The Rules of Friends with Benefits A Prequel Novella Lauren Blakely Little Dog Press Contents Also by Lauren Blakely About The Rules of Friends with Benefits 1. Nadia 2. Nadia 3. Nadia 4. Nadia 5. Nadia 6. Nadia 7. Nadia 8. Crosby Also by Lauren Blakely About Copyright © 2021 by Lauren Blakely Cover Design by Helen Williams. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This contemporary romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. 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Also by Lauren Blakely Big Rock Series Big Rock Mister O Well Hung Full Package Joy Ride Hard Wood Rules Of Love Series The Rules of Friends with Benefits (A Prequel Novella) The Virgin Rule Book The Virgin Game Plan The Virgin Replay The Guys Who Got Away Series Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend The What If Guy Thanks for Last Night The Men of Summer Series Scoring With Him Winning With Him The Gift Series The Engagement Gift The Virgin Gift The Decadent Gift The Extravagant Duet One Night Only One Exquisite Touch MM Standalone Novels A Guy Walks Into My Bar One Time Only The Heartbreakers Series Once Upon a Real Good Time Once Upon a Sure Thing Once Upon a Wild Fling Boyfriend Material Asking For a Friend Sex and Other Shiny Objects One Night Stand-In Lucky In Love Series Best Laid Plans The Feel Good Factor Nobody Does It Better Unzipped Always Satisfied Series Satisfaction Guaranteed Never Have I Ever Instant Gratification Overnight Service PS It’s Always Been You Special Delivery The Sexy Suit Series Lucky Suit Birthday Suit From Paris With Love Wanderlust Part-Time Lover One Love Series The Sexy One The Only One The Hot One The Knocked Up Plan Come As You Are Sports Romance Most Valuable Playboy Most Likely to Score Standalones Stud Finder The V Card The Real Deal Unbreak My Heart The Break-Up Album 21 Stolen Kisses Out of Bounds My One Week Husband The Caught Up in Love Series The Pretending Plot (previously called Pretending He’s Mine) The Dating Proposal The Second Chance Plan (previously called Caught Up In Us) The Private Rehearsal (previously called Playing With Her Heart) Seductive Nights Series Night After Night After This Night One More Night A Wildly Seductive Night About A good girl follows the rules. So does a smart woman. That's why I've resisted my brother's best friend for years. Fine, fine. Maybe the sexy, charming confident baseball player hasn't given me a reason to suspect he's thinking the same flirty, dirty thoughts as I am. But then he starts showing up by my side at sporting events. At galas. And his eyes are saying all sorts of flirty, dirty things. Like maybe we should cross the friends line and head right into benefits? The Rules of Friends with Benefits A prequel novella By Lauren Blakely Want to be the first to learn of sales, new releases, preorders and special freebies? Sign up for my VIP mailing list here! 1 Nadia Some girls dream of jewelry, but the only thing that Tiffany’s has made that really, truly thrilled me is a seven-pound sterling silver football. I never had a horsey phase, never wanted to be a rock star, a teacher, a president, or a princess. My one dream has always been to run a football team. The sport is in my blood and my bones. Hell, my heart is probably football-shaped and stitched like a regulation ball. Same shape as the top of the trophy I can’t keep my hands off. There’s only one person in the Hawks’ executive offices with me, and I’m not going to let him keep me from stroking all twenty-two inches of this shiny silver beauty, but especially where my name is engraved. “You’re going to wear that smooth if you keep rubbing it that way.” I look over at Crosby. The boy next door when I grew up in California. My brother’s best friend, and a good one to me as well. One hell of a football fan too. He holds out both hands, wiggling his fingers. “Come on. Let me hold it.” I clutch it to my chest like a baby. “Not yet. I need to pet it some more.” He laughs. “Sure. You do that. Give it a good spit shine while you’re at it.” I waggle my brows and nod at his hand. “Is that what you do with your World Series ring?” He nods. “And with my MVP trophy. Obviously.” I run my fingers down the trophy one more time. It’s been quite a week, and I still can’t quite believe that my team won it. And in my first year as the owner of the Las Vegas Hawks. I want to show off the spoils of victory—aka this trophy—to everyone in my life. Like this handsome, fantastic man who came to visit me in Las Vegas. Okay, fine. He’s here to play poker and hit the slots with some friends and teammates. But he took the time to swing by the stadium, and now I’m taking the opportunity to be obnoxious about my new favorite thing. As one does. I carry my precious to the couch in my office. Sinking onto the soft leather, I pat the cushion next to me. “Come join me. We will worship it together.” He flops down, runs his hand over the gleaming sterling silver, and lets out a
