Unwrapping Her Perfect Match

Sneak Peek at Tempting the Player (London Legends #3)

Dear Reader,

I don't know about you, but I love stories about vulnerable men and strong women. That's why Tempting the Player is one of my favorite books. Matt Ogden is big and tough on the outside, but he's fighting a lot of demons. His career is in the shit, and his confidence is at an all-time low. There are only two perfect things about his life: his dog Princess (a teacup Chihuahua) and his best friend Libby, who lives in the flat above his. His feelings for Libby have always been friendly, but when he gets one last chance to save his career, he realizes how much he needs her...in more ways than one.

Libby's a pilot for a low-cost airline. She mostly flies drunk guys from London to exotic European destinations. She wants a lot from life, and right now the main thing is a family. But she has had a crush on her best friend Matt for a very long time, and he's not the type to settle down. So she comes up with a way to get him out of her system...a way that will benefit them both.

Because I love Libby so much and she doesn't appear in the first chapter, I'm going to share TWO chapters with you. Hope you enjoy them!

***

Fifteen thousand spectators roared so loudly that Matt Ogden's stadium seat vibrated beneath his arse. He leaned forward, tapping his feet as his teammates lobbed the ball from one to the other. His torso swayed every time the ball went airborne. His hands clenched with every catch his team made. His quads flexed each time one of the lads sidestepped to avoid a Leinster tackler.

Matt's body unconsciously put itself on the pitch, right in the center of the action. His coach, on the other hand, didn't.

As usual, Matt sat with the other reserve players on the wrong side of the touchline. He'd held this position so long, he was tempted to update his Twitter profile to say professional seat warmer rather than fullback. He'd warmed it so often that last year the team's supporters had voted his bum the Legends' hottest.

He spared the match clock a glance. Seventy-six minutes gone. Just four left to play, and his team were up by five points. Leinster would need to score a try to tie the match and a conversion to win it.

"Come on, boys," he muttered. "C'mon, c'mon."

His team didn't need his touchline coaching. They were deep in Leinster's half, threatening their try line. If Legends could score, they would leave the good citizens of Dublin weeping into their Guinness tonight. But all they really had to do was prevent Leinster from scoring.

Legends' left winger fumbled the ball backwards, and Matt's stomach leaped up to choke him. But he needn't have worried. His rival for the fullback position, Alfie Hardwick, sprang forward and pounced on the loose ball a split second before a Leinster player flew through the air and landed on top of him. Safest pair of hands in rugby, Hardy was. The man had the distinction of committing the fewest errors in the entire league last season. Matt's chest burned with the bizarre mix of relief and annoyance he experienced every time Hardy performed a brilliant feat of magic on the pitch. Happiness for his team, and desperation for Hardy to freaking retire already and give Matt a chance.

But as the Leinster tackler rolled away and Hardy pushed the ball back toward the Legends scrum half, hope bloomed where the desperation had taken root. Blood streamed down Hardy's face. It gushed from his nose and out of a cut on his forehead. He had to come off, and someone would be chosen to be his blood replacement while the medics tried to stop his bleeding. At this point in the match, he would be off until the ref blew the final whistle.

Matt shed his jacket, slid to the edge of his seat and twisted to face his coach. Ruud Bakker glanced between his bleeding star fullback, the match clock, Matt and Sean-the younger reserve player two seats down from Matt. Cursing, Ruud-Boy swiped his hand in the air as if to say Get over here. "Oggie! You're up."