by Raina Wilde
Second Chance Seduction
A Secret Baby Sports Romance
By Raina Wilde
© Copyright 2016 by Raina Wilde—All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
Table of Contents
Second Chance Seduction
Fighting For Love
Sealed Hearts
Midnight in Monaco
About the Author
Second Chance Seduction
Chapter 1
Lorilee Stone, or Lori as everyone in the small town of Norman’s Bay called her, wiped down the table of the corner booth. She had worked at First Down, the local sports bar, since she was fifteen years old. Not much had changed in all that time. She scooped the tip into her hands and the coins jingled sadly as she thrust them into her apron.
“Awesome.” She muttered to herself. How was she supposed to make ends meet on pitiful tips and a barely-there hourly wage?
She leaned over to reach the far corner of the table when she felt it. The large palm that rested on her backside.
“Hey, baby. When you going to let me take you out?” The smooth voice spoke over her shoulder.
She instantly straightened and swatted the man’s hand away.
“I’ve told you all not to touch me, Jake, and I better not need to tell you again.” She glared at the man who was a regular customer with his buddies.
“Come on, Lori.” Jake leaned against the wall and shot her a smile that made all of the other single women in town leap under his sheets. “Just one date. I’ve been asking all these years, that has to count for something. God knows you aren’t dating anyone else, so why not try me on for size?”
Lori pushed past him and walked toward the kitchens. It was pointless having this conversation with Jake, or any of the other local men. She had told them all numerous times that she was not interested and she meant it. She was too busy trying to keep her head above water to make time for a man.
“I’m taking my break.” She informed Randy, the owner of the pub.
He nodded as she walked by and headed out the back doors for some fresh air.
Lori sat on the back steps and leaned her head against the building. She was tired. Not the kind that a nap would fix, but that bone-deep exhaustion that seems to take over your soul.
Her cell phone chimed in her pocket and Lori sighed. She pulled the device out and stared at it with wary eyes. She was not the kind of person who texted idle information so, when the phone chimed, it usually meant something important.
Hey Lori. It’s Ashley. I hope that this is still your number. Anyways, I don’t know if you’ve heard but I am coming back to the Bay this weekend. I’M GETTING MARRIED! I would REALLY love it if you could be there and I won’t take no for an answer! Please respond. I miss you.
Lori stared at the text for a long time. Ashley was getting married? Ashley was her best friend from all of the way through high school.
Ashley, Lori sighed; the girl whose texts she had been routinely ignoring for almost four years now.
No wonder Lori had not known that her friend was getting married. She had not even known that she was dating.
Lori had only seen Ashley once since the summer after their graduation. It had been a nerve-wracking experience as Lori had done her best to be vague about the details of her own, small life. Thankfully, Ashley had enough going on to keep their conversation flowing on her own.
Lori had learned a lot about Ashley’s California lifestyle. It was all glamour and glitz, much different than the reality that Lori lived. Lori had promised to do better to keep in touch, but they had both known that it was a lie.
She did not know what to say to the friend that she had abandoned. She was tired. Maybe it would not be such a bad idea to give in, just for the weekend.
Congratulations, Ashley! Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Thank you for inviting me.
She sent the text and instantly felt a cold sweat race over her skin. She clapped a hand over her mouth, regretting the decision at once. She was wishing that she could take it back when her phone chimed once more.
Oh, Lori! Thank you! The wedding is Saturday, but I would LOVE it if you would come to dinner tomorrow evening to meet my fiancé, Wyatt.
What had she gotten herself into?
Lori agreed to meet with Ashley and Wyatt. A time and place was set. Lori breathed a sigh of relief that they had not chosen the pub. She was willing to pay the cost of the fancier restaurant, even if it meant picking up more shifts cleaning at the motel, her second job. She would rather not have to explain to Ashley that she was still working the same dead-end job as she had been in high school.
Not, that Randy and the rest of the staff at First Down had not been great to her. They had. It was only that this was not where she had intended her life to go. She had never meant to stay in Norman’s bay. She had been accepted to the most prestigious music conservatory in the country to pursue a musical career as a pianist and vocalist. She had been a prodigy. That was a long time ago.
Lori went back in to finish her shift with a heavy heart.
What were Ashley, and all of their other successful friends going to think when they found out that Lori, who had been voted Most Likely to Be Famous, was still holed up in a cheap apartment in their hometown?
That evening, Lori unlocked the door of her apartment to hear what sounded like a war going on inside.
“Mommy!” The tiny, curly haired blonde leapt into her arms. “Look! I’ma kill the giant!” She climbed down from her perch and raced over to deliver the final blow to the ferocious beast.
The babysitter now lay on the floor in peals of laughter.
“Hey, Miss Stone.” Lydia greeted Lori. “Emmy’s already had her bath and she’s got her PJs on.”
“Has she eaten?” Lori asked the teenage girl who was now packing up her things.
“No, mama!” Emmy revealed a smile with one missing front tooth. “I want to wait for you.”
“All right.” Lori smiled at her daughter. “Why don’t you go pick up your toys while I talk with Lydia.”
The child skipped to the other room while humming happily.
Lori paid the babysitter and thanked her for coming on such short notice. Lydia was a Godsend. The local teenager often worked on short notice—for cheap— so that Lori could pick up extra shifts at both jobs.
By the time Emmy had finished picking up her toys Lori had already begun to cook dinner.
“Mama! You are sposed to wait for me.” Emmy stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a very adult stare that was leveled directly at Lori.
“I’m sorry, sweetie.” Lori moved over so that Emmy could pull up a chair and stand beside the stove. “I’m just really hungry, so I thought I’d get a head start. You can help now.”
Emmy stared at the chicken and vegetables sautéing in the pan. She scrunched her nose at them. With the determination of someone with many more years, she climbed down from the chair and went to the refrigerator. With a small size she opened the doors and peered inside.
Lori could h
ear her muttering to herself, “…need something tasty with all that green stuff.” Lori laughed to herself as she watched her daughter pull strawberries and the tub of whipped cream from the refrigerator.
“These?” Emmy asked. Lori nodded and the little girl began to amass a collection of fruit. Lori showed Emmy how she cut the fruit and then left the child to arrange their meals on the plates as she desired.
While they ate, Lori participated in a series of knock knock jokes that Emmy told regularly. Together, they laughed as if it were the first time either of them had heard the joke. After dinner, they read a book as Emmy lay down to sleep.
Lori tucked her child in and turn out the lights. As complicated as her life may be, these moments with her child made it all worth it. Ashley’s text had made Lori feel nostalgic for the old days with her friends. Not, she reminded herself that Ashley would not have been supportive of her friend’s pregnancy. It was only that… well, Lori sighed, it was not possible to tell her. This secret was Lori’s and it needed to stay that way.
She grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch. She would check the scores of the nights NFL games and then go straight to bed, she told herself. As she watched the statistics and scores race across the bottom of the screen a postgame interview came on and she felt as if her heart had stopped.
There he was. Josh Bennett. Ashley’s older brother looked just as good as the last time that Lori had seen him. He had been home from his senior year of college, for the girl’s high school graduation, and Lori had been surprised at how much he had grown up. It was not long after that he had been drafted to the NFL. He was now an all-star running back for the team that was most likely to win the super-bowl in the coming year.
“Good for you!” Lori whispered to herself. Josh had followed his dreams and with the support of his family behind him had made all of them come true.
The interviewer was asking Josh about his game-winning play. Lori rolled her eyes as Josh flashed a killer grin at the screen. So maybe he had made all of his dreams come true, but Lori wasn’t impressed with the reputation as a playboy that he had developed in recent years. She tried to remember what he had been like back when she knew him. There had been nothing of this cocky attitude. No casual flirtations, no golden boy behavior. Back then, he had been serious and focused. She wondered why that all changed.
She turned the TV off and decided to go to bed. If Ashley was getting married, then Josh was probably coming back into town as well. Ashley sighed. Add him to the list of people that she would have to try to avoid this weekend.
Chapter 2
When Josh woke up the next morning the sky was still dark. He rolled to his back and stared up at the ornate ceiling of the hotel penthouse. With a sigh he rolled his head to the side to see the sleeping form of yet another woman whose name he could not remember. Nor, did he care to learn it.
He got up from the bed and began to throw his belongings into his designer suitcase. He made no effort to be quiet. If the woman woke, so be it. The sooner the better, he thought. That way she could leave and he could get back on the road sooner.
He was tired of the pro-athlete lifestyle. He was sick of women waiting outside of the locker room hoping to catch his attention. Sometimes they did, but not for long. When he first become famous he had thought that it was a perk of being a professional athlete. Now, the routine was getting old and Josh was restless.
“Come back to bed.” The soft voice beckoned from the other side of the room.
“I can’t. I’ve got a plane to catch.” He continued to throw his belongings into the suitcase.
“Where you going? I thought maybe you’d want to spend the day together.” The woman sat up in the massive bed, not even bothering to cover herself. Josh sighed. He needed to get out of here.
“My sister’s getting married this weekend.” He grunted.
“That’s exciting!” He could tell from the way that her eyes lit up that she was fishing for an invitation. That was not going to happen.
“Yeah, I’m happy for her.” He zipped the suitcase and placed it by the door before moving toward the bathroom to collect his toiletries. The woman sauntered into the bathroom as naked as the day she was born.
“You come from a cute little small-town, don’t you?” She asked. “I’d love to see it.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Josh said with certainty. “It’s a shitty little coastal town where nothing ever happens. There’s a reason why everybody moves away from it the first chance that they get.”
The woman continued to talk but Josh was no longer listening. He was happy for his sister, but the idea of going back to Norman’s Bay held little appeal. There was nothing left for him there. Sure, his parents still lived in Norman’s Bay. After all of their support Josh had made sure that he had purchased the biggest house in town after his first big season. Not, he thought, that he had ever seen it. No, he had not been back to Norman’s Bay since he had been drafted. It was much easier to pay for his parents to fly to wherever he was staying at the time.
He could not suppress a small chuckle when he thought about how he used to plan on returning there one day. Now, the idea seemed silly.
An image flashed in his mind and he remembered the only reason he ever would have considered returning to the small town. Lori Stone. Ashley’s best friend was the only girl who had ever truly caught his interest, and held it. At one point, many years ago, he had thought that they might have had something, but he had been wrong.
He wondered what Lori was up to now. He hadn’t seen her in years. Not since she and Ashley had graduated from high school. That was right before he had been drafted to the NFL. She had been beautiful, and energetic. That summer was the first time that he had seen her as anything other than his little sister’s best friend.
She had been ready to leave the town too. She was going to college to study music and he had been certain that she would be a big name in no time. Surprisingly, he had never been able to find any work that she had released. Maybe she was going by a different name?
Josh had tried to keep in touch with Lori afterward, but she had blown him off. He smiled at the thought that he could now have any woman he wanted but the only one who had ever meant anything had ended it before it ever really had a chance to begin.
Lori had said that she felt as if she would be betraying Ashley by trying to have a relationship with him. Despite all of Josh’s best arguments he could not change her mind. Eventually, she simply stopped responding to him.
The worst part about it was that she had also stopped speaking with Ashley as well. Josh hoped that he had not been the cause of the end of their friendship. Ashley had been devastated. Lori had drifted away from them both and into her own life, wherever she was now.
The door closed behind him and Josh breathed a sigh of relief that the woman had left. He made a quick call down to his driver before exiting the room himself.
Chapter 3
Lori smoothed her hands down the lightweight dress that she had chosen for her dinner with Ashley and Wyatt. It was her best dress and she had been saving it for a special occasion, but after sitting in her closet for a year and a half she had decided that this was probably the best chance she would get.
When she entered the restaurant she had to remind herself to quit fidgeting. She straightened her shoulders and ran a hand over her soft blonde curls. She was determined to appear comfortable with this level of luxury. She was nervous. She told herself that she should not be, but she could not help it.
Lori had done the best that she could in her situation. Being a young, single mother was difficult. Though she might often wish that she had more personal accomplishments, if she had the chance she would not change a thing. Emmy was a smart, precocious, loving child and she was Lori’s pride and joy.
That did not make it any easier to walk into a restaurant and know that she was meeting with two people who were incredibly successful, and worldly. Lori laughed. She had hardly even
been outside of Norman’s Bay, let alone travelled the world.
Ashley and Wyatt were late. Lori allowed the hostess to seat her and she sipped a glass of iced water while she watched the door with a pounding heart. Would she recognize Ashley? Would Ashley recognize Lori?
Lori laughed to herself. Of course Ashley would recognize her. Though she had allowed her hair to grow out, and her breasts were a little fuller after giving birth, Lori looked exactly the same as she had the last time that she saw her friend.
When Ashley and Wyatt finally entered the restaurant, Lori had to instruct herself not to reveal the surprise that she felt. Ashley was transformed. Her light brown hair had been dyed a coppery blonde. It was twisted into an elegant top-knot that looked impossibly smooth. Lori’s naturally wavy hair would never lie like that, even if she took the time to straighten it.
She stood up and greeted her friend.
“You look fantastic!” Lori was afraid to touch Ashley. Her designer clothes were perfectly laundered, she was adorned with jewels that Lori did not even want to attempt to guess the value of, and her makeup made her look like the cover of a beauty magazine.
Ashley instantly flung her arms around Lori and pulled her close.
“Lori!” Ashley leaned back and looked at Lori with tears in her eyes. “I missed you so much. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’ll be attending my wedding.”
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Lori hugged her friend once more before they all sat down at the table.
Lori listened to the updates on Ashley’s life. Every time the conversation started to turn toward her she redirected it to the couple by claiming that this weekend was about them. Ashley seemed appeased because it was clear that she was hoping that they would have more time to catch up after the wedding. Lori could tell that Ashley was hopeful that this weekend would renew the communications that they had lost.
