His Forever Love

  His Forever Love

  Lucy Darling

  Copyright © 2021 by Lucy Darling

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  “If you’re alone, I’ll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I’ll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I’ll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I’ll be your smile. But anytime you need a friend, I’ll just be me.”

  – Unknown

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Also by Lucy Darling

  CONNECT WITH ME!

  Summary

  Football is my life, has always been my life. Until I met her. Willow is just the distraction I don’t need when I’m trying to restart my career from NFL player to college coach.

  What’s worse? She’s a freshman.

  I may be the youngest NCAA head coach in history, but I’m still too old for her. Too big too, I played in the league as an offensive lineman. She’s tiny compared to me. Innocent, naïve, and completely off limits—Willow tempts me even when she isn’t trying to.

  I should walk away from her. But I can’t. She calls me her bear, and I’ve never wanted anyone the way I do her. If I have to fight off half my team to keep her to myself, I will. For her, I’ll risk my career and my reputation. Because winning her is the only game I can’t afford to lose.

  1

  Willow

  “I think I’m going to enjoy having Reid around. I should get me one of these boyfriend things,” I tease my best friend Zoey.

  We’re both lying on the sofa as Reid puts things together for us. I think it’s our desks he’s working on now. He’s also breaking down all the boxes and running everything up and down for us.

  “Those muscles of his aren't only for when he’s on the field.” Zoey wiggles her eyebrows. “You should be in the market for one. These boyfriends can do many things.”

  I laugh. I’m not sure there are many men out there like Reid. A man who put his mark on Zoey before either of them knew what that really meant. He’d do anything for her.

  “You okay?” Reid walks into the living room, going straight for Zoey.

  “I’m fine. Relaxing.” She lets out a yawn.

  “I’m sorry.” He leans down and kisses her. I’m about to ask why he’s sorry but quickly realize it likely has something to do with waking her up during the night. “The desks are done.”

  “Thank you.” I stand to go see them. Zoey and I moved in today. We’re a few weeks away from classes starting. We decided to move in early so we could get settled, and Zoey was itching to get out here. Kingston University is a few hours away from home, and Reid had to come out early for football crap. I was down to move whenever.

  “This is amazing.” Zoey rests her head on my shoulder. She’s the reason I’m here to begin with. I never really had a plan. Zoey, on the other hand, always has one. I think it’s one of the many reasons why when we met we became instant best friends. We balance each other. She was the one that made me start to think about what I would do when high school was over.

  A few months hanging out with her and I suddenly had a goal of getting into Kingston, and that’s what we set out to do. We worked hard to do it and accomplished it together. We joined so many clubs and took on all sorts of extra crap so that we could slap it on our applications.

  There were too many late-night study sessions to even count, but the only thing that mattered in the end was that we’d done it. Zoey had knocked it out of the park, getting a full ride. She tested crazy high. I was happy to know that I’d gotten in based on my own hard work. That my parents hadn’t used their money or influence to get me accepted.

  “Wills, I’m not sure how—”

  “Don’t,” I cut her off. “First off, it’s not me. It’s my parents and, well, grandparents. It’s the least they can do.” I’d talked Zoey into not staying in the dorms. I got us a place that’s a five-minute walk to campus. A super cute condo that my dad is footing the bill for. “I’ve practically lived with you and your mom through most of high school. It seems fair to me.” Zoey has no clue how much having her and her mom as a support system through high school meant to me.

  “You act like you’re a pain to be around or something.” She grabs the tip of my ponytail. “You’re not.” She stares me down. I loved it over at Zoey’s. Her mom Quinn became like a foster mom to me.

  I’d grown up in a beautiful home. Zoey’s childhood home could fit into my parents’ house a good ten times if not more, but it is warm and welcoming. Unlike the home I’d grown up in which was cold and lonely. There has never been something I’ve asked for that I wasn't given. Except attention or time.

  Even this condo. When we got here this morning, Zoey was shocked to see all the stuff that was already here. My dad’s assistant had not only gotten the place leased for me, but she went about getting some furniture and stocked the fridge too. When it came to getting things done, my dad was always the guy you want to have in your corner. That said, it will probably take him a week or more to realize I moved out already.

  “You hear me?” Zoey pulls harder on my hair.

  “Yeah, I hear you. You’re obsessed with me and can’t live without me.” I smirk at her. She gives me a look, letting me know she sees what I’m doing before she shakes her head and hugs me.

  “What else do you guys have for me to put together?” Reid asks but fires another question off before I can respond. “What is that?” He points at the LED ring light. I flip it on.

  “Good lighting for posts.” I flip it back off. Zoey and I have been dabbling in social media lately. We both enjoy writing. Me more than Zoey. She prefers to be on the other side of the camera most of the time. We started up a social media account together with a blog. It was something we did for fun since neither one of us had been into the whole high school party scene. It’s what we’d do on Friday and Saturday nights together.

  We’d been surprised how fast it started to grow. Some of that buzz was because of Reid. Mr. Hot Shot Quarterback is popular. It was strange that people enjoyed reading and looking at our stuff, and seeing how into Reid and Zoey people are.

  “Did I ever tell you Reid has never done social media before?” Zoey says. It is shocking to meet someone his age that doesn’t have at least one social media account.

  “Is that why his groupies stalk us?” Reid’s nostrils flare, his distaste clear. Zoey snorts a laugh, unbothered. I wonder if I’d have the same confidence as her. I guess I would if my man acted the way Reid does when it comes to Zoey.

  “I never said I haven't been on social media. I said I don’t have an account in my name.” Zoey turns slowly to look at him. I swear one of her eyebrows is touching the top of her forehead.

  “What did you do? Or what are you doing?”

  A sheepish look crosses his face. “I might have friended you under another name. You can’t see some people's shit unless you’re their friend,” he informs us as if we don’t know this. “I was stalking you. This isn't new informati
on. I was desperate to know what you were doing.”

  Reid and Zoey grew up together. When they hit their teen years, Reid freaked out and stone-walled Zoey. It wasn't long after that that she and I became friends. It was easy for me to see Reid was in love with Zoey. But I knew telling her that wouldn’t help. They both had to see it for themselves and come back together.

  It didn't take me long to put this all together. Reid was the most popular guy in school because of football, yet he never dated. Never was rumored to date. He did, however, stare at Zoey all the fucking time. Then one day he snapped.

  Zoey later confirmed what I thought. Reid hit puberty and wasn't looking at his best friend the same way anymore. Since he was a man who would never do anything to hurt her, he let her go, thinking it was for the best until they grew up. Typical stupid man making decisions without talking it out. It all worked out, though. It brought Zoey into my life and has given me the sister I never had.

  “Hungry?” Reid changes the subject, taking it off his stalkerish ways to something he knows will work.

  “Can we go walk around and find something?” Zoey asks. I’m down.

  “If that’s what you ladies want to do,” Reid says. Zoey worried that I might get annoyed with how much time Reid spent here, but I won’t. He makes her happy, and he’s quickly turned into the brother I never knew I wanted.

  My friends are my family. One I’m building on my own. I still hold out a small hope that the ache I feel in my chest when I see a family together will fade away as I find my own. Or maybe there is more to that ache than I know.

  2

  Theodore

  I should have seen this coming.

  My mom can be crafty when she wants her way. I’ve been back home for two months, and she is all over me about a nice girl she wants to set me up with.

  I love my mom more than anything. She truly has a golden heart and always wants to see the best in people. Thank God she has Dad to protect her from people who want to take advantage of her.

  “I was so stunned when your mother told me you were her son.” Tiffany smiles over at me, blinking quickly. I wonder if she blinks so much because of those fake eyelashes she has on her eyes. They look like they have some weight to them. They look extremely uncomfortable and make me want to rub my own eyes.

  Why would anyone put those things on their face? She leans over toward me, and I jerk my head down to look at my drink. Hell, I bet she thinks I was gazing into her eyes.

  “My mom what?” I ask, realizing I haven’t been listening to her. My mom raised me to be a gentleman, but I can’t help but be disinterested in this entire conversation. My mind keeps drifting to the game tape I watched today. That’s where all my focus has been since I got the coaching job here. I’m the youngest college head coach ever hired. I have something to prove.

  “Is she here?” I look around for my mother. She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago, but she is nowhere to be found. Mom is never late, so that means she never planned to come to this dinner. She set me up.

  I’d finally broken down and told her I would meet the girl. I made it clear that I didn’t want to go on a date. That’s when my mom came up with the brilliant idea of us all going to dinner. It can be hard to tell her no. The woman would chop off her arm for you if she thought you needed it.

  “That you are her son. I had no idea.” I see her hand out of the corner of my eye start to come down onto my forearm. I snag my drink, taking a sip so I can dodge her touch.

  I don’t want her to get the wrong idea. I find her words hard to believe if she lives here in Kingston. Football is life here. We're big but also have a small-town feel. Anyone that was raised here would agree with me on that. I suppose she might not have linked my parents and me together. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt.

  I might just be jaded. I know what the girls were like when we’d be on the road for a game when I played professionally. They try hard to sink their claws into you. At least the ones who would circle the bar of the hotel we’d be staying in.

  The college kids make up a greater part of the population in the city, but they come and go. The locals are always the same. I played not only high school football here, I went to the university too. That was many years ago, though. Since then I retired from the NFL and moved back here to coach at my alma mater.

  I was born and raised here. So if you’ve lived here for any stretch of time you’d know who my parents are. It’s how small towns work for the most part. I decide to go ahead with the meal, not wanting to be an ass to someone my mom talks to.

  “I’ve been gone awhile.” Which is true. I got drafted all the way across the country. It feels good to be back home. I didn't know how much I missed it until I came back. I feel more settled than I ever have in my life. That might be because I got the job I’ve always wanted.

  “Are we ready to order?” the server asks, coming back to the table. I’m stuck.

  “I’m starving.” Tiffany reopens the menu. There is no way I’m getting out of this without being rude. “You order, I’m still trying to decide.”

  “I’ll take the biggest ribeye cooked medium rare.” I hand him the menu I never opened. “Load up on the potatoes.” He nods, punching my order into the tablet in his hand. Tiffany starts asking him a million questions. My eyes flick across the restaurant to the front, seeing someone enter.

  I spot Reid first. He’s hard to miss at his height. He holds the door open for his girlfriend Zoey. She was the only reason I’d gotten him to come here in the first place. I’m not sure if their relationship is going to be a problem or not when it comes to him keeping his head in the game. I guess time will tell. So far all has been good. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders.

  I lift my hand and motion him over. Zoey gives me a small wave like she always does when she sees me. I smile and nod at her. Then my eyes land on the girl next to her. All I can see is a wave of long blond hair and a petite curvy body that has me sitting up straighter, willing her to look my way. My cock stirs for the first time in a long time as I take her in.

  Finally she turns her head to see who Zoey is waving to, giving me what I want. Bright green eyes meet mine as a smile forms on her plump lips. Everything inside of me freezes.

  “Wasn’t he in the paper?” the woman across the table asks. I’ve suddenly forgotten her name. I’m sure Reid was in the paper when Kingston got him to commit to coming here.

  “Coach!” Reid says as he makes his way over to me. I stand and give him a clap on the back.

  “Join us.” I drop my eyes back to the blonde who is standing behind Reid with Zoey. I think this is the girl he told me Zoey was moving in with. Fuck me. That means she’s a student and way too young for me. She’s fresh out of fucking high school.

  Reid gives me a curious look. His eyes keep bouncing between the woman and me.

  “You’re not on a—"

  “The ribeye is great here.” I cut him off, not wanting the breathtaking blonde that’s with them to think I’m on a date. It shouldn’t matter to me because it’s not like I can touch her. Or have her. Or wrap that blond hair of hers around my fist while I drive into her over and over again. She is beyond off-limits. I need to stop thinking about how those emerald eyes would look staring up at me as she took me deep into her throat.

  “Want me to add this table?” the server asks, pointing to the one next to ours.

  “Tiffany?” the beautiful blonde asks.

  “Willow, right?” She pushes back from her chair to stand. “How is your mom?”

  “She’s good.” They kiss each other on each cheek. Tiffany pauses and whispers something in her ear. Willow’s eyes glance at me but pull away quickly.

  “Am I moving the table?” the server asks again.

  “No.” Willow answers him before anyone else can. “We just came to check out the menu for dinner in the future. We have reservations next door.” She pauses on a few of her words, and I know she’s lying. Reid shrugs.
What the hell had Tiffany whispered in her ear?

  “Yeah. Italian.” Zoey jumps in, trying to make her friend’s lie more believable. Both of the girls are terrible liars. I find it oddly endearing. I’m even finding things about her attractive that shouldn’t be. What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t even know this girl and she has me thinking all of these crazy thoughts. I can’t think straight, something I’m not used to.

  “There’s only a Chinese place next door,” I point out. Both of their faces flush, and Reid gives me a hard look. “See you at practice,” I say, releasing him.

  “Bye,” Willow says before grabbing Zoey by the arm to head out. Reid lifts his chin at me before following them out. Tiffany sits back down. Reluctantly I do the same. All I want to do is follow after them. I shake the thought off because it’s a stupid one. I can’t have her. Even though there’s nothing else I want more.

  “Do you often run into students outside of work? That must be annoying.” She scrunches her nose. She really must be new around here.

  “Haven't been coaching that long.” I’m sure it will happen often. “I don’t think it will be a problem.” I’ve already gotten close to a few of the players on the team. Reid more so than most, but I enjoy getting into his head about game play as much as he enjoys getting into mine. I’ve been in his shoes and know what it takes to make it to the top.

  My mind drifts to Willow. Even her name is perfect. Running into students off campus won’t necessarily be a problem, but I know without a doubt running into that little curvy blonde is going to be an issue for me. She’s too young for you, I remind myself. Not only that, she’s a student at the university. I figure if I keep telling myself these things that it will somehow dull the sudden need I have for her.