Fielder’s Choice
by Pamela Aares
Heart of the Game #3
Publication Date: April 22, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Purchase from: Amazon • Nook • Kobo • iBooks
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Synopsis: All-Star shortstop Matt Darrington has more than a problem. His wife died, and now he’s juggling a too-smart-for-her-britches six-year-old and the grueling pace of professional baseball. Worse, his daughter is mom shopping. When they explore a local ranch, she decides the beautiful, free-spirited tour guide is premium mom material. Matt thinks the sexy guide looks like Grade-A trouble.
Alana Tavonesi loves her cosmopolitan life in Paris. But when she inherits the renowned Tavonesi Olive Ranch, she has to return to California and face obligations she never wanted. Selling the place is her first instinct, but life at the ranch begins to crack her open, exposing the dreams hidden inside her heart.
On a lark she leads a ranch tour, where she meets Matt Darrington. His physical power and a captivating sensual appeal fire her in a way no man ever has, but he has a kid—and being a stepmom is a responsibility Alana will never be ready for. Still…she can’t keep her mind or her hands off him.
When Matt’s daughter goes missing from a kid’s camp at the ranch, Alana organizes the search effort, knowing from experience the areas a bright child would be drawn to explore. As she and Matt work together to search for the little girl, Alana discovers that father and daughter have won her heart. Yet it may be too late for love…
Also in the Series:
Review
Wow! Another fantastic book in the Heart of the Games Series! The characters were fun and engaging. This book reeled me in from the very beginning.
Matt and Alana both start of determined that they aren’t cut out for relationships so they ignore the spark between them. You can tell throughout this whole story just how stubborn they both are. They both are also very judgmental of themselves. However, they slowly break through each other’s barriers and things get spicy. I got a little annoyed with Alana a couple of times but I think this just made her feel more like a real person. I loved both of these characters and also Matt’s daughter, Sophie, was a hoot. Everyone in the story had distinct personalities yet blended together to make a fantastic story.
Mistakes are made, lessons are learned, and relationships are formed in this wonderful third book in the series. I really enjoyed both Matt and Alana learn how to let someone in. There is a lot of personal growth going on in this story. I highly recommend this book as well as the whole series. I am looking forward to reading the next book. 5 out of 5 books!
About Pamela Aares
Pamela Aares is an award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance novels and also writes about fictional romance in sports with her new baseball romance book series titled Heart of the Game.
Her first book, Jane Austen and the Archangel (Angels Come to Earth, #1) was released in 2012. Midnight Becomes You, the second in the series will release this year as will the celebrated historical romance novel, The Lady and the Patriot.
Her popularity as a romance writer continues to grow with each new book release, so much so, that the Bay area author has drawn comparisons by reviewers to Nora Roberts.
Pamela Aares writes romance books that she loves reading, particularly those that entertain, transport and inspire dreams while captivating and tugging at the heart. She takes her readers on a journey with complex characters in both contemporary and historical settings who are thrown in situations that tempt love, adventure and self-discovery.
Before becoming a romance author, Aares wrote and produced award-winning films including Your Water, Your Life, featuring actress Susan Sarandon and NPR series New Voices, The Powers of the Universe and The Earth’s Imagination. She holds a Master’s degree from Harvard and currently resides in the wine country of Northern California with her husband, a former MLB All-Star and two curious cats.
If not behind her computer, you can probably find her reading a romance novel, hiking the beach or savoring life with friends. You can visit Pamela on the web at http://www.PamelaAares.com.
Excerpt
Toward the end of the orchard tour, she spied a ladder up against one of the older, taller trees. The tree had firm, small fruit near the top.
“Some of these older trees bear the best fruit,” Alana said as she climbed up to snag a handful. As she started down, the ladder tilted, and her foot caught in a rung.
She’d heard that when true danger struck, events transpired in slow motion, but she’d never believed it. Yet now the ground rose slowly toward her face, and she heard herself screaming. But before she knew it, Matt had darted under her, pulled her free from the ladder, and was catching her in his arms.
She looked up at him. The flicker of alarm in his eyes told her she’d just had a close call. And the sensation of his strong arms holding her against his chest revved the adrenaline spiking in her body. For a long moment, neither of them moved and no one in the group spoke. Alana wasn’t even sure she was breathing.
“Hope this place has workers’ comp,” he said as he lowered her gently to the ground. The other four crowded around, and he backed them off with his muscled forearm. “Give her some space.”
The worry remained as he narrowed his eyes and surveyed her face. His eyes were the color of a mountain lake just before twilight.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, ignoring the jitters in her belly. Or maybe dawn, was all she could think. Maybe his eyes were the color of a lake at the instant just before dawn, when the emerging sunlight blinked out the stars one by one and the day seeped into the sky.
A whoosh of disappointment flooded her as he slid his arms away and knelt back into a crouch. The man had arms like she’d only dreamed of—strong, enveloping…
“You sure you’re okay?”
The sincerity in his tone pulled her back from the trance his eyes and arms had inspired.
She wasn’t about to sit there like a stunned fool. Finding her footing, she stood.
“Just one example of the great excitement of life on the ranch,” Alana said with a forced laugh. She brushed her hands off on her shirt, leaving artsy ombré handprints along each side. “I’d say it’s time for the gift shop. No dangers in there.”
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