t be surprised if he took out a full-page ad in the Whiskey Run Gazette telling everyone I am his wife. I mean, he might as well for how he’s acting.
I step around him. “Evan, I’m fine. Thanks.” And then I turn back to Josh. “I sent you the divorce papers. All you had to do was sign them and send them back. That’s it.”
He grunts, and coming from him, it’s more like a growl. I’ve seen three hundred pound men scared of him but not me. No, I’m not scared in the least. At least not physically.
It’s like I can hear his jaw cracking when he says, “I’m not signing the damn papers.”
I blink. Once, then again. “What do you mean you’re not signing the papers? That’s the only way to end the marriage.”
He wraps his big hand around my neck and pulls me in close. “I’m not signing the papers because you’re my wife... and I’m keeping you.”
I shake my head. “What did you just say?”
He repeats himself, and I heard him right the first time, but he enunciates each word. “Because. You’re. My. Wife. And. I’m. Keeping. You.”
And without any warning at all, he leans down and presses his lips to mine. The kiss is equivalent to every explicit dream I’ve had since the night I married him. I have no control when he looks at me, touches me, or kisses me, and even months later, it still remains the same. Th
e man can kiss like nobody’s business.
He plays dirty. I know this about him. He seduced me at his house in Jasper months ago. He’s made grown men cry on the football field. He’s tough and gruff and never loses, so I shouldn’t be surprised that he didn’t like my letter asking for a divorce. But surely, he’ll come to his senses. He’s a famous football player who’s in his prime. I’m a diner owner from a small town who’s six years older than him. Surely he’ll realize I’m not what he wants, not what he needs.
I wrench my lips from his, and I’m breathing heavily as if I’ve been running a race instead of kissing my husband.
I turn to walk away, and he grabs my hand. “No way, darling. You’ve escaped me once but not again. Where you go, I go.”
He walks with me to the back of the diner, and as soon as the swinging door shuts I hear half the town sitting in my diner all start talking at once.
I walk out the back door and try to figure out how I’m going to get myself out of this mess.
Josh
It’s been two months. Two months since I met Violet and my life was turned upside down. The private investigator I hired wasn’t able to find out shit. The drive-thru wedding chapel was closed for a month because of a death in the family and then when I was able to get to them, they were no help at all. Come to find out they don’t keep the best records. I couldn’t even find anything at the courthouse that showed it was actually filed and we were married. When I found that out, I broke some shit. Anything that was around me was broken into a hundred pieces. I found the woman of my dreams and just let her slip away.
It’s affected my game, my life, my future... everything. There was no way I was ever going to give up finding her, but every day seemed more bleak. I had no clue what her last name was, I didn’t know anything, and we didn’t really talk a lot. I knew she owned a diner but had no idea where. I’ve been searching all over Jasper for her. It wasn’t until this morning that I got back into town and was going through my mail that I found the divorce papers.
I drove straight to Whiskey Run. This whole time she was less than an hour away from me. I tried to calm myself on the way here, but as soon as I saw her, there was nothing calm about me. Even my cock was twitching in my pants.
As I hold on to her and follow her through the kitchen at out the back door, I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s mine. And no matter what, I’m never letting her go again.
As soon as the door closes she turns to me, spitting mad. “What was that? No one here knew I was married. It’s going to be all over town before the night’s over.”
“Good.”
“Good? Are you kidding me? This is a small town, Josh. I have to live here. The whole town doesn’t need to know you seduced me.”
“I seduced you? Are you serious right now? You come in and make a killer meal with an apple cake better than I’ve ever had in my life. You charmed me with your mind, your body... I mean, you kissed me first. You definitely seduced me.”
I should be worried that she’s so mad and doesn’t want anyone to know she’s married to me, but all I can think about is taking her, right now. Just bending her over and taking her. I need her more than ever. Maybe to convince her that we’re meant to be together, I don’t know. I push against her, and she lands with an oomph when the brick wall touches her back. I forget how strong I am compared to her because in reality, I’m weak. I’m so weak when it comes to her. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rough or to hurt you, but I need you, Violet. I need you right now.”
Her eyes widen in shock. “I’m not having sex with you in the alley. We have papers that need to be signed and then you can go back to Jasper.”
“I’m not leaving you.” I pull the rolled-up papers out of my back pocket and hold them up to her. I grab on to them and rip them right down the middle. I almost did it when I saw them on the table of my entryway this morning. But ripping them now, right in front of her, feels good.
“Josh, you can’t do that.”
She reaches for the useless papers, and I hold them out of reach. “I can and I just did. You don’t get it, Violet. We’re married, and we’re staying married.”
The last two months I’ve been convinced that we are in fact not married, but obviously, we are. The papers had to have been filed somewhere if her attorney drew up divorce papers. But I’ve already thought about it. I’m not leaving anything to chance, I’ll just have her marry me again. But this time we’ll be sober.
She tries to pull away, but I don’t let go of her. She looks at me with pleading eyes. “I need to pace. I’m not going to run.”
I know I’m looking at her like a crazy person, but the fear is real and completely palpable. I can’t let go of her. I won’t let myself. “Well, then if you need to pace, we pace together.”
“This is ridiculous, Josh. It was one crazy night. We got drunk, did something stupid...”
But I don’t let her finish the sentence. Maybe she needs reminded of how good we are together. I pick her up until her feet are dangling underneath her. I hold her to me and stake claim to her lips. The kiss goes from something simple to an overpowering tangle of limbs and lips in an instant. Her legs are now wrapped around me as she grinds her core on my pelvis. I’m cupping her ass, holding her to me as I gyrate my hips and thrust my cock against her cunt. I know from experience what she likes, and I give it to her. I can’t stop. I’m kissing her lips, her face, her neck, her shoulders and then back to her lips again. Her breaths are coming in pants and her whimpers bring back the memory of the one night we had together.
I wrench my lips from hers and look at her dazedly. “I’m not letting you go. Give me three days. Three days to show you that this is real.”
I expect her to argue. “You have a big game in four days.”
I barely contain my smile. Obviously she’s been watching my schedule, and that sends a thrill through me, giving me some hope. “I know.”
She shakes her head, confused. “Well, don’t you have training or practice or something?”
“I do. But you’ve seen me, Vi. I haven’t been shit lately. I can barely hang on to a ball, forget running with one. I told my coaches I would be back in time for the game.”
“And they’re just letting you blow off practice. Just like that.”
I nod. “Yeah, because I told them I was coming back with my wife and I would be back to the old Josh Chambers then.”
She shakes her head, “Josh, we’re...”
But I don’t let her finish. I don’t want to hear her say we’re not meant to be together or anything else like that. “You’re mine, Violet. Give me three days, and I’ll show you that we are meant to be husband and wife. If you still want a divorce after the three days, I’ll give it to you.”
I hold my breath. I know that if it comes down to it, I can’t make her do this. So all I can do is hope she gives us a chance.
“I’ll have to see if I can get Tillie to cover the restaurant.”
I pick her up and swing her around until she almost looks green and is holding on to me with her eyes clenched tight. “Stop. I’m going to throw up.”
I stop immediately and let her down but don’t let her go. “I’m sorry. You okay?”
“Yes.” She clears her throat. “Yes, I’m fine.”
She’s holding her belly, and I put a hand on each side of her face. “Look at me, are you all right?”
She blinks her green eyes at me, and just like that I’m in a trance. “Yes, I’m fine, Josh.”
I stare at her, trying to see what’s hidden in her eyes but know that right now is not the time to ask. “Well, c’mon, let’s go. I have plans for us.”
6
Violet
What am I thinking? I’ve second guessed myself at least a hundred times since I agreed to this nonsense. I should have told him no and refused to go with him... but I couldn’t. There are things I need to tell him. Things I planned to tell him after he signed the papers, but now, well, now I need to figu
re something else out.
And I can lie to myself all I want, but the fact remains that I want three more nights with him. Three more nights and then I will let him go back to his life, and I’ll stay in mine.
“This is it,” Josh says, interrupting my thoughts. We’ve driven to the edge of town, almost to Jasper when he pulled off on a side road. I didn’t even ask where we were going. I probably should have, but once I agreed it was like I didn’t care. I am ready for this... I need this as much as he does.
“Where is this?” I ask, looking around at all the trees lined down the driveway.
“Our new house,” he says, and I swear there’s a whirling in my ear or something. There’s no way I just heard what I thought I heard.
“Did you say our new house?”
He keeps driving, and we come to an opening in the trees. There’s a beautiful cabin with a wraparound porch that sits right on the lakefront. It’s magnificent. But there’s no way this is ours. I mean, that’s crazy talk.
“I got your papers this morning and worked out everything on the way to Whiskey Run this morning. I had my agent find this, and well, it’s not exactly ours yet, it’s on a rental program and I rented it for the month. But if you love it, we’re buying it. I figure we need something that is close to Whiskey Run and to Jasper since we’ll be traveling back and forth for my games and your restaurant.”
He says it in one big, rushed statement, and my heart starts to race in my chest. He’s setting this up like he truly believes we’re going to work this out, and it’s freaking me out a little. “Josh, I don’t think...”
He reaches across the console. “That’s good. Don’t think. I don’t want you thinking about anything but me and you. That’s it. The rest will fall into place like it should.”
I don’t want to argue with him and tell him again how crazy this is. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done. Nope, I take that back. The craziest thing I’d ever done was fall in love with a football player.
