Free Stadium of Lights: A Second Chance Sports Romance by Tia Lewis

for our family dinner. The street was lined on both sides with boutiques and jewelry stores. The sort of place the soon-to-be-wife of an NFL player would be familiar with, I guessed.
    Going to all these fancy restaurants was something I definitely needed to get used to. The minute I walked into the restaurant with its marble floors and gold-tiled mosaics along the walls and ceiling, I felt out of my league in a big way. I was the only woman there in a polo shirt, for one. Why hadn’t I thought to get changed into something more appropriate? I could pretend to be a savvy woman, but I would never get things quite right. The other women wore dresses, heels, while I wore a khaki skirt and running shoes. I wanted to die from embarrassment. I darted from the room that had been reserved for us before anybody noticed me and headed straight for the ladies’ room.
    “Okay,” I whispered, looking at myself in the mirror. I was blessedly alone. My heart felt like it was about to explode from my chest. “Okay. You’re fine. Chill out. Chill. It’s okay.” I leaned over the sink, my head hanging between my shoulders.
    “Are you?” I looked up, stunned to find that a woman had walked in without my noticing. She looked concerned. She also looked stunning, in a gorgeous black tunic and gold sandals. She could have been a goddess, though I didn’t think the goddesses wore black. But what did I know?
    “Pardon?” I asked, stumbling over my tongue.
    “I said, are you okay? You look a little upset.” She put a light hand on my back, rubbing a little. She was friendly, at least, and warm.
    “Oh, I’m okay. Just overwhelmed.” I briefly laughed.
    “Over what, honey?” She leaned on the sink. “I’m sorry, I know I’m a stranger, and I'm probably rude being nosey. Just tell me to mind my own business if you want to—no offense taken.”
    I grinned. “No offense felt.” I nodded to the door, and the room on the other side of it. “I should have dressed more appropriately for the occasion. I didn’t think. I’m not really used to these type of places you know.”
    “Appropriately?” She looked me up and down. “I think you look cute.”
    I smirked. “Please. You look cute—better than cute. You’re beautiful. I look like somebody’s soccer mom in this outfit, just dropping the kids off at school.”
    “Nothing wrong with that. Who are you, anyway? My name is Skylar. I’m Garrett’s fiancée.” She held out her perfectly French-manicured hand to shake.
    “You call him Garrett, too?” I chuckled, shaking her hand. “I’m Abby.”
    “Yeah, the team calls him that, I just thought it would be easier. A lot of people don’t recognize his first name.” She turned to check herself out in the mirror. Not a thing out of place—perfect blonde hair, perfect tan, perfect makeup. Bright, sparkling hazel eyes. She glanced at me in the mirror. I wondered if she was comparing us.
    “I feel totally out of place,” I admitted. “You all are so pretty.”
    “Stop. So are you! But yeah, I can see why you would feel a little out of place. That’s not a bad thing! Just be comfortable, you know?” She shrugged with a smile. I could tell she was trying her best to be supportive, so I smiled back.
    “I’m not comfortable. I’m extremely uncomfortable. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” I pulled out the clip that was holding my hair in a bun, shaking my head from side to side to loosen it.
    “Whoa. Your hair is gorgeous!” Skylar reached out, touching it. She had no sense of personal space, but I didn’t mind. It had been a long time since I had a girlfriend. She put a hand to her own hair—I noticed the massive diamond on her left hand and tried not to feel jealous—and grimaced. “I’m so jealous.”
    “Oh, please. You? Jealous of me?” I chuckled.
    “Listen. I just got an idea.” Skylar checked the time on her diamond-encrusted watch. “We still have twenty minutes before we were even supposed to