The Secret (Single in Seattle 1)

“I like him, too,” Kelly says with a laugh. “He loves playing for this ball club.”

Kelly and Will break off to talk about all things football, and Liv turns to me with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”

“No need. He probably speaks the truth.” She passes me a beer, takes one for herself, and then looks over the food offerings.

“Want some wings? A slider? Nachos?”

“Yes.” She laughs as I grab a plate and load it up. “Half of the fun of coming to the games is the food, and this looks really good.”

“It usually is,” she confirms and then licks some sauce off her thumb. “Let’s load up and go watch the game.”

“Good plan.”

We make our way to some seats with our full plates and beers.

“This is my uncle Matt,” Liv says, pointing with her beer to a tall, lean man who looks a little scary. “And his wife, Nic. Where are Finn and Abby?”

“Working concessions,” Nic says with a smile. “They have jobs here during the home games.”

“Well, that’s awesome. Abby’s nineteen and in college, and Finn’s only sixteen. They’re adorable. You’ll meet them. And that’s my uncle Caleb. And you know Drew, Caleb’s son.”

“Hi,” I say with a nod. “How many uncles do you have?”

“A lot,” is all she says as she takes her seat and sets her beer in a cupholder. I glance back and see Kelly seated at a table with a view of the field, still talking with Will.

She’ll come and join us when she’s ready.

“These luxury suites are nice.”

“Doesn’t Kelly sit in one with the other wives?” Liv asks.

“No, she has seats down with everyone else. Most of the other wives don’t even come to games.”

“What?” She looks clearly surprised. “Why wouldn’t they? Meg was always here in the box to watch Will. I just assumed that they all liked to come.”

“From what Kelly told me, no.” I clean the meat off a chicken bone, sip my beer, and yell at the field. “Come on, man! You had that!”

“That ref’s blind,” Matt mutters behind me as the guys set themselves up for the next play.

The quarterback throws to Jamal, who runs for the end zone, but a linebacker tackles him from the side.

Hard.

When the other man stands, Jamal stays on the ground.

“He’s not moving,” Liv says.

I glance back to Kelly, whose eyes are pinned on her husband on the field as she slowly stands.

I look down in time to see several medics run out onto the field and hover over my motionless friend.

Shit.

Chapter 12

~Olivia~

“It’s gonna be okay,” I mutter around the lump in my throat. I immediately dash up to where Kelly’s standing, her hands clasped in front of her mouth as she watches the scene below. “He’s going to be fine. They’re just not letting him move while they check him over.”

Kelly nods in agreement, but she’s clearly scared. Her brown eyes are wide, and she’s chewing on her lower lip.

And I don’t blame her one bit. Hell, I’d be terrified.

“He probably got the wind knocked out of him,” Will says in a calm, matter-of-fact voice. “That was a hard hit. He’s likely seeing some stars, catching his breath. He’ll be back at it.”

After what feels like forever, they help Jamal to his feet, and he walks with them off the field, waving to the fans as they applaud.

Kelly breathes a sigh of relief.

“He’s awake.”

“See?” Will says and reaches for a slider. I’ve known Will since I was born, and he’s never stopped eating. “He’ll be great.”

“Until he’s not,” Kelly mutters.

“You can’t think like that,” my aunt Meg says as she wraps an arm around Kelly’s shoulders. “Being married to a football player isn’t easy. I get it. You’ll worry every week. But you can only take it one game at a time. Hell, one play at a time. If you constantly worry that he’ll get hurt, you’ll drive yourself mad.”

“Yeah, well, I feel like I do that plenty,” Kelly says with a brave smile. “He’s my world. Paisley and I don’t work without him. If he were to get seriously hurt—”

“He didn’t,” Meg interrupts. “And, for today, for this moment, you can cling to that and enjoy the rest of the game. He’s a professional, Kelly. He knows what he’s doing. He also has some of the best doctors money can buy working down on that field. He’s protected. You have to trust him.”

“Yeah.” Kelly nods slowly. “You’re right. And I do trust him.”

“Good.” Meg hugs the younger woman. “And welcome to the wives’ club. It’s not like anything else. If you ever need to vent or talk, just call me. I’ll give you my number.”

“It’s definitely not like anything else. I’ll take that number. Thank you.” Kelly takes a deep breath and smiles at her phone. “He texted. Says he got a knock on the head, so they’re monitoring him for concussion. He’s out the rest of the game for concussion protocol.”