Curve Ball (Eastgate BBW Romance Series Book 4) by Elle Gordon Page A

love. I was beginning to believe that love was watching a singing competition together on the couch.
    After five years of dating, Paul asked me to marry him. I agreed and we had a modest wedding in a church that his parents picked. A couple of years later we had our first son, Quinn. Two years after that, we welcomed Payton.
    The kids made my life better than it had ever been. However, carrying two kids nearly back-to-back put stress on my body. My thin girlish frame was now full with curves. I still got attention from other men, likely due to my now large breasts and full butt. Paul, on the other hand, did not seem as excited. After the birth of our second son, he stopped wanting to have sex.  A year later, I discovered that he was having an affair with a female engineer in his office. She wasn’t much to look at, but she was also thin as a rail. I guess that was what Paul liked.
    After all of these years, the one person I couldn’t get out of my mind was Alec. He was eventually drafted into the major leagues for baseball. Playing on the Holdsburg Incredibles, he was never the star player, but I always recognized him in the outfield. Watching him on television brought tingles to my stomach. During my failing marriage, I made a pact to never watch another game with Alec in it again. It was just too much to handle when my life was going down the tube. Alec always felt like the one that got away. That’s why I felt so overwhelmed when twenty years after high school, Alec called me on the phone.

The One That Got Away
     
                  “Hi, Carla,” Alec said on the receiver. He didn’t even have to say his name. After all of these years, he still had the same warm sounding voice. Just hearing it brought me back to us swinging on the hammock in the backyard.
                  “Are you really calling me?” I asked in wonder.
                  “Yes,” he replied with a little bit of a laugh. There was a moment of silence between us.  It was finally hitting me over how much time had truly passed. At this moment, I wondered what our relationship truly was. Past lovers? High school sweethearts? Long lost friends? I didn’t know the answer.
                  “How have you been?” I asked.
                  “Well, a lot has gone on,” he started. “I’m retired now.”
                  “You’re done with baseball?”
                  “It’s one of those jobs that really takes a toll on a man.”
    “I understand,” I said. “Where are you living these days?”
                  “I bought a house here, in Eastgate.” I froze. Out of all of the things that I thought Alec would tell me, this was not one of them. To have him this close to me was an overwhelming feeling.
                  “You moved back home?” I said in a forced calm-sounding manner. My heart was racing.
                  “I just missed it here,” he explained. There was another pause. Then he spoke again. “Do you want to catch up sometime? I have this gigantic kitchen and no one to cook for. What are you doing tomorrow night?”
                  “Oh,” I replied. I didn’t know what to say. Of course, I wanted to see him again. On the other hand, I looked so much different now. I was worried what Alec might think. “I’ve got two little kids now and there’s so much going on.”
                  “Bring them along!” he said. He must not have any kids himself, I thought.
                  “You know what,” I replied. “I’ll find a babysitter and I’ll be there.”
                  “Great!” I could almost hear that he was smiling. “I’ll message you the address. How does seven sound?”
                  “That sounds perfect,” I replied.
                  “It’ll be a great time catching up, Carly,” he said. It was strange to hear