Blindsided (Fair Catch Series, Book Three) Read online

  “What do you have in mind?”

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “Now that we no longer have to keep our relationship a secret, I want to take you on a real date. How would you like to go dancing?”

  A real date. Dancing with Hank. That sounded incredible. “I’d love it.”

  “I promise I won’t keep you out too late. Wouldn’t want you to be late for your first day on the job.”

  Mari remembered that he’d just finished a rough game of football. Certain he had to be sore all over, she said, “Are you sure you’re up for dancing?”

  “With you? Absolutely.”

  After they’d eaten, he brought her back to the stadium so she could pick up her car. She gave him her address and he promised to pick her up in an hour.

  She hurried home to get ready for their date, giddy with excitement.

  As she passed her empty easel, inspiration flooded her and she knew what she wanted to paint. A portrait of Hank. It was so obvious now. He was what made her life complete. Yes, she would start on the portrait the next day.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Exhilarated to go on a date with Hank, Mari smiled at her reflection as she turned this way and that. Pleased with the way she looked in the sparkly navy-blue dress that reached mid-thigh, she was eager for Hank to arrive. She pulled her long hair into a French twist and put on a pair of sapphire blue earrings, and moments later she heard a knock on her door.

  Hank looked more handsome than he had at lunch. Wearing dark slacks and a grey button-down shirt that accentuated his athletic body, it was all Mari could do to keep her hands to herself.

  “Come in,” she said, slightly embarrassed for him to see her humble home, then she gave him the tour, which lasted all of thirty seconds. “Not quite as nice as your house.”

  He gazed at her, his eyes dancing. “All I see is a beautiful woman. I don’t have anything like that at my house.”

  “Oh, Hank,” she breathed out, sliding her arms around his waist and laying her head against his shoulder.

  Hank held her close, happier than he’d been in weeks. Lifting her chin, he pressed his mouth against hers, tasting her sweet lips, something he’d missed more than he’d known. The passion she ignited in him was something he’d never felt with any other woman—not London, not Simone. No one. She was special. More special than she knew.

  “Maybe we should go,” she said, her eyes glowing when he released her.

  He nodded his agreement, then ushered her out to his car.

  Once they reached the dance club, he held her hand as they walked inside, then he immediately led her to the dance floor. Soon, a slow song came on, and as he held her in his arms and moved around the dance floor, his happiness soared to new heights.

  This is how it was supposed to be. Not hiding their love, but broadcasting it for the world to see.

  As he breathed in her unique scent, he savored the feel of her in his arms. “You smell good, Marigold,” he murmured in her ear.

  Mari loved it when he called her that because he always accompanied it with his sexy voice, the one that made her want to crawl into his arms and never leave.

  As they danced the night away, her heart sang with a level of happiness she’d never known existed. Hank was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She had no doubt. But she didn’t want to get ahead of herself.

  “I have a surprise for you,” she said as he helped her into his car at the end of the night.

  His eyebrows shot up. “Oh yeah?”

  “It’s something I left in the art studio.”

  His lips slowly lifted. “I’m intrigued.” Then he got behind the wheel. “Guess we’ll go there now so you can give it to me.”

  She laughed, excited to give him her gift.

  Soon, they arrived at his house. It felt strange to be there without Harper. It was too quiet. Sadness swept over her, but when she and Hank walked into the art studio and she went into the corner to retrieve the painting of Harper, she smiled in anticipation.

  Holding it so he couldn’t see what it was, she said, “I wanted to give this to you before, but I left in such a hurry that I forgot.” She turned it around so he could see it.

  A soft smile curved his lips, then he took the canvas from her and studied it. With a smile, he met her gaze. “I love it. It’s so Harper.” He looked at it again, then he set it on the floor, leaning it against the wall before turning to her. “You’ll see Harper soon. In another two weeks, actually.”

  Mari’s heart leapt with joy. “I miss her.”

  Hank wrapped her in his arms. “I do too.”

  Of course he did. He was her father. She shouldn’t be thinking only about herself. She smiled sadly at him. “I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble.”

  He laughed. “You’ve been worth every bit of it.” He ran his hands down her arms, sending electricity skating across her skin. “I love you, Mari.” He gazed at her, his eyes brilliant with love. “Did you know that I’m going to marry you one day?”

  She gasped as delight rushed through her. “No.” Then she grinned. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

  He smiled. “Marigold, you are the sunshine that brightens my days and the stars that light my nights.”

  Her smile was so wide that she thought her face might split in two, but her heart was whole and healthy and so filled with love for him that she didn’t know how it hadn’t burst.

  He wrapped her in his strong embrace, and as his lips pressed against hers with passion, she closed her eyes, swept up in the love they shared, the love that would never be a secret again.

  Thank you for reading Blindsided, the third book in my Fair Catch sports romance series. The next book will be about Jax Cordova, and all of the couples from the first three books will have cameos!

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  Now, enjoy the first chapter of Crushing On You, the first book in my Emerald Falls romance series. To get your copy now, click HERE. Otherwise, turn the page…

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  Crushing On You Chapter 1

  “It’s okay, Sadie,” Gabriella Peters murmured to her gray tabby as she carried her into Emerald Falls Veterinary on a mid-August morning. “If you want to start spending time outdoors, your shots will have to be up-to-date.”

  Sadie mewled in protest, but Gabby tucked her against her chest as she stepped up to the counter in the empty waiting room. “I don’t have an appointment,” she said to the woman behind the counter as she tried to hide an embarrassed smile. “But I just moved to town and thought I’d take the chance that the doctor would have time to see Sadie.”

  The woman checked her computer screen, then turned to Gabby with a smile. “Looks like today is your lucky day. The doctor can see Sadie in about fifteen minutes.”

  Smiling with relief, Gabby said, “That’s great. Thank you.”

  The woman placed her fingers on the keyboard. “Let me get some information from you.”

  She gave the woman her contact information, then the woman asked, “What brings you to Emerald Falls?”

  Holding a squirming Sadie in her arms, Gabby thought about the passing of her Aunt Mary, whose cottage she’d inherited, then considered her answer. Had it been serendipity that she’d been given the opportunity to move to Emerald Falls—the place where she’d spent many happy sum
mers in her teenaged years—right when she needed a change of scenery? She liked to think so, although she already missed Aunt Mary and her sage advice.

  She decided to keep her answer simple. “I’m going to be teaching second grade at Emerald Falls Elementary school when school starts in a couple of weeks.”

  “Oh,” the woman said with a smile. “My grandson will be in second grade there this year. Maybe he’ll be in your class.”

  Happy to feel a connection to the community, however small, Gabby’s face lit up. “Really? What’s his name?”

  “Samuel Richards, but he goes by Sam.” The woman paused. “I’m Emily Richards, by the way.”

  “So nice to meet you, Emily.” The woman’s name didn’t ring a bell from the summers Gabby had spent there. Then again, it had been ten years since her last full summer there. Plus, she had only been fifteen that year and not exactly paying attention to the adults of Emerald Falls.

  “Well,” Emily said with a warm smile. “If you’ll have a seat, the doctor should be with you shortly.”

  With a nod, Gabby turned away, then sat in one of the chairs and placed Sadie in her lap. Stroking Sadie’s soft fur, Gabby thought about the move to her aunt’s cottage—the place that held so many good memories. Her aunt had been there for her when her parents had gone through a nasty divorce when Gabby was only twelve, and for the four summers afterward, Aunt Mary had cared for Gabby while her parents had worked.

  The summer Gabby turned fifteen had been her last summer in Emerald Falls. After that, she’d gotten a job in her hometown and hadn’t been able to come for extended visits and she’d lost touch with her Emerald Falls friends. Not much for social media, Gabby had no idea which of those old friends were still in town and which ones had moved away.

  Now, as she struggled to picture the faces of the girls she’d hung out with during her summers in Emerald Falls, another face popped into her mind. A face that made Gabby’s heart do a little flip. She had no trouble remembering that particular face.

  Travis Haywood. The boy she’d crushed on from afar. The boy she had been too shy to even speak to. The boy who had gone off to college before she’d been able to gather the courage to let him know she was alive.

  Gabby remembered the summer she’d first seen Travis Haywood. She had been fifteen and had just arrived for the summer. He had been eighteen and had just graduated from high school. His family had moved to Emerald Falls late the previous year, and by the time Gabby had shown up, he’d already established himself as the boy all the girls were crazy for.

  With no desire to compete for his attention—not to mention her complete lack of flirting skills—Gabby had developed a king-sized crush on him from a distance. A crush that had not been reciprocated. How could it have been when Travis hadn’t even known Gabby existed?

  Why had she been so shy? Why was she still so shy?

  Frustrated with her lack of confidence, Gabby consoled herself by remembering the painful lesson she’d recently learned that taking chances didn’t always pay off.

  Face heating with fresh humiliation, she tried to push the unfortunate incident out of her mind.

  Sadie nipped at Gabby’s finger, yanking her out of her memories, and she realized she was holding her cat a little too tight.

  “Sorry, kitty,” she whispered as she loosened her grip.

  “You must be Gabriella Peters,” a male voice said.

  Gabby lifted her gaze from her cat to meet the deep-blue eyes of the man who stood in front of her. When recognition flooded her a split second later, her eyes widened and her throat closed up.

  The man held out his hand. “I’m Dr. Travis Haywood.”

  To pick up your copy of Crushing On You, click HERE.

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  Visit Christine Kersey’s website: ChristineKersey.com

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  To see all of Christine Kersey’s books, turn the page…

  Books by Christine Kersey

  Fair Catch Romance

  Illegal Procedure

  False Start

  Blindsided

  Park City Firefighter Romance

  Rescue My Heart

  Hearts On Fire

  Emerald Falls Romance Series

  Crushing On You: Travis and Gabriella (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book One)

  Dangerous Lies: Sawyer and Amethyst (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book Two)

  Chance Encounter: Gage and Melanie (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book Three)

  Searching for Love

  Falling for You (Searching for Love, Book One)

  Finding Reese (Searching for Love, Book Two)

  Surrender My Heart (Searching for Love, Book Three)

  Bring Me Home (Searching for Love, Book Four)

  Lily’s Story

  He Loves Me Not (Lily’s Story, Book 1)

  Don’t Look Back (Lily’s Story, Book 2)

  Love At Last (Lily’s Story, Book 3)

  Life Imperfect (Lily’s Story, Book 4)

  Parallel Trilogy

  Gone (Parallel Series, Book 1)

  Imprisoned (Parallel Series, Book 2)

  Hunted (Parallel Series, Book 3)

  After (Parallel Series, Book 4)

  The Other Morgan (Parallel Series, Book 5)

  Over You Series

  Over You

  Second Chances (sequel to Over You)

  Witness Series

  Witness (Witness, Book 1)

  Retribution (Witness, Book 2)

  Standalone Books

  Suspicions

  No Way Out

  Box Sets

  Parallel Trilogy

  Lily’s Story

  Searching for Love bundle

  About the Author

  Christine has always loved to read, but enjoys writing suspenseful novels as well. She has her own eReader and is not embarrassed to admit that she is a book hoarder. One of Christine's favorite activities is to go camping with her family and read, read, read while enjoying the beauty of nature.

  I love to hear from my readers. You can contact me in any of the following ways:

  www.christinekersey.com

  [email protected]