Romancing the Running Back Read Online Free Page B

with, all that. And yes, I’m getting sappy,” he added when Stephen made a face at him in the mirror. “But you can’t argue it’s a decent way to live, when it’s with the right person.”
    Stephen merely grunted.
    “Just have to find her.” And she’d have to be the right person. He was too busy with his career at the moment to put any effort into looking. If she showed up right in front of him, he’d send up a thank-you prayer and snatch her up. But the thought of adding more to his already full plate . . .
    “Hey, asswipes.” Trey jumped on the treadmill on his right and leaned against it, not bothering to even pretend he was going to run. “So I’ve been thinking about this whole ‘best man’ situation I’ve got. Cassie has a maid of honor, which is obviously Anya.”
    Why was it just her name sent a shiver up his spine? Probably a shiver of horror.
    “She swears I can’t have two best men, because that means she’d have to pick between her sisters for the other maid of honor to even things up, and she can’t do that. So I’ve got to pick one of you two losers to do the duties.”
    Stephen and Josiah pointed at each other, calling out, “Not it!”
    Trey frowned. “Harsh.”
    “It’s work, man. Don’t get me wrong, planning a bachelor party, that’s pretty sweet. But otherwise . . . writing a speechand giving it in front of people?” Josiah shook his head.
    Stephen just grunted and pointed at Josiah, silently saying he agreed while saving his breath for more important things.
    “Well, one of you two has to do it. So we’re flipping a coin.” Trey dug in the pocket of his workout shorts and pulled out a quarter. One he’d clearly brought just for this purpose because who the hell just brings a quarter with them to the gym? “Stephen is heads, Josiah is tails.”
    “Please be tails,” Stephen muttered, then stumbled a little when Josiah reached over and kicked up his speed a few notches without warning. “Asshole,” he grunted, fighting to turn the machine back down without falling on his face.
    Josiah grinned.
    Trey flipped the coin, but when he went to make the grab midair, he miscalculated, and it bounced off the top of the treadmill and rolled under a rack of weights. “Son of a bitch.”
    “Aw, guess neither of us wins. Damn,” Josiah said, smiling when Trey glared at him. “Just go get it and do it over.”
    “No, you have to see . . .”—Stephen sucked in a breath—” . . . who won where it is.”
    “That’s stupid.”
    “Is not,” Stephen wheezed.
    “Is too,” Josiah shot back.
    “Why the hell did I even ask either of you to be in the wedding? Maybe you’d like to duke it out over being the ring bearer,” Trey snapped, landing on his knees to swipe his hand under the weight rack.
    “Find it?”
    “Found something . . . oh, gross. When was the last time they cleaned in here?”
    “When you’re on the road, you get what you get,” Josiah said with an evil grin. Trey shot him the finger from his position on the floor.
    “And that’s it for me.” Stephen punched the cool-down button on his treadmill. “God, how can you just keep going? You’re like a freaking antelope.”
    “Because I like having a job. Running clears the mind. It’s good.”
    “Yeah. I think the day they were passing out endorphins, I got shorted.” Stephen wiped his face with the towel he’d draped over the arm of the treadmill.
    Josiah knew his friend was winded, but it was a hell of a lot better than he would have been a year ago, at more than fifty pounds overweight, with more alcohol than blood running through his veins. He would never be the fastest one on the team, but he damn sure was one of the healthier ones now.
    “Found it!” Trey crawled backwards and sat back on his heels. “Tails. Congrats, Josiah, you’re the best man.”
    “Aw, shucks.” Stephen slapped a large hand on Josiah’s back, propelling him forward into the control panel of the