Read Playing to Win (Summer Beach Vets 2) - sweet contemporary romance for Free Online Page B

never experienced that before. Everything she was used to was measured and assessed and planned and judged. She was always worrying about mistakes she had made in the past or organising things for the future… and yet, watching Milo now, she suddenly didn’t want to think about the past or the future at all. Was this what they meant by “living in the moment”? Whatever it was, the dog’s uninhibited enjoyment was infectious.
    He dropped the ball at her feet and bounced backwards, his tongue out, his eyes bright, watching her eagerly. Ellie picked up the ball again, hardly noticing that it was covered with dog drool and sand, and tossed it out again. She laughed as she watched Milo galloping after it. After a second’s hesitation, she took off after the dog and ran down the beach, chasing the bouncing ball as well. She was giggling and feeling totally silly as she ran alongside Milo, splashing through the waves, but it was exhilarating. 
    When Ellie finally slowed down, she was surprised to find that she had run a fair way up the beach. She was wet and covered with sand. Her ponytail was a tangled mess and her leg muscles were sore from the unaccustomed exercise. But she was flushed and smiling, and had never felt so alive. She blinked. It was almost like coming out of a trance—like the one she had been in when she was eating that bacon and egg roll. She felt like she was bursting with renewed energy and optimism.
    And happiness, she thought. I’m happy. But it was a totally different feeling to when she had gotten straight A’s at college or been promoted at work. She just felt happy… Here. Now. For no specific reason. Milo whined softly next to her and looked anxiously back up the beach towards the clump of palm trees.
    “All right, boy,” said Ellie. “We’ll head back to Will. Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine.”
    The dog started trotting eagerly back in the direction they had come from and Ellie fell into step behind him, thinking, I can’t believe I just talked to a dog .
    They arrived back at the beach towels and Ellie flopped down next to Will, who was busy scooping and patting sand into a mound. Milo immediately went up to him and began licking Will’s face enthusiastically, stepping in the mound at the same time.
    “Milo! You’ve just ruined my sandcastle!” cried Will indignantly, trying to turn his face away from the dog’s wet tongue.
    Ellie smiled as she stretched out onto her back next to them. She was exhausted from the running. She covered her face with her hat, then relaxed, feeling the hot rays of the sun warming her bare legs. The fronds of the palm trees nearby rustled in the breeze. Her eyelids drooped. She could hear Will and Milo next to her, the boy shouting the dog’s name in exasperation every few minutes as the Labrador kept destroying his efforts. She sighed, closing her eyes, feeling her body relax even more against the warm sand…
    “MILO!”
    Ellie jerked awake. For a moment, she thought it was simply Will admonishing the chocolate Lab again, then she realised that there was a different note in his voice. It wasn’t exasperation. It was fear.
    Ellie sat upright, looking around. She was alone on the beach towel. A few yards away from her, Will was standing at the water’s edge, waving frantically at something in the water.
    “MILO!”
    Ellie narrowed her eyes at the sea and, after a moment, made out a dark brown shape in the water. It was Milo, swimming steadily, out beyond the waves. She sprang up, but before she could say anything, Will suddenly plunged into the sea and started swimming out towards the dog.
    “Hey!” Ellie cried, running to the edge of the water. The waves gushed around her ankles. “Will! What are you doing?”
    The boy didn’t seem to hear her. He was looking only at his dog and shouting as he tried to swim through the waves. Ellie gasped as she saw a big swell suddenly engulf him.
    “ Will! ” She waded into the sea up to her waist,