How Does 'My War With Baseball' End?

I shoot to my feet and practically scream, “She?!? They’re sending a woman?” I suddenly hear the sound of heels clicking on the floor, and turn to see a pair of eyes I never thought I’d be seeing again. “Yes, Tate, they sent a woman. I’ve been hired to save your sorry ass,” she calmly states with a look of disgust in her ocean blue eyes. **** What will happen when Ashton Tate, the scandal-ridden MVP second baseman, comes face-to-face with his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Mason, whom the team has hired to salvage his reputation and career? Sparks are sure to fly when the two of them are forced to spend every waking moment together, in an effort to revamp his bad-boy image. Unresolved grudges, past heartache, and malicious former flames and rivals block the path to redemption at every turn. Can Elizabeth help Ashton find his way back to the man he once was, or is this his last strikeout?

Two years ago, Carrie Lowe was a dedicated sports doctor whose life was ruined in a single night. After discovering her husband was cheating, she impulsively kissed the famous athlete and billionaire Jake Slater at a club to get back at him. Instead of being a gentleman, Jake went on national television and branded her a "desperate groupie" who was an embarrassment to her profession. This public shaming caused Carrie to lose her job and her reputation, forcing her to flee to Europe to rebuild her life under a new name and a cold, professional mask. Now, Carrie has returned to Los Angeles as Dr. Carrie Vance, an elite specialist that every top athlete is dying to work with. Meanwhile, Jake is facing a career-ending injury and a group of greedy investors trying to steal his sports agency. When he comes to her clinic for help, he has no idea that the brilliant doctor in front of him is the same woman he once humiliated. Desperate to prove to his board members that he is stable and in control, Jake offers Carrie five million dollars to pretend to be his devoted partner for a year. Carrie takes the deal, but her true goal isn't the money; it's the chance to get close enough to watch Jake lose everything. By stepping into his world as his private doctor, she gains total power over his recovery and his public image. However, as they navigate high-stakes galas and intense private sessions, the fake relationship starts to feel dangerously real. Carrie must eventually decide if she will follow through with her plan to destroy the man who crushed her, or if the growing spark between them is worth risking her heart all over again.

I had supported Lauren Geller through seven years of competitive cycling. After she defended her championship title, I handed her the divorce papers myself. Her shining career ended there and then. I had been able to carry her to the summit, and I could just as easily lift someone else in her place. It was not until I appeared before her with my girlfriend that she finally understood. It had never been Lauren who abandoned me; I was the one who chose to walk away.

I spent years trying to be the perfect wife. I swallowed the insults. Excused the betrayal. Gave up my dreams because I was told they didn't matter. Convinced myself that I was the problem. Then one day, something inside me broke. I thought leaving would end my misery. Instead, it dragged me into a mess I never saw coming. The husband who never appreciated me suddenly refuses to let me go. The man who should have been nothing more than a stranger keeps finding his way into my life, looking at me like I’m the one thing he is determined to have. One is desperate to reclaim what he lost. The other wants me for all the wrong reasons. But after years of living for everyone else, I've made one promise to myself: I will never lose who I am for love again. And if they want a war? They'll have to fight it without me.

Being a war correspondent, I spend all my time searching for any trace of Damian Calloway. Through countless close brushes with death, only one thought keeps me going—I want to die by his side. Four years later, I receive a phone call from him. "Evelyn, Camille finally forgave you," Damian says, his voice coming through the receiver with jarring clarity. In the background, the peaceful, mundane sounds of life drift through the line, a stark contrast to the chaotic battlefield around me. I freeze. "What are you talking about?" Damian chuckles. "I left the military a long time ago. I've been back home with Camille this whole time. You made her cry before you left, and she has a temper. She wanted to teach you a lesson, but she's over it now, so you can come home and marry me." The wedding date we decided on is exactly one month away. It turns out that he has been keeping track of the dates the entire time, treating the danger I survive daily as if it's a joke. When I step into the terminal, his friends don't even bother hiding their smirks. "Look at her," one of them mutters. "She's a total simp. As if she could actually stay mad." "One phone call from Damian, and she drops everything to fly across the world—" Just then, everyone freezes. The smile vanishes from Damian's face as every eye locks onto the unfamiliar wedding ring on my finger.

My boyfriend Julian is a chess grandmaster, a genius. At sixteen, he became the youngest grandmaster in North American history. I gave him ten years of my life, but a ring was never on the table. But when he reached the pinnacle of his career and won the Grand Slam, he still refused to break the pact he'd made with his family about his career. "According to my plan, I'm not considering marriage or any other form of long-term commitment until all my goals are achieved." I didn't argue with him. I quietly packed his luggage for the World Championship and wished him the best. He had no idea that at the very moment he was lifting the championship trophy with the world watching, I was dragging my failing body to sign my own name on a euthanasia consent form.