The Football Star’s Secret Baby: Football’s Bad Boys, #3

By Ava Walsh

I'd rather die than tell him...

 

Olivia Snyder is making do. Her daughter, Maya, is turning two in a few months and Olivia believes she has it all under control.

 

She never really achieved her dreams because she got pregnant early…but what more could she ask for except that her daughter grows up happy?

 

But then problems start to brew. Sophie, her childhood best friend, returns to their sleepy town for a family event. Sophie and Olivia meet up for their usual girl-time. But what Sophie hasn't told Olivia is that her older brother Rufus is coming home too...

 

Rufus has made it big in NFL. He had always been the town's sweetheart but he has now quickly become the national heartthrob as well.

 

This wouldn't be an issue if Olivia wasn't still hung up on him, his classic good looks, that dimpled smile and the way he has about him which makes all women fall at his feet...

 

Olivia has secrets to hide: not only her feelings for Rufus, but also that they once slept together in college. She can never let Sophie find out that she slept with her older brother.

 

Especially not now that Rufus is back in town...

 

How will Olivia keep her secret, now that her life seems to be unravelling?

 

This is a standalone book in a series of football star secret baby romance stories. The books each have a guaranteed HEA and contain plenty of hot football players, steamy love-scenes and mature language. Definitely intended for 18+ readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heartbeat Reads
• Release date: Apr 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201397883

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Copyright © 2020 by Heartbeat Reads - All rights reserved.

In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

The Football Star's Secret Baby

A Sports Romance

By: Ava Walsh

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

About Ava Walsh

Books by Ava Walsh

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Chapter One

Olivia’s phone beeped beside her and she turned it over so she wouldn’t be troubled by the flashing light. She needed to get through this last hour without any more distractions. A woman was holding a stack of three books in her hand and waiting at the till when Olivia returned to take up her post. Three books was good, but not enough to hit her target for the day. A few people would have to miraculously appear in this last hour and purchase at least ten more books between them. The trouble was that nobody was buying physical books anymore, so independent bookstores such as the one Olivia was working at made very little money now.

She smiled at the woman anyway as she zapped the barcodes on the books and then put them in a small paper bag for her. The woman handed Olivia the exact change and walked away. Olivia sighed. She looked at her watch again, fifty-five more minutes to go.

The bookstore was empty again. Stacks of freshly printed books were piled on the front table, trying to attract passersby into the store to flip through them and, hopefully, make a purchase. Olivia stood behind the till desk, looking hopefully at the people on the street. She needed to make her target for the day, or it could mean risking her job. The management was cracking down on employees now, and getting strict with their sales targets.

Olivia caught a reflection of herself in the shop window as she remained standing, looking out. Her usual brown curls looked frizzy, given that she hadn’t had the time to properly condition them in a while. Her large gray eyes looked wide and sleep deprived, especially without any makeup. Even her lips looked chapped and tired. She quickly reached for the lip gloss she usually stored in one of the drawers and ran the tube over her lips once, knowing full well that just some lip gloss wasn’t going to cut it.

Her phone beeped again and, this time, she reached for it. The store was empty so there was no point denying herself the distraction from her boredom.

She’d received a couple of messages from Sophie again. She was in town now and wanted to meet up. Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes. They had been friends since kindergarten and had grown up together. Now Sophie lived in New York and had a fancy job at a publishing house, while Olivia was still stuck in their hometown.

She quickly sent a response back to Sophie, letting her know that she would only have a few hours on Saturday afternoon to meet. The rest of the time, she’d be busy at the bookstore or with Maya. Olivia loved Sophie, just as much as she knew Sophie loved her. But it was getting increasingly difficult to keep up with Sophie’s lifestyle now. She didn’t have the fancy lifestyle that Sophie enjoyed, didn’t live a high-flying corporate life, didn’t own the designer shoes or handbags that Sophie now flaunted. A rift was slowly developing between them, and Olivia was recognizing that they had less in common and fewer things to talk about. But she couldn’t let Sophie go, despite everything that had happened. She was still her best friend.

Sophie replied with an excited text and an invite to come over to her parents’ home, and Olivia put her phone away. It was back to praying that she got a few more customers in before closing time.

The boredom of not having anything to do resulted in her mind drifting to thoughts of Sophie again...and this time, Rufus as well, Sophie’s older brother. Rufus Frost. He was the guy who Olivia had grown up around, her teenage fantasy. She had spent her whole life drooling over and pining for him.

Rufus was destined for stardom, he always had been. In school, Rufus was one of the popular kids, while Olivia and his sister were the