Jason lowered his eyes. “I wasn’t thinking straight then, and a part of me knew you’d never really consider it. You know, I tried, but you are a hard woman to love.”
“She’s not hard to love. I’m doing just fine.” Seth’s deep, soft, yet firm voice crackled through the air like a cherry bomb on the Fourth of July.
Jason looked up, clearly angry. “Man, who the hell are you? Morgan, who the hell did you bring?”
Seth stepped forward and extended his hand. Jason looked at Seth’s hand, which was damn near double the size of his. “My name is Seth Blake, and I’m Morgan’s husband.” He gave Jason a big ol’ country boy smile.
The barbecue suddenly went silent. People were in corners whispering and Jason looked like he’d just seen his dearly departed grandmother.
Someone yelled out, “Oh, hell no!” and someone else burst into laughter. Morgan knew it was time for this travesty to end.
“It’s rude not to shake my brother-in-law’s hand, Jason,” Charles yelled. “So I guess my sister doesn’t need your half-assed breakup speech anyway!”
Morgan took a step back, resting on Seth a bit. He put his arm around her waist.
Suddenly Charisma went off topic. “You’re Seth Blake. The quarterback for the Titans?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Charisma, you don’t have to worry. I found a man who could handle all of my needs. So you and Jason have my blessings,” Morgan said.
“When did all this happen?” Jason barked.
“Oh, we got married on the island you let her go to all by herself,” Seth said.
“Morgan?” Jason looked at her.
“Jason, you have no right to pretend to be hurt. You’ve got to be kidding me. What you and my half-assed cousin did was months in the making.”
“So you’re leaving me for Seth Blake?” Jason said Seth’s name with such wonder in his voice she wasn’t sure exactly which gambit of emotions he was processing at the moment. He kind of sounded like he wanted an autograph.
“No. Actually you left me. And we’re both better off. Maybe we can both find the happiness we obviously weren’t getting from each other.”
“Seth Blake or not, I’m gonna kick your ass.” Jason lunged closer, but Morgan took a few steps and kneed him in the groin. Jason went down with a loud groan and fell upon his knees. Seth went to intervene, but her father said, “Seth, she got it.” Not one of her brothers moved.
“Jason!” Charisma yelled and bent down beside him. “You bitch!”
“Seth, I think the party is over,” she said as she took his hand in hers.
“You okay?” He kissed her hand.
She nodded. Morgan kneeled down and spoke softly to Jason. “Jason, do everyone a favor and stay down. I didn’t see the Super Bowl, but the man didn’t win MVP for nothing. And you have four very angry men behind him. Do the smart thing for once in your life.”
* * *
Seth was on the phone talking to his publicist. Even though he was pacing up and down the corridor of the private plane, she could hear his responses. He said he was in charge of his personal life. He finished the call and sank down in the white leather chair opposite hers.
“So how bad is it?” she asked.
“Not bad at all. Certainly not anything I wasn’t already expecting,” he said, smiling at her. “Someone called my publicist and asked for confirmation that I broke up your engagement to Jason and stole you from him.”
“Engagement?”
“Yeah.”
“It was probably—”
“No matter who said what, it was going to become public knowledge anyway, Morgan. I don’t want to evade questions any more. I want everyone to know we are married.”
“Won’t this hurt your career?”
“I like to call moments like these media speed bumps.” He laughed.
She smiled in response. “Not that I don’t appreciate it when you said you wanted to cheer me up after that fiasco of a barbecue, but where are we going?”
All she’d been able to see was the plane ascending from the private airport and was now headed in some unknown direction.
“We are going to my ranch in Texas.”
Morgan’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. “Don’t you have to shoot a commercial in a few days?”
“Yes. We will be here three days max, and then we go back.”
“I can’t take off like this, the bookstore…” She huffed.
“I called Michelle and asked if she would do me a super huge favor in return for tickets in my box this season.”
“You are slick, Seth Blake.”
“I prefer the words crafty, spontaneous, and good under pressure.”
“No, slick aptly describes what you did.”
“If you say so, Morgan Blake,” he said as he gazed into her eyes. “That name growing on you yet?”
“I’m warming up to it.”
“Good.” Seth leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth.
* * *
The Twelve Horseshoes ranch was a huge piece of land. Morgan fell in love immediately with the house and the stables. The staff welcomed her and, to her surprise, she didn’t get one strange look. She got a few howdy ma’ams and the house staff addressed her as Mrs. Blake. Again she was in the center of contrasts. His Philadelphia penthouse life was nothing like his ranch life. She wandered around as Seth made phone calls. He seemed busy so she found her way down to the stables on her own.
She walked through the barn, acclimating herself to the smells. This was Seth’s world. Not playing football in some city no matter how much they paid him. She felt his soul resonating on the ranch.
As she walked through the stables, she saw a short, older woman coming her way with a horse. She was dressed in dusty jeans, a red long-sleeved shirt, and had a cowboy hat pulled closely over her eyes. She appeared to be one of the ranch hands. The woman stopped in front of her.
“Hi, there. You must be Morgan,” the woman said.
Morgan peeped under the woman’s cowboy hat and replied, “Yes, it’s nice to meet you. That is a beautiful horse.”
The horse was a lovely brown color with a white patch near the center of his head. He looked serene but feisty at the same time.
“Yes, he is. He’s a new edition to our family. Seth got him last week.”
“I don’t know much about horses, and I certainly haven’t been up close to many, but he’s magnificent.” Morgan breathed as she reached out and stroked his mane. “Have you known Seth long?”
“All his life.” The woman smiled enigmatically.
“What’s his name?”
“Reed’s Fire,” Seth said from behind her.
Morgan turned around and smiled. “Odd name for a horse.”
Seth came behind her and put his arms around her waist. “Reed’s Fire is much like his owner. Sweet and tender one minute and hell on wheels the next. I think you two will get along great.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Seth then lifted the older woman, twirled her around, and let out a yell. “It’s good to be home! I missed you, Mama.”
“I missed you too, baby.”
“Morgan, this is my mom, Teri Lyn Blake.” He smiled sweetly.
“No need in running now, honey, you’ve already married my son,” Teri Lyn said with a hearty laugh.
Morgan didn’t realize she’d begun backing slowly out of the barn after Seth’s declaration. “Oh! I didn’t mean…”
“Don’t worry,” his mother drawled, “I’m familiar with the fight-or-flight syndrome.”
“Mama has a wicked since of humor.” He winked.
His mother turned to him. “She is exactly as you described her. I think she and Reed’s Fire will get along great.”
* * *
After two hours of goading and encouragement, Morgan was finally on Reed’s Fire. Seth had saddled up Iris and they were taking a leisurely stroll. As the sun began to set behind a clearing, Seth stopped.
“I have a confession to make. I crashed into you on the beach. I was trying to get your attention. Actually, I’d been trying to get your attention for three days, and I was getting desperate. I had Patton throw a long pass but I underestimated how far he’d throw after having six of those Tropical Depression drinks. It was either you get hit in the face with the ball or get tackled by me.”
Morgan smiled but remained silent.
“I love you, Morgan. I think I fell in love with you that day I saw you getting off that plane on the island,” Seth declared.
“I love you too, Seth.” She leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. “But I’m gonna tell our kids that you ran into me accidentally.”
“Is that right?” he drawled. “And how many kids are we going to have?”
“At least three. The accidental thing is more romantic, I think.”
“You think so?” He kissed her hand.
“Trust me. I’m an avid reader and a bookstore owner. People love a juicy plot like that. It was fate. Blah, blah, blah.” She laughed.
“About your bookstore. My business manager has a talent for finding rare business opportunities. I told him about your store, and he thinks there’s good potential for expansion. He’s thinking a bigger place at a building downtown, and then within six months you can open your second store.”
“Seth,” she said, exasperated.
“Who knows where it will lead? You could expand on your children’s section. I’m sure Michelle will come up with more crazy promotional ideas. But you wouldn’t lose sight of that atmosphere you want for your customers. Cozy and intimate without being too commercial. A home away from the public library.”
She laughed.
“I may one day be that guy who’s married to Morgan Reed of the national chain Reed Books. I just want you to be able to pursue your passion in life. I have football and the ranch. You have your books. With any luck we’ll have brainy, athletic kids.”
“Sounds good to me, number twelve.” Morgan leaned forward and kissed Seth. She could see in his eyes the children they would have running around the house. And she didn’t worry about how they would manage to have lives in between his football career and her building a media empire. As long as they made a pact that family came first, the rest would be easy. The sun was saying its final good-bye for the day, but not before it blanketed Seth’s land with a golden hue. She felt much like she did that day when she’d stepped off the plane and into paradise. But this time she was hopeful about her future with the man who had been taking her breath away since the day he ran into her on the beach. All she had to do was look up from her literary fantasy to see it was time to start filling in the pages of her own book.
~ About the Author ~
Rhonda Laurel is a New Jersey native whose two great loves are creative writing and landscape photography. In 1995 she began her writing debut with her short story she crafted as a way to pass time in between her college classes. Since that time her work has appeared in various publications over the years and has never given up on her passion for bringing literary worlds to life.
“I began writing romance as an exercise to get my creative juices flowing. The more I wrote, the more I systematically became emotionally invested in the lives of my characters. Bringing life to my characters sparks my passion as a writer. Writing, to me, is like whispering a subtle, yet juicy secret, in the ear of an unsuspecting person.”
Find out more about Rhonda Laurel here:
http://www.rhondalaurel.com
~ Also by Rhonda Laurel ~
Ebb Tide
Simmering passion at play.
Natalie Griffin is an attorney who is practical, smart and good at her job. Legalese is the least of her worries, for much of her time is spent keeping her employer, playboy extraordinaire Evan Darchon, out of trouble. Natalie has managed organize everything for him--his company, his home, and his women--but if she could teach him to control some of his wilder impulses, her job would be a heck of a lot easier.
But what about her impulses? Her cool, controlled demeanor is the perfect complement to Evan’s wild side, but she craves the carefree way he makes her feel. His attraction is obvious, but can either of them afford to rock the boat of their professional relationship?
Halloween Heat VI
An Anthology of Erotic Contemporary Romance
Four erotic stories of contemporary romance with just the right amount of Halloween spice to warm up those cool autumn nights.
“Party Games” by Mina Carter
“Punished by the Cowboy” by Sue Lyndon
“Unmasked” by Brooklyn Wilde
“Masquerade” by Rhonda Laurel
~ More Contemporary Romance from Etopia Press ~
Walk Like a Man
© 2012 Sue Swift
Champion quarterback Jim Wellman has had only one goal since childhood: to be the best quarterback in the NFL and win a Super Bowl ring. And he succeeded. But when an injury leaves him in a wheel chair, he loses his determination to win. Feeling powerless, he forces himself to come to grips with the fact that he's lost everything and will never walk again.
Marti's hearing nothing but nonsense from the arrogant celebrity athlete, and she's having none of it. While she's attracted to his bedroom smile and rugged good looks, she's intimidated by his fame--though she's not about to let him know that. What he needs is a good swift kick, and if anyone can goad him out of his wheel chair, it's Marti...
Jelly’s Big Night Out
© 2012 Patty Campbell
Passion, fashion, and secrets...
After life took a tragic turn, Jelly Swanson had no time for men. Providing a safe, nurturing home for her little sister and running a successful boutique left her too busy for much else, and forced the idea of a love life to the back burner. But when she goes to school for a teacher's conference, her sister Emi's science teacher takes Jelly completely by surprise. And getting pregnant with his baby? That's not at all part of the plan.
The last thing Henry Palasczewski is looking for is romance. With a broken engagement behind him, he's interested only in the job he loves and the students who adore him. Then Jelly walks into his classroom, and he's dazzled by her sexy, flamboyant manner. She's way out of his league—he's a science nerd, not a movie star—but the chemistry between them is undeniable.
But when Emi goes missing, a tangle of secrets and past loves may destroy any chance they have at happiness...
The Drunkard's Path
© 2012 Sylvia Madsen
Cameo Muldoon is an independent single mom with a busy life and no use for dreamers. Managing her family's organic farm in Northern California and raising a young boy leaves her little time for a personal life, but she manages to steal time to sew beautiful handmade quilts and talk to her pet rabbit, Attila the Bun.
Reporter Call Sanchez's idea of a wilderness experience is dining al fresco. But after a story gone bad, he’s lucky to have a job. He's more than happy to take his next assignment: a feature on Mad Jack's Wilderness Experience in the beautiful, old-growth forest of Northern California. But soon the reports of pot farms, bear attacks, and alien abductions make his investigative antennae twitch, and he suspects the truth is more sinister than local legends and tall tales. What he doesn't expect is to fall for the lovely Cameo Muldoon, with her organic farming and carrot cake.
And neither of them expects the trouble that's come to the quiet little town of Nugget...
Make or Break
© 2011 Lori Whitwam
A writer, a musician, an unexpected love…and a killer who wants to destroy it all.
Abby never dreamed she'd meet her rock-n-roll fantasy, Seth Caldwell, by crushing his guitar under the wheels of her Jeep. Twice. Seth wants to strangle her, but soon the snarks turn to sparks, and he revokes his longstanding rule against getting involved with women on the road.
But when an attempt is made on Seth’s life, everyone’s a suspect. Abby’s determined to hang on to the tenuous tie
s they’ve developed, but Seth’s determined to keep her safe...even if he has to push her away in order to do it...
Table of Contents
~ Look for these titles from Rhonda Laurel ~
Copyright Warning
For the Love of the Game
~ About the Author ~
~ Also by Rhonda Laurel ~
~ More Contemporary Romance from Etopia Press ~
For the Love of the Game Page 6