The Stand-In Excerpt
“Why is it,” I demand as I stomp up the steps to the second floor, speaking loudly, “that during the summer, you’re up before the birds and demanding breakfast, but during the school year, you fight me like crazy every single morning?”
I stomp into my son’s bedroom and press the button on the wall that opens his curtains, letting the dim November light into the room.
“Come on, Caleb Rome Ambrose, you need to get up and get ready for school. We’re already going to be late.”
“Tired.”
My gorgeous ten-year-old rolls over and pulls the covers over his head.
“Too bad.” I rip the covers off him, grab a foot, and start to tickle him.
“No! Stop! I don’t want to go to school!”
“You have to go to school.” I release the ankle and then pull him to his feet, giving him a squeeze. “Go on. Get dressed. You’ll have to eat breakfast in the car.”
“Why can’t it be Saturday?” he groans as he stomps into the bathroom and slams the door.
“Don’t dillydally! I mean it, buddy. We have to go.”
“I’m coming,” he says from the other side of the door. Hearing the toilet flush and the water come on, telling me he’s washing his hands and brushing his teeth, I make my way back downstairs to finish packing his lunch.
It’s already been a crappy morning. I slept through my alarm because I was up into the wee hours of the morning, making my way through my email.
I didn’t even get halfway finished before I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
My toaster oven gave up the ghost, but not before burning my English muffin first, and when I pulled the milk out of the fridge for cereal, I found that it had expired.
If this is indicative of how the day is going to go, I should just call in sick for both Caleb and me and enjoy the day with him.
But responsibility weighs heavily on my shoulders, and I know that we both have places to be today.
So, work and school it is for Team Ambrose.
“Where are your shoes and socks?” I ask when Caleb makes his way into the kitchen. “And you didn’t comb your hair.”
“No one cares if my hair is combed,” he says with a negligent shrug.
“I care. Buddy, we are so late. Please get your socks and shoes on.”
“Fine.” He stomps to the mudroom, and I can hear him shuffling around in there.
“I would give my kingdom for a kid who’s a morning person.”
“I am a morning person,” he replies as he returns to the kitchen. “Just not when I have to go to school.”
“Don’t you like school?”
“It’s fine.” He shrugs again and accepts the foil-wrapped breakfast burrito I pass him. “But why does it have to be in the morning?”
“Good question. One I don’t have an answer for. Come on. We need to get our shit together and get out the door.”
“You said shit.”
I stop and close my eyes, counting to five. “Yes, I did. And please don’t say it again.”
“Why can you say it, but I can’t?”
“Because I’m a lot older than you, kiddo. Come on. Let’s go.”
He always moves slowly when I need him to hurry.
When I see that he’s buckled in, I put the car in gear and back out of the garage, then head for the school.
We have to wait for the gate to rise at the entrance to the neighborhood, and after waving at Harold, the security guard, we’re off.
“Mom, what did you study in school? You know, in the olden days?”
“It wasn’t that long ago,” I reply and give him the mock glare in the rearview, making him giggle. “I studied the same things as you. Math, spelling, reading. The usual stuff.”
“Weird.”
God, I love this kid. No matter how my day is going, he can always make me smile.
“Here you go,” I say as I pull up to the drop-off spot in front of the school. “If you hurry, you’ll get in there just before the bell.”
“I forgot my lunch.”
I sigh and close my eyes again.
“Are you going to say shit?”
“Maybe.” I wave him out of the car. “Get hot lunch today. There’s money on your account.”
“’Kay. See ya.”
“Have a good day. Be good. Love you.” It’s the same thing that I say to him every single day.
“Love you, too, Mom.”
After breathing a huge sigh of relief that I got him to school on time, I drive over to the football team’s headquarters. As part owner of the team, I’m not required to keep an office there or stay abreast of the day-to-day operations of the team. But I enjoy it. I’ve learned a lot in the few months that Rome and I have owned the team, and I enjoy being in the middle of the hustle and bustle.
I used to keep my office at home, but that was lonely. Isolating.
Depressing.
I can do most of my work from my office at headquarters, both for the team and for the other companies I head. Getting dressed in business attire, slapping on makeup, and doing something with my hair makes me feel productive.
And, so far, no one has had an issue with me being around a lot of the time. Not that they’d tell me if they were against it. I am the boss, after all.
I pull my Mercedes into my parking space, and as I walk to the elevator, I lock the car behind me. I’m only running a few minutes behind the time I usually get to the office, so given the way this day started, I’m not doing too poorly.
To my surprise, the elevator stops on the second floor, and a sweaty, sexy Drew Montgomery walks on to join me.
“Ms. Ambrose,” he says with a terse nod.
“Coach.” I smile over at him. Drew is the one person on staff that I’ve had trouble winning over. He’s not rude, but he’s not warm and fuzzy either.
I don’t plan to stop working on him.
“I had a new idea for uniforms,” I inform him and have to press my lips together so I don’t laugh when that scowl forms between his eyebrows. “What do you think of sequins?”
“Like I said, yes—sequins?”
“Sure. I thought it would be pretty on the field, all the twinkling and such.”
His mouth twitches.
“Don’t look now, Coach, but I think you’re about to smile at me.”
He inhales and lets the smile come before glancing over at me, and the impact of that smile, with those intense blue eyes, is almost enough to knock me off my axis. I know I’ve only met two of the Montgomerys, but based on Will and Drew, the family is gorgeous.
“I trust you had a good workout?”
He glances down at his sweaty shirt and then nods. “A grueling one.”
“I should take advantage of the facilities here sometime. I never use the stationary bike I bought for my house. Isn’t that always the way? Spend a bunch of money on workout equipment and never use it?”
“It’s your facility,” he replies. “You should take advantage of it.”
I nod in agreement. “Please be sure to let me know if any of the equipment needs to be replaced or updated.”
“Okay.”
The elevator stops at his floor, and he walks out. “Have a good day.”
Just as the doors close, he turns and offers me another of those grins.
When I’m alone, I pat my chest.
“Coach Hottie McHotterson is what they should call him,” I mutter, and then step out of the elevator when it stops on the top floor.
Pre-order today!
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3Qevun0
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/SingleSeattle5
Exclusively in #kindleunlimited Nov. 14th
Wide readers pre-order only
Apple Books: https://bit.ly/3Kl3Twq
Nook: https://bit.ly/3KJvtUz
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I stomp into my son’s bedroom and press the button on the wall that opens his curtains, letting the dim November light into the room.
“Come on, Caleb Rome Ambrose, you need to get up and get ready for school. We’re already going to be late.”
“Tired.”
My gorgeous ten-year-old rolls over and pulls the covers over his head.
“Too bad.” I rip the covers off him, grab a foot, and start to tickle him.
“No! Stop! I don’t want to go to school!”
“You have to go to school.” I release the ankle and then pull him to his feet, giving him a squeeze. “Go on. Get dressed. You’ll have to eat breakfast in the car.”
“Why can’t it be Saturday?” he groans as he stomps into the bathroom and slams the door.
“Don’t dillydally! I mean it, buddy. We have to go.”
“I’m coming,” he says from the other side of the door. Hearing the toilet flush and the water come on, telling me he’s washing his hands and brushing his teeth, I make my way back downstairs to finish packing his lunch.
It’s already been a crappy morning. I slept through my alarm because I was up into the wee hours of the morning, making my way through my email.
I didn’t even get halfway finished before I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer.
My toaster oven gave up the ghost, but not before burning my English muffin first, and when I pulled the milk out of the fridge for cereal, I found that it had expired.
If this is indicative of how the day is going to go, I should just call in sick for both Caleb and me and enjoy the day with him.
But responsibility weighs heavily on my shoulders, and I know that we both have places to be today.
So, work and school it is for Team Ambrose.
“Where are your shoes and socks?” I ask when Caleb makes his way into the kitchen. “And you didn’t comb your hair.”
“No one cares if my hair is combed,” he says with a negligent shrug.
“I care. Buddy, we are so late. Please get your socks and shoes on.”
“Fine.” He stomps to the mudroom, and I can hear him shuffling around in there.
“I would give my kingdom for a kid who’s a morning person.”
“I am a morning person,” he replies as he returns to the kitchen. “Just not when I have to go to school.”
“Don’t you like school?”
“It’s fine.” He shrugs again and accepts the foil-wrapped breakfast burrito I pass him. “But why does it have to be in the morning?”
“Good question. One I don’t have an answer for. Come on. We need to get our shit together and get out the door.”
“You said shit.”
I stop and close my eyes, counting to five. “Yes, I did. And please don’t say it again.”
“Why can you say it, but I can’t?”
“Because I’m a lot older than you, kiddo. Come on. Let’s go.”
He always moves slowly when I need him to hurry.
When I see that he’s buckled in, I put the car in gear and back out of the garage, then head for the school.
We have to wait for the gate to rise at the entrance to the neighborhood, and after waving at Harold, the security guard, we’re off.
“Mom, what did you study in school? You know, in the olden days?”
“It wasn’t that long ago,” I reply and give him the mock glare in the rearview, making him giggle. “I studied the same things as you. Math, spelling, reading. The usual stuff.”
“Weird.”
God, I love this kid. No matter how my day is going, he can always make me smile.
“Here you go,” I say as I pull up to the drop-off spot in front of the school. “If you hurry, you’ll get in there just before the bell.”
“I forgot my lunch.”
I sigh and close my eyes again.
“Are you going to say shit?”
“Maybe.” I wave him out of the car. “Get hot lunch today. There’s money on your account.”
“’Kay. See ya.”
“Have a good day. Be good. Love you.” It’s the same thing that I say to him every single day.
“Love you, too, Mom.”
After breathing a huge sigh of relief that I got him to school on time, I drive over to the football team’s headquarters. As part owner of the team, I’m not required to keep an office there or stay abreast of the day-to-day operations of the team. But I enjoy it. I’ve learned a lot in the few months that Rome and I have owned the team, and I enjoy being in the middle of the hustle and bustle.
I used to keep my office at home, but that was lonely. Isolating.
Depressing.
I can do most of my work from my office at headquarters, both for the team and for the other companies I head. Getting dressed in business attire, slapping on makeup, and doing something with my hair makes me feel productive.
And, so far, no one has had an issue with me being around a lot of the time. Not that they’d tell me if they were against it. I am the boss, after all.
I pull my Mercedes into my parking space, and as I walk to the elevator, I lock the car behind me. I’m only running a few minutes behind the time I usually get to the office, so given the way this day started, I’m not doing too poorly.
To my surprise, the elevator stops on the second floor, and a sweaty, sexy Drew Montgomery walks on to join me.
“Ms. Ambrose,” he says with a terse nod.
“Coach.” I smile over at him. Drew is the one person on staff that I’ve had trouble winning over. He’s not rude, but he’s not warm and fuzzy either.
I don’t plan to stop working on him.
“I had a new idea for uniforms,” I inform him and have to press my lips together so I don’t laugh when that scowl forms between his eyebrows. “What do you think of sequins?”
“Like I said, yes—sequins?”
“Sure. I thought it would be pretty on the field, all the twinkling and such.”
His mouth twitches.
“Don’t look now, Coach, but I think you’re about to smile at me.”
He inhales and lets the smile come before glancing over at me, and the impact of that smile, with those intense blue eyes, is almost enough to knock me off my axis. I know I’ve only met two of the Montgomerys, but based on Will and Drew, the family is gorgeous.
“I trust you had a good workout?”
He glances down at his sweaty shirt and then nods. “A grueling one.”
“I should take advantage of the facilities here sometime. I never use the stationary bike I bought for my house. Isn’t that always the way? Spend a bunch of money on workout equipment and never use it?”
“It’s your facility,” he replies. “You should take advantage of it.”
I nod in agreement. “Please be sure to let me know if any of the equipment needs to be replaced or updated.”
“Okay.”
The elevator stops at his floor, and he walks out. “Have a good day.”
Just as the doors close, he turns and offers me another of those grins.
When I’m alone, I pat my chest.
“Coach Hottie McHotterson is what they should call him,” I mutter, and then step out of the elevator when it stops on the top floor.
Pre-order today!
Amazon: https://bit.ly/3Qevun0
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/SingleSeattle5
Exclusively in #kindleunlimited Nov. 14th
Wide readers pre-order only
Apple Books: https://bit.ly/3Kl3Twq
Nook: https://bit.ly/3KJvtUz
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3QjQpVq
Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3q8aaF2
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