“Look, he showed what kind of man he was when he left. Obviously, a selfish one without a conscience. You are so much better off without him. I know that’s hard, because no one is ever as special as our first love, but you hold your head high, walk back out there and let’s celebrate, okay?”
“But what if—” I began.
She shook her head vehemently. “No. Fuck him. He walked away.” Her eyes met mine and I finally nodded.
“You’re right. Let’s go.”
We walked back out to the table and the guys had ordered dessert. If Ford did look over here, it would appear I was out on a double date. Gino was gay, but nothing about him would give that away until you caught him ogling guys. He was six foot five with wavy dark hair and muscles on his muscles. Lonnie, on the other hand, was straight, but currently celibate, so the four of us went out all the time. I figured Lonnie’s celibacy wouldn’t last much longer, but what did I know? I’d been celibate for over a year.
“Happy birthday to you,” Lila began singing.
I rolled my eyes. “Stop it,” I said. “Come on, we’ve already done this.”
“Happy birthday to you,” Gino and Lonnie chimed in.
“Happy birthday dear Sydney…” Now the waitress and the rest of the guests joined in.
“Happy birthday to you!” The whole place erupted in the applause and I wanted to die. I gave Lila a death glare but they were encouraging me to blow out yet another candle.
I did so without making a wish this time and as I looked up, my gaze landed on Ford. Who was staring right back.
Oh fuck-fuck-fuck.
He started to get out of his chair and panic shot through me with the ferocity of a gunshot. No, no, no, he was coming toward me.
Fuck that.
“I have to get out of here!” I whispered to Lila.
“Sydney!” She gaped at me, but I’d already jumped out of my chair, grabbed my purse, and was running for the exit.
I’d just gotten to the door when I heard him yell. “Sydney, wait!”
* * *
Pre-order Fast Forward!
Also by Kat Mizera
Las Vegas Sidewinders:
Dominic
Cody’s Christmas Surprise
Drake
Karl
Anatoli
Zakk
Toli & Tessa
Brock
Vladimir
Royce
Nate
Sidewinders: Ever After
Jared
Dmitri’s Christmas Angel
Ian
* * *
Sidewinders: Generations:
Zaan
Tore
Anton (coming 2022)
* * *
Alaska Blizzard:
Defending Dani
Holding Hailey
Winning Whitney
Losing Laurel
Saving Sara
Chasing Charli
A Very Blizzard Christmas
Tending Tara
Calling Cassie
Playing Peyton
* * *
St. Louis Mavericks (with Brenda Rothert)
Hard Fall
Hard Limit
* * *
The Royal Trilogy:
Nowhere Left to Fall
Nowhere Left to Run
Nowhere Left to Hide
* * *
Royal Protectors:
Sandor
Cocky Protector (book 1.5, part of the Cocky Heroes Club series)
Xander
Axel
Dax (A Royal Protectors/Sidewinders crossover novel)
* * *
Rock Hard:
Play
Pause
Rewind
Fast Forward
* * *
Inferno:
Salvation’s Inferno
Temptation’s Inferno
Redemption’s Inferno
Tropical Inferno (formerly “Tropical Ice”)
* * *
Romancing Europe:
Adonis in Athens
Smitten in Santorini
Lucky in Lugano
* * *
Other Books:
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Bobbi (Susan Stoker’s Special Forces World)
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Delilah (Susan Stoker’s Special Forces World)
* * *
View Kat’s entire collection of books at www.KatMizera.com
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author Kat Mizera was born in Miami Beach with a healthy dose of wanderlust. She's lived from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, but home is wherever her family is.
* * *
A devoted mom and wife to her wonderful and supportive husband (Kevin) and two amazing boys (Nick and Max), Kat loves to travel the globe with her adventurous, hockey loving family. Greece is at the top of that list. She hopes to one day retire there, spending her days writing books on the beach.
* * *
Kat is former freelance sports writer who now writes steamy hockey romance about her favorite fictional teams, the Las Vegas Sidewinders and the Alaska Blizzard. The library of novels she's penned also include sexy contemporary stories about baseball stars, alpha sex club owners, special forces heroes, rock stars and royalty. Regardless of genre, her books about bad boys with hearts of gold will steal your breath, rock your world and melt your heart.
* * *
WHERE TO FOLLOW KAT:
* * *
WEBSITE
BOOKBUB
KAT’S PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Excerpt from Fast Forward
Also by Kat Mizera
About the Author