Title: Off Season
Series: Nashville Fury, Book 3
Author: Chelle Sloan
Contemporary Romance; Sports/Football Romance; Second Chance Romance
This is a game I’m not willing to lose.
When you’re at the top of professional football, the fall to the bottom is steep.
I was the king of Nashville. Now I’m the problem child.
One minute I’m the face of the franchise. Next thing I know I’m being sent away after my self destructive ways have become too much to handle.
Little does my team know that sending me back to my hometown is the worst thing they could have done.
She’s here. The one who broke me. The one who sent me to rock bottom.
She’s also the only one who can put my damaged self back together.
I’ve loved Lucy Valenti since the moment I met her. Her big brown eyes and kind smile hooked me in. Her faith in me made me want to be a better man. She’s the only one who has ever seen me as more than a football player.
She was my end game. My final play. But I ran out of time.
Or did I? Because I can’t ignore the sparks that fly when we are around each other. Or the heat that still burns between us.
I always said the offseason was going to be our time. And if I don’t throw one last Hail Mary, it might be the end.
And this is a game I’m not willing to lose.
**The Nashville Fury series is a series of interconnected, standalone, sports romances.**
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“Come here,” I say, pulling her to me so I can kiss her long and deep.
“What was that for?” she asks when I finally release her lips.
“I’m trying to remember . . . I think I did, but I wanted to make sure . . . have I told you tonight I love you?”
Her laugh hits me in all the right spots. “Only a few times.”
I lean back on the table, keeping her in my arms.
“You know”—I turn a little and pat the table—“this is the spot where I fell in love with you.”
Her eyes grow wide at my statement. “You did? When?”
“The day you asked if I was Bryce Donald.”
Her eyebrows go up so high it’s comical. “The first time you met me? Bryce, you didn’t even know me. I was the new girl in town who spouted off math stats to anyone who would listen.”
“Yeah, you were.” I can’t help but smile at the memory. “I knew from the first moment I laid eyes on you that you were different. I didn’t know it was love then. I was a teenager and stupid and thought the only thing that mattered was football. Yet, from the moment you walked into my life with your big brown eyes and your huge heart and random math facts, you’ve made me a better man. You’ve made me want to be a better man, even though I didn’t always show that. You changed my life that day, and I’ve loved you ever since.”
Her eyes soften as her hands travel up to cup my cheeks. Usually when she does this, she’s bringing me in for a kiss. But this time all she does is let her thumb slowly stroke back and forth. Like she’s memorizing my face. I should know. It’s what my hands do every time they touch her body.
“Do you want to know the moment I knew I loved you?”
I lean forward so our foreheads are touching. “When was that?”
“The first time you called me Lulu.”
I chuckle softly before kissing her forehead. I stay there a little longer than I intend to. It helps me push back the stray tear that’s trying to come out.
“I knew you loved it.”
“I only loved it because it came from you.”
I tip her chin up and lean in, bringing our lips together for the hundredth time tonight.
“I’m going to miss you so fucking much.”
My voice cracks, and she runs her hands through my hair, trying to soothe me. “I’m going to miss you too, but it’s only a few months. We’re different now then we were then. We love each other and have thought this through. We’ve got this. You and me. September will be here before we know it.”
Her words are strong. Confident.
She believes in us. She believes in our love.
She believes in me.
I guess I only have one thing to do: make sure I’m worthy of it.
“Come here,” I say, pulling her to me so I can kiss her long and deep.
“What was that for?” she asks when I finally release her lips.
“I’m trying to remember . . . I think I did, but I wanted to make sure . . . have I told you tonight I love you?”
Her laugh hits me in all the right spots. “Only a few times.”
I lean back on the table, keeping her in my arms.
“You know”—I turn a little and pat the table—“this is the spot where I fell in love with you.”
Her eyes grow wide at my statement. “You did? When?”
“The day you asked if I was Bryce Donald.”
Her eyebrows go up so high it’s comical. “The first time you met me? Bryce, you didn’t even know me. I was the new girl in town who spouted off math stats to anyone who would listen.”
“Yeah, you were.” I can’t help but smile at the memory. “I knew from the first moment I laid eyes on you that you were different. I didn’t know it was love then. I was a teenager and stupid and thought the only thing that mattered was football. Yet, from the moment you walked into my life with your big brown eyes and your huge heart and random math facts, you’ve made me a better man. You’ve made me want to be a better man, even though I didn’t always show that. You changed my life that day, and I’ve loved you ever since.”
Her eyes soften as her hands travel up to cup my cheeks. Usually when she does this, she’s bringing me in for a kiss. But this time all she does is let her thumb slowly stroke back and forth. Like she’s memorizing my face. I should know. It’s what my hands do every time they touch her body.
“Do you want to know the moment I knew I loved you?”
I lean forward so our foreheads are touching. “When was that?”
“The first time you called me Lulu.”
I chuckle softly before kissing her forehead. I stay there a little longer than I intend to. It helps me push back the stray tear that’s trying to come out.
“I knew you loved it.”
“I only loved it because it came from you.”
I tip her chin up and lean in, bringing our lips together for the hundredth time tonight.
“I’m going to miss you so fucking much.”
My voice cracks, and she runs her hands through my hair, trying to soothe me. “I’m going to miss you too, but it’s only a few months. We’re different now then we were then. We love each other and have thought this through. We’ve got this. You and me. September will be here before we know it.”
Her words are strong. Confident.
She believes in us. She believes in our love.
She believes in me.
I guess I only have one thing to do: make sure I’m worthy of it.
Spend time with the Nashville Fury
a series of interconnected, standalone sports romances
Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon | Amazon Worldwide
Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon | Amazon Worldwide
Check out the awesome GIVEAWAY for Off Season HERE
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Chelle is a contemporary romance author who writes happily ever afters with a lot of love with a little bit of humor mixed in. A native of Ohio, Chelle decided that after a decades-long career in sports journalism, it was time to take a step back. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in journalism and is set to graduate from her program in 2021. She is a diehard Cleveland sports fan, is the owner of way too many, yet not enough, tumblers and will be a New Kids on the Block fan until the day she dies. She also does her best writing at Starbucks, where you can usually find a venti caramel frappucino on her table. As for her own happily every after? Maybe one day…
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