My War With Baseball

They call Michael Rossi the “Menace,” and for once, the media isn't exaggerating. He’s the jagged edge of the Rebels’ front line,a dirty, arrogant prick with a god complex. I’ve hated him since the night he stole my girlfriend to prove he could. For eighteen months, he’s dismantled my peace, chirping in my ear and checking me into the boards with a smirk. ​Now, a viral "spite kiss" has trapped us in a PR contract. I’m supposed to play along with the man who ruined my life, but the closer I get, the more I realize the rivalry was just the beginning. ~~~~~~~ ​Axel Thorne is the "Golden Boy", disciplined, loved, and blissfully oblivious. He thinks I’m the villain who stole his girl; he doesn’t realize I only did it to see the look in his eyes. This rivalry was never about the game; it was about obsession. I’ve spent every restless night imagining how it would feel to finally claim him. ​Axel thinks we’re faking it to save our career. He’s wrong. I’m playing a game where he only wins by losing himself to me.

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?

We promised forever, but his hockey fame tore us apart. Five years later, I’m the journalist assigned to cover his championship run. He’s cold during interviews, answers clipped, eyes never lingering long enough for me to read what he’s thinking. But off-camera, his burning gaze pins me down like I never left. Like we never ended, which blurs the line of love and lust. The team calls him untouchable now. A league legend in the making. I came here to tell his story, not to fall back into it. But as I dug deep, I realized everything I thought I knew was a lie. And someone is determined to make sure I uncover it, no matter who gets destroyed when I do. Including Me.

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 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.

I want Hunter on his knees, looking up at me with those infuriating eyes while I ruin that smart mouth of his. I want to push him until he’s gasping, trembling, pounding his fists against my thighs, desperate and undone. But we don’t all get our wishes, do we? Especially such a perverted, fucked up wish. So I shove it down into the deepest darkest corners of my chest, pretending to hate him. Wait, it’s not actually pretense, because I DO hate that fucker. My hatred for him is a visceral thing that rages through my vein, drumming only one tune. --FUCKING DESTROY HUNTER BEAUMONT. But the moment I vow to take his stupid team of rich snobby fucks to the cleaners and bring the cup home, Hunter FUCKING Beaumont transfers to my high-school, to play on my team. MY FUCKING TEAM. Hunter and I play better as enemies and rivals. It was the only thing we agree on—winning games and hating the shit out of each other. Except the winning means, one of us is holding the cup while the other seethes, gritting their teeth in anger. NOT HOLDING THE FUCKING CUP TOGETHER. This was supposed to be my year of finally winning and I’d be damned if I do it with that asshole by my side.