Page 40 of Playing It Forward

Corbin grunts. “You’ve been distracted all week.”

“I’m not distracted.”

“You almost tackled a tackling dummy yesterday,” Gage says.

Heat blazes over my neck. “That dummy came out of nowhere.”

Tanner clutches his chest. “He’s gone. Our quarterback’s gone. Somebody get this man a romance novel and a weighted blanket.”

Despite myself, I bark out a laugh. The tension eases slightly.

Knox doesn’t smile. “Funny. But we’ve got a problem.”

My stomach tightens. Because he’s right. And for the first time all summer, I’m starting to wonder if football is slipping away from me faster than I can stop it.

Panic slams into me. I’m not letting my Super Bowl dreams die. Nothing will stop me. Not an injured shoulder. Not a little baby. Nothing.

Chapter 14

I should not be turned on by ribbon tying.

Terri

My feet drag as I walk through the resort from my office to the event space where tonight’s anniversary party is happening. I yawn and my jaw cracks with the motion.

I need more sleep, but I’m literally sleeping nine hours every night and napping on the sofa in my office every afternoon for an hour. Any more sleep and people will worry I’ve gone into hibernation.

I enter the event space. I can’t help but smile at the Smuggler’s Hideaway theme. There are mini pirate treasure favor bags, floating candle centerpieces, and custom oyster shell place cards.

I make my way to the buffet. The tiny sailboat dessert toppers are adorable. My brow wrinkles at the seafood tower. I check the time. It shouldn’t be out until thirty minutes before the guests arrive.

Hold on. The party starts in thirty minutes. Where did the time go? Did I fall asleep at my desk again?

If this keeps happening, I’m going to have to tell Hudson I’m pregnant before I’m ready. I place a hand on my stomach. Stay safe, little mermaid. Stay safe.

I inhale a deep breath to calm myself down and end up getting a whiff of warm shrimp. My stomach rebels.

“Hey, boss!” Nadia hollers as she rushes into the room from the kitchen. Her brow wrinkles. “Why are you green?”

I motion to the seafood tower. “Bad shrimp.”

She leans forward and sniffs the tower. “Smells good to me, but there’s only one way to know for sure.” She snags a shrimp and pops it into her mouth. “Yum.”

My stomach gurgles and I slam a hand over my mouth before I spew my lunch all over the buffet. I inch backward. I was okay before the smell of shrimp hit me.

Nadia studies me. “You okay?”

“Yep. Perfectly fine.” I’m just knocked up and apparently can’t stand the smell of one of my favorite foods any longer.

“Are you prepared for the couple’s arrival?”

She checks her clipboard. “The buffet isn’t ready yet. I need to help them in the kitchen. Oh, and the message in a bottle display isn’t done.”

“What? Why not?” The display should have been done hours ago.

“Several of the bottles broke and we needed to have new ones brought over from storage. I can deal with them if you help out in the kitchen.”

Help out in the kitchen? After the smell of shrimp had me gagging? I don’t think so.