Clutch Player – Cocky Hero Club Read online Nikki Ash

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Romance, Sports Tags Authors:
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Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
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“A few years ago… when I met Simon, I found out… information about Ben that changed the way I saw him. I learned my entire marriage to him wasn’t what I thought it was.” She goes on to tell me the entire story—how she found out the car accident Ben was in was with his co-worker who turned out to be a woman he’d been having an affair with for years behind her back.

By the time she’s done with her story, I’m in shock. “Bridget, I’m so sorry.” I hate that we’re on the phone and I can’t hug her. I can’t imagine finding that out after my husband was dead and couldn’t explain or defend himself.

“It’s okay,” she says. “My point is when I found out what Ben had done—what he had hid from me—I questioned everything. My love for him, my marriage, myself. Everything I had ever known was now a lie.”

“I can’t even imagine.”

“It was hard, but Simon was there for me. I could’ve easily pushed him away. Told him I didn’t want to get married because I was scared it would happen again, but you know why I didn’t?”

When I don’t say anything, almost positive I already know where she’s going with this, she continues. “I couldn’t live my life in fear, Harp. I had to trust that Simon’s love for me was enough. I’ve seen you and Landon together,” she says. “He is great with your kids and is head over heels in love with you. What happened with you and Richard isn’t you and Landon, and it’s not fair to either of you to try to compare the two relationships.”

I know she’s right, but at the same time… “What if love isn’t enough?”

“I guess you just have to trust it is,” she says. “There are couples who have been married for thirty years and wake up one day deciding they’re no longer in love and want a divorce. But that doesn’t mean they never should’ve gotten married. Sure, it’s sad they’re getting divorced, but what about all those years they were happy?”

Well, when she puts it like that… “Thank you so much, Bridget. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“And you’ll never have to find out. Now go call Landon, tell him to come over, and tell him you’re pregnant.”

“I have to get the kids.” I glance at the clock and see it’s already almost noon. I can’t remember the last time I slept in this late.

“I’ll get them,” she offers. “They can even spend the night. Go talk to him.”

“Okay, thank you.”

We hang up, and I pull up Landon’s name, about to call him, when there’s a knock on my door. Thinking he’s come back to talk, I jump out of bed and run to the front door. I swing it open, only to find it’s Richard on the other side.

“Oh, it’s you,” I say, disappointed it’s not Landon.

“Real nice, Harp,” Richard says as he walks inside without permission. “We need to talk.”

“About?” I close the door behind him and turn around.

“Landon.”

I groan, not wanting to go another round with him. I can’t even imagine how he’s going to react once he finds out I’m pregnant.

“There’s something you should know about the man you’re allowing our kids to be around.”

“I know everything there is to know about Landon.”

“Oh, really?” The corner of his mouth quirks up into an evil smirk. “So, then you know he killed Melissa…”

“What?” I give him a confused look, not understanding what the hell he’s talking about. Why would he say something like that?

“The night she died… she hooked up with Landon and then he killed her.”

As I repeat the words he’s just said in my head, trying to make sense of them, my brain begins to feel foggy. My heart picks up speed and it’s hard to breathe. I try to catch my breath, but I’m having trouble swallowing down enough oxygen. Landon hooked up with Melissa… He killed her…

I think back to the day she died. It was the same day Landon showed up at my doorstep and I told him I was pregnant and engaged. My stomach churns and acid burns my throat. My body feels overheated. My hand touches my forehead. I’m sweating. And before I know what’s happening, I’m seeing black dots behind my lids.

The last thing I hear as everything around me fades is Richard asking me if I’m okay.

Thirty

Landon

“I need to get one Oreo McFlurry, please.”

“One Oreo McFlurry. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Please drive to the first window for your total.”

After paying the cashier, then grabbing the McFlurry, I head over to Harper’s house to talk to her while the kids are still at camp. When she told me last night she wasn’t feeling well, I knew she was only saying it to push me away, and I allowed her to do so. But only because I knew why.


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