Hit & Run Bride (Hit & Run Bride Contemporary Romance Series) Read Free

like a missile. Then the kid started stroking, and everyone in the place watched, totally mesmerized.
    Two laps down and back. Time: 1:10.
    Manny nodded, seemingly unimpressed. The fact he didn’t walk out told Liam differently.
    Next, Liam had Henry do his breaststroke. Another decent showing. Last—he’d saved the best for the finale—he had Henry backstroke.
    By the time the kid hauled himself out of the water, he was breathing hard.
    And Manny was smiling.
    “Nice work, Henry.” Manny bent over slightly to shake the kid’s hand. “Let me talk to Liam, and then you and I’ll have a powwow. How does that sound?”
    Henry ran to his friends, and Liam whistled for all of them to jump back in. Once more, the sound of kids having a great time in the pool echoed from the high ceiling.
    Liam signaled his helpers to keep eyes on the kids as he led Manny to his dinky office.
    The big man slumped into the visitor seat as Liam sat behind the old metal desk. “He’s got potential, I’ll give you that.”
    Liam grinned. “He’s got damn good potential, and you know it. All he needs is proper training.”
    “Training costs money.”
    Money kids like Henry didn’t have. “I’ll take care of his expenses.”
    “His parents okay with him moving to L.A. and living at my center?”
    Henry’s father was in the wind. His mom had four other kids and a drinking problem. “Mom’s already signed an agreement.”
    Manny rubbed a hand over his chin. “You sure your dad doesn’t want him?”
    Funny that Manny cared what Jonathan wanted. Liam shook his head. “Like I said, you’re better suited for Henry.”
    “Why don’t you train him?”
    Because I have other priorities . “Not my gig.”
    “I don’t want your old man to think I’m poaching.”
    Territories. What bullshit. “This isn’t about you and my father. This is about Henry. He deserves a shot.”
    Another long pause. Manny stood. “Give me two days. I’ll be in touch with some details. I want to see the kid swim in my pool if you can get his scrawny ass up to L.A.”
    “Done.” Liam stood as well, and they exchanged another handshake. “I’ll make sure he gets there.”
    “Bring your trunks. You can swim for me too.”
    Now that would give his old man a heart attack. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’d just embarrass myself.”
    Manny left, stopping to chat a minute with Henry. Afterward, Liam shared the news with Henry and his friends. The kids cheered, slapping Henry on the back and dunking him under the water.
    Twenty minutes later, Liam left the pool with hope in his heart that Henry had a shot at fulfilling a dream. A dream Liam had never realized. He jumped on his Yamaha and headed for his next job. One that actually paid. Not that he needed the money. And thank goodness for that since a full-time paying job would take too much time away from his mother. Her health had to come first. With his Dad always busy at the training center, and his older brother Oliver living in Canada, the only person around every day was Liam. Putting his life on hold sucked, but losing his mother would bring his world crashing down.
    Swimming was his passion, but he was loath to swim or coach for his dad. Before his mother got sick, Liam had loved his job as an architect for Leesom and Sons, and had found a side niche creating interactive videos to help clients visualize renovations and new builds. If things worked out down the road and Liam was able to return to his old job, Mr. Leesom wanted him to develop apps for the firm as well.
    As he crossed into Del Mar, he steeled himself for a night of teaching swim lessons to a different type of group. A group that wouldn’t give Henry and his friends a second glance.
    As usual, the Del Mar Athletic Club parking lot was jam-packed. Women in top-of-the-line sports clothes and wearing enough diamonds to sink the Titanic hustled in and out the front doors. Some on their way to Pilates, others to the gym.
    Glimpsing a lone open