Illegal Motion: A Loveswept Classic Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

anything about a camp.” That was true. All she’d known was that it was the first team event he’d ever asked her to attend. Willa was surprised at the look of pain and defeat that crossed Nick’s face. The sympathy she’d felt minutes ago returned. Obviously these kids had meant something to him.
    “I—ah, that is, the Jaguars ran a summer camp every year during the off-season for some of the less privileged kids. Mostly from downtown Washington. I helped out a bit.”
    She knew from his expression that he’d done far more than help a bit. Intrigued by this side of him, she completely forgot the forms in her lap. “I take it the players gave seminars and stuff at the camp?”
    “Some did. Others stayed for a few weeks at a time as counselors. You’d be amazed at how important it is to a young kid to have someone to look up to.”
    “Someone like you? You were one of the counselors, weren’t you?”
    “Yeah. I used to be.” Nick hated the shame and humiliation that coursed through him every time he thought of how he’d let those kids down. Dammit, it wasn’t even his fault. And that alone was the main reason he’d do anything to clear his name. He sensed Willa’s sensitivity to this subject and it confused him. He wanted to think she was guilty as sin. It was much easier to go about gathering evidence when he didn’t have to deal with his growing suspicion that the woman he’d thought partially responsible might be as innocent a victim as he.
    He put that thought aside, still frustrated that she’d neatly turned the tables on him. He didn’t like it that she’d so easily gotten him to discuss a subject even Sky knew better than to bring up. Never mind that he’d been the one to mention the camp kids in the first place.
    “I thought you wanted to know more about my knee injury.”
    Her sympathetic expression faltered at his terse statement, and he was relieved when she gamely switched gears.
    Glancing back at her clipboard, as if the interview hadn’t gone off topic, she asked, “Tell me more about the exact nature of your knee injury. How it happened, that sort of thing. Was this a football injury?”
    You know damn well it wasn’t a football injury , he wanted to shout. Damn her control . “No, I didn’t play last season.” He tried hard to keep his tone casual, but doubted he’d succeeded. “I tripped over a cord about a month ago and wrenched it pretty badly, tore some ligaments.”
    Her expression now was purely professional, and for some reason that irritated the hell out of him. “I’m sorry if I got too personal earlier. Guess ol’ Eric is a sore spot, huh? Guess I shouldn’t have brought him up. Must have hurt like hell when he dumped you.”
    Willa blanched. Familiar emotions like pain and humiliation welled up whenever she thought about her relationship with Eric. But now she also felt angry, and for the first time she defended herself. “He didn’t dump me, Nick,” she snapped, wanting to wipe that smug look off of his face. “ I dumped him . The lousy slimeball was two-timing me. Hell, he was probably three-timing me!”
    “Honest mistake.” His tone was anything but contrite. “As I said, I didn’t hang around with Eric much, but I know his reputation with women. He wasn’t exactly known as the kind of guy who was ready to make anything resembling a commitment. Far from it. He was notorious for leaving women when they got too close. So I justassumed …” Nick trailed off as he noticed her expression change. His taunt had produced a look of gut-deep pain.
    Nick was on intimate terms with the kind of personal demons it took to feel that kind of pain—and nothing could have forced him to put her through any more at the moment. “I’m sorry, Willa. You’re right, what happened between you and Eric is none of my business.” But he wanted it to be. And not because he thought it would give him more ammunition for his case against Miller, but because he wanted to