Forgetting the Rules: A Second-Chance-Romance Sports Standalone by Mariah Dietz

Author:Mariah Dietz [Dietz, Mariah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

Rose

I take a deep breath, and then another, working to slow my heart which currently aches. I don’t know if it’s his disapproval toward this fictional relationship I have with Hoyt or the fact he threw it in my face that hurts more.

I kick off my shoes and make it halfway to Olivia’s door before Juliet sashays out of the room, her tail curling around the door.

“Hi, Jules,” I whisper. “How’s our patient?”

She threads herself through my legs, meowing softly. I pet her black fur. “You were right,” I tell her. “I should have stayed home.” I give her a final pet and quietly open Olivia’s door to peek inside. She’s on her other side, the blanket I’d set on the bottom of her bed now pulled around her.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, eyeing her glass of water and the untouched crackers.

“Freezing.”

“Want me to turn up the furnace?”

“I don’t want you to be miserable.”

I shake my head. “I’ll turn it up. I’ll be right back.”

We haven’t had the furnace on all summer, causing it to smell like something’s burning as it kicks on. I go to my room and find a pair of warm socks before returning to Olivia. I dangle the socks in front of me as a warning before I flip up the blankets and find her feet, freezing and curled. I slip the socks on her and rub her feet between my hands for several minutes.

“How was brunch?” she asks.

“Anna and my dad are working for Ian’s dad with his campaign.”

Olivia’s eyes stretch with surprise. “I need details.”

I shake my head. “Those are the details,” I lie. It’s not because I don’t trust Olivia with my thoughts or even my battered feelings, but while she’s sick, the only thing I want her focused on is feeling better and resting. My drama can wait. I place my hand on her forehead. “You still have a fever.” As hard of a time as I sometimes give Anna for her hypochondriac tendencies, I feel the same fears prickle my thoughts when someone I care for doesn’t feel well.

The front door opens, and a few seconds later, Arlo appears, a plastic bag in his hand.

“You need to stay away,” Olivia warns. “You can’t get sick. You just started to play again.”

He kicks off his shoes. “Try and stop me.” He walks to the bed and gently brushes Olivia’s hair back. “I brought you some sports drinks. Those orange ones you like. And my mom said you need some zinc, so I picked some of that up, too.” He empties the contents of the bag onto her nightstand. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a bus hit me and then backed up and ran me over again.”

I smile, flipping the blankets to cover her feet again.

“Rose has been taking good care of me.”

Arlo looks at me, fondness in his soft brown eyes. “I know. She’s been texting me with updates. Sorry it took me so long to get here. The trainer wanted to

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