The Secret 🏈 Excerpt Reveal

🏈EXCERPT REVEAL 🏈

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 (𝑮𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 3) by Ava Suttonreleases next week! Check out this sneak peek!

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What to expect:

🏈Twin Brother’s Ex-Girlfriend

🏈He Saw Her First

🏈Secret Relationship

🏈Pro Football Romance

🏈Protective Hero / Soft-for-Her

🏈Woman in a Male-Dominated Field

🏈They Fall Together

🏈Found Family

🏈Strong Family Bonds / Family Tension

🏈Banter & Chemistry

Excerpt:

“I was gonna come say hi to you tonight.”

She raises an eyebrow, a knowing smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“Were you? Because it looked like you were occupied. That girl seemed very interested in getting your attention.”

So she was watching me.

“You can call me Eva, by the way. My friends call me Eva,” she says, then takes a sip of water.

“Are we friends, Eva?” I smile.

“You know we are. I would say two people who talk just about every day are friends.”

“Then how come we never hang out aside from the sidelines at the game and the world’s most boring English Lit lecture?”

“Gah! Seriously, Professor Jenkins could suck the life out of The Great Gatsby; he deserves an award.”

“I only passed because you kept me awake.”

“You only passed because I created the study guide for you.”

“It was impressive. I liked the color-coded annotations.”

She points a finger at me. “And you still asked me what symbolism was ten minutes before the exam.”

“I was making conversation.”

“You were panicking.”

“Athletes don’t panic. We strategically worry.”

Her laugh fills the space between us, warm and familiar, and it hits me the same way it does whenever I’m around her. Like home.

“I guess we never really hung out,” She says, smiling softly. “We just always found each other.”

“At games.”

“In class.”

“Walking across campus.”

“Random coffee lines.”

“Exactly.”

She shrugs one shoulder. “I guess I figured football guys had football people.”

“And I figured producer girls had… I don’t know, theater people or something.”

She smiles knowingly. “So we’re both idiots.”

“I think that’s the first thing we’ve agreed on all night.”

Her eyes hold mine for a beat longer than they should, and the rest of the party fades into background noise.

Neither of us looks away.

“Well, I’m glad I came tonight. If not, I’d forever wonder if Evangeline Carrington and I are as good of friends as I thought.” I take a swig of my beer. “You know, some people say men and women can’t be friends. Personally, I think that’s bullshit.”

She blinks and then scrunches her brow. “Oh. right.” She looks down at the label on her water bottle, peeling at the corner with her thumb. “Because they say one person is always hiding a crush.” Her eyes lift back to mine. “But…that’s not us.”

The inflection at the end of that line comes up like she’s asking a question.

My pulse kicks hard against my ribs.

This is it.

One honest sentence changes everything.

This is where I could take my shot with Evangeline. I can’t say, well, actually, Eva, I’ve been harboring a sick crush on you for a long time, and seeing you naked under me would be putting every fantasy of mine to shame. So I play it safe.

“I have plenty of girls in my life who are just friends, and I definitely don’t want to hook up with them.”

She exhales quietly. I’m not sure if it’s relief or disappointment.

 She lifts an eyebrow. Then her gaze drops to the floor for a second, and then she looks at me. “Actually, friend, I’m glad you came in here. I want to ask you something.”

“Go for it.”

She sets her bottle down and braces her hands against the edge of the counter. She looks at me dead in the eye. “Is there any reason why I shouldn’t go out with your brother?”

The bass from the other room fades to static. Yes, my brain screams. Because I’ve been kicking myself for three months for not asking you first. Because I want you. Because he doesn’t know you the way I’ve been trying to. But the words glue themselves to the roof of my mouth.

Ace is my twin. My built-in best friend. We don’t fight over girls and never have. But Ace hasn’t done anything wrong either. He has no idea that I have a thing for her. I’ve kept it entirely to myself, waiting for the perfect time, like a pussy. And now my brother has stepped into the space I wanted. He’s asked her out; otherwise, why would she ask me?

So if I tell her yes, if I make my claim now, I’ll be throwing a wrench into my brother’s plan for a girl I have no right to.

I can’t do that to him. I love him too much. 

So I force my face to stay blank and let out a hollow laugh that feels like I’m swallowing glass. “Ace? Nah. He’s a good guy. An idiot sometimes, but his heart is gold.”

Eva searches my face, her eyes scanning mine like she’s looking for a crack or a sign telling her to say no to him. But I hold her gaze, praying she can’t see the lie in my eyes.

Not that I’m fully lying. My brother is great. But I want her for myself.

She takes a deep breath and holds it, then releases it. “Right,” she says, nodding. “Okay. Good to know.”

It might be wishful thinking on my part, but I swear I see a flicker of hurt or disappointment in her eyes. Or maybe she was just being friendly all this time because she liked my brother and was trying to get closer to him.

“Yeah,” I choke out, forcing a smile. “If he asks you out and you say yes, he’s a lucky guy.”

Before she can respond, Ace walks in, his face lighting up the second he sees us.

“Oh, hey. There you are,” he says, walking toward Eva and placing a hand on her shoulder. “The guys are setting out a new round of beer pong outside. You coming?”

“Sure,” she says softly. Her smile is aimed at Ace, but she gives me one last unreadable look. “I’ll be out there in a second. Let me grab my friends.” Then she turns and walks away.

“I’ll be here,” Ace calls after her, grinning. He grabs my arm, eyes wide and excited, and leans into me. “Did she say anything about me?”

I force myself to smile. “Why? What’d you do?”

“I asked her out.”

And there’s the confirmation that I did the right thing by not saying anything to her.

“I swear, brother, I think she might be my soulmate. There’s just something about her, you know?”

I did know. And I know I feel like I can barely breathe.

“Soulmate, huh?” I let out a rough laugh, slapping his shoulder hard. “You turning into a sap like Archie, Ace?” I tease, comparing him to our older brother who’s head over heels for his wife, Emma.

“F*ck yes,” he says, punching my arm before turning to walk out the door to the backyard. “She could be my Emma,” he says over his shoulder.

I stand there for a minute and watch him walk away. My stomach is in knots. But I can’t sit here and sulk all night. So I walk out of the kitchen and blend back into the crowd. The noise washes over me, but inside my head … nothing.

Three months of hesitation. Three months of waiting for the right time.

And just like that, I’ve missed my chance.

BLURB:

I knew falling for Evangeline Carrington would ruin everything.

I just didn’t know how fast.

She was my twin brother’s girlfriend in college.

But I’d wanted her first.

Gorgeous, sharp-tongued, impossible to ignore, Evangeline is the kind of woman you never really forget. And when I run into her at a teammate’s wedding years later, one dance turns into too many drinks … and one reckless night neither of us can take back.

I try putting distance between us again, but that becomes impossible once Evangeline starts covering my team as a field producer. She’s determined to prove she earned her place, and keeping us a secret is the only way to protect the career she’s fought for.

And I want to keep us a secret because my brother wants her back.

But secrets like ours were never built to survive.

Not with cameras following her every move, looking for a scandal.

Not with my brother suddenly showing up at my games and making a play for my girl.

And definitely not when every stolen touch between us feels less like a mistake … and more like something neither of us is willing to give up.

Because the deeper I fall for Evangeline, the more impossible the decision becomes—choosing my family … or the woman I think was always meant to be mine.

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