Page 3 of Her Football Star Ex

“Well, I guess that’s good. Having such a distraction had probably kept the players from recovering as quickly as they should have in the past.”

Having a female help with Vincent’s rehabilitation after his Achilles tendon injury had proven too much of a temptation for him to resist.

Which was why I was in this predicament of needing to find a date in the first place.

If he’d just come home after practice like he was supposed to that October night over a year ago, instead of going to the bar and getting drunk before running into Victoria who was drunk and on the rebound herself, we’d probably still be married. And I’d have a date to weddings lined up for the rest of my life.

“Maybe he’s bringing one of the cheerleaders?” I asked, still trying to figure out who he might be seeing now. “Or maybe one of the super fans who always seems to find out which hotel the guys are staying at before their in-town games?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I honestly don’t know who he’s asked?” Kira looked like she regretted bringing up the topic of plus-ones in the first place.

And I felt guilty for making this about me when the wedding was a celebration for her and Derek. It must be hard being close friends with a couple who got divorced.

Vincent and I had been the ones to set her and Derek up in the first place. It had been the perfect match since both guys played for the same team while Kira and I worked together. We’d always had the same weekends off to go on trips together. They adored Jaxon, and once Kira and Derek were married, we had planned to ask them to be his godparents.

Things had been great.

Until they weren’t.

And now, since I was one of her bridesmaids and Vincent was the best man, I would be forced to look at Vincent across the aisle as Kira and Derek said “I do.”

It made me sick just thinking about being at the wedding with him, but not “with” him.

And, of course, all the other Dragons teammates and their wives would be there to watch it and judge me.

Since we’d never gone public with the reasons behind our divorce, all sorts of rumors had spread through the gossip mill that was the Dragon Ladies. I could only guess what they had said about me when they heard that I’d filed for divorce from the living legend that wasVincent Lake.The tabloids had certainly raked my name through the coals with all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories.

“What are you thinking about?” Kira seemed to study my face when I pulled up to a stoplight a block from our office building.

“I’m just imagining seeing the other Dragon Ladies again.”

“I bet everyone will be happy to see you,” Kira said in her delusional, happy tone.

I snorted. “Yeah right.” They were never happy to see me, even before I stopped trying to be their friend.

I had always been a bit of an outcast from the circle of Dragons’ wives—being one of the few who chose to have a career of her own instead of staying home and raising babies.

Could I bear sitting at the singles table with everyone watching and whispering about me? Because there was no doubt in my mind that the ringleader of the group, Chelsea Stockton, would have all sorts of things to say about me and the downgrading of my social status since the divorce.

“How upset would you be if I suddenly got the flu on your wedding day?” I looked at Kira with innocent eyes.

“Don’t even think about it.” She shook her head. “You’re a bridesmaid. You will be at my wedding.”

“Then I guess I better find a boyfriend quick because there’s no way I’m showing up alone with all those people just waiting for me to fail.”

I needed someone tall with broad shoulders.

I started making a list of my preferences in my head.

Brown hair would be ideal, since I had a major weakness for guys with darker features. A strong jaw was also a must. Eye color didn’t really matter, as long as his eyes were vibrant with life…

I continued piecing together the physical attributes of my ideal man in my head as we drove down Main Street, scanning up his imaginary torso in my mind’s eye. A torso held a guy’s heart and securing that for the long haul had turned out to be one of the trickiest parts for me.

He definitely needed to have big, strong arms to hold me tight as we danced at Kira’s wedding. And a little scruff on his jawline wouldn’t hurt, either. I was a sucker for guys like that.

My mind’s eye pieced together my dream man’s face. But when the eyes came into focus, I gasped, because my mind had betrayed me.

I thought I’d been piecing together a dream guy whom I’d never met, but when the eyes formed, I realized I hadn’t been conjuring up someone new at all. Instead, I’d just re-imagined my ex-husband.

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