The Quarterback Sneak by Liz Matis Page A

come from? The
thought of creating a child with him excited and scared her. He’d
be a great father, she knew, but how would she do as a mother?
    She chewed on her lip. Perhaps if she did
the opposite of everything her parents had done, she’d be okay. She
unlocked the door and turned the handle. The wall inside still had
the small dent from when she threw back her head in ecstasy on
their wedding night. Liam called it his trophy wall and refused to
have it fixed.
    “Hey, beautiful.”
    She blushed like a pre-teen instead of a
married woman of three months. But there was nothing innocent about
the way Liam’s warm smile heated her insides. He gave her a quick
kiss. Too quick for her liking.
    Handing her a glass of red wine, he said,
“Merlot. I figured you’d like a glass before dinner.”
    “But—”
    “Just because I have a problem doesn’t mean
you should deny yourself. You need to unwind.”
    He maneuvered her into the candlelit living
room. Jazz played low in the background. In no time he had her
reclining on the couch, shoes off, and her feet in his lap. She
took a sip of the wine. Ahh.
    He massaged her tired feet with hands worth
millions on the field. She relaxed into the cushions, releasing the
day’s worries from her mind and body. “I think my feet are going to
have an orgasm.”
    Liam laughed. “You can show me your undying
gratitude later.”
    “Oh, I will,” she said as he continued to
rub her feet. She considered asking him to move his hands a little
higher up her legs. Like all the way up, to work his talented
fingers on her pussy.
    “Hayden?”
    “Hmmm…?”
    “I—”
    Her dreaded cell phone buzzed. She didn’t
care if Middleton Nuts was on fire, she was not answering. Then
Liam’s phone rang.
    “It’s my agent,” he said.
    Her cell continued to buzz. She peeked at
the screen with one eye. “My assistant.”
    “Might be important.”
    While Liam left the room to take his call,
with a sigh she answered her own phone. “What’s up, Judith?”
    “I’m sorry to bother you at home, but…” Her
assistant hesitated on the other end of the line.
    “But what?”
    “That reporter Ender called looking for a
statement.”
    “A statement about what?” All the tension
Liam worked out of her body returned. What could possibly be wrong
now? She’d been good. Very good. And very happy.
    “Ender’s writing a story about your husband
that claims your marriage isn’t legal. He’s calling it “The Saint
Living in Sin.’ Ender says he has a source.”
    “Who?”
    “He’s not saying. Ender discovered your
marriage documents haven’t been filed with the City Clerk’s Office.
There’s no record of your marriage.”
    “That’s ridiculous. Judge Mayer presided
over the ceremony.” Hayden heard her voice rise with each word.
She’d never had yelled at an employee before. “I’m so sorry. I’m
not yelling at you.”
    “I understand. I’d be upset too.”
    Hayden was fuming. Was Liam receiving the
same news from his agent? She instructed Judith to issue a “no
comment” statement until they could figure out what was going
on.
    But when Liam walked back in to join her, he
was whistling like he didn’t have a care in the world. Was he happy
to learn they weren’t married? Or had his agent called about
something else?
    He hadn’t.
    “How can you whistle at a time like this?”
she demanded, pacing the living room.
    “Hayden, it’s a technicality. The judge is a
busy man.”
    “No, my father had a hand in this.” Her
panic rose with each step. “I tore up the pre-nup so he destroyed
the marriage license. Harry must have seen him do it.” She stopped.
“Harry said we would regret not helping him. This must be what he
meant. How could he do this to me?”
    “Harry must have spoke to Ender before he
went into rehab.” Liam enfolded her in his arms. “People do crazy
stuff when they’re addicts. Who am I to judge? I think Harry
deserves a second chance too.”
    “But what