Earning A Ring. Kristina Mathews

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      Cover Copy

      For Rachel Parker, covering the San Francisco Goliaths is the perfect opportunity to launch her career as a serious reporter. But she didn’t bargain on Bryce Baxter, the team’s star shortstop, tempting her more non-professional aspirations. After tearing up the base paths with him, she finds herself with a little problem, and Bryce might be the only man who can save the game.

      Bryce Baxter should be living the dream. His team just won the World Series and he just signed the multi-year contract of his career. But his field of dreams has been overtaken by a fiery redheaded reporter, who’s bearing a news flash that will change both of their lives forever…

      Visit us at www.kensingtonbooks.com

      Books by Kristina Mathews

      More Than A Game Series

      Better Than Perfect

      Worth the Trade

      Making A Comeback

      Earning A Ring

      Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

      Earning A Ring

      More Than A Game

      Kristina Mathews

      LYRICAL PRESS

      Kensington Publishing Corp.

      www.kensingtonbooks.com

      Copyright

      Lyrical Press books are published by

      Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

      Copyright © 2015 by Kristina Mathews

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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      Kensington Publishing Corp.

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      Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

      First Electronic Edition: January 2016

      eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-463-8

      eISBN-10: 1-60183-463-2

      First Print Edition: January 2016

      ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-464-5

      ISBN-10: 1-60183-464-0

      Printed in the United States of America

      Dedication

      To my mother-in-law for not only raising a great son, but for giving me my first romance novels to read.

      Acknowledgements

      I couldn’t do any of this without the support of my family.

      Author’s Foreword

      I love baseball. I have loved the game since I was a kid and the only girl on my Little League team. The game has been a big part of life for me and my family. It’s been a great experience to be able to write about the game I love and the (fictional) men who play it. Writing a baseball romance series has been very similar to the San Francisco Giants winning three (so far) World Series in five years. Every story is unique yet equally satisfying in getting to the happily ever after. Some things I wrote actually happened on the field and some things that happened on the field made it into my books. I didn’t try to embody the Giants in my books, but Giants fans will recognize some of the traits and characteristics of my favorite players, coaches, announcers, and others who are involved in the game in one way or another. When you spend 162+ games a year watching these people they’re bound to rub off.

      Here’s to many more great seasons of baseball and as many more books as my readers will want.

      Chapter 1

      Bryce Baxter sat alone in the San Francisco Goliaths’ clubhouse. He didn’t want to go home and watch the replays of tonight’s game. There was enough of that going on in his head. He’d blown the game. How many times had he made that play since he first picked up a baseball at the age of five? A thousand? Ten thousand? Probably more. Not tonight. Tonight it was as if he’d forgotten everything he knew about the game. What should have been an easy double play ended up being the game-winning run.

      The loss put his team even farther behind in their division going into the second month of the season and had reporters questioning the Goliaths’ chances of repeating a World Series run. Some were even questioning the team’s decision to re-sign Baxter to the big contract extension. The biggest one he’d ever inked. So naturally, he was having his worst start to the season ever. He couldn’t hit. Couldn’t draw a walk to save his life. And when he struck out, he did it in spectacular fashion.

      Last November he’d been king of the world. San Francisco’s biggest hero since Willie Mays. As World Series MVP, he’d been awarded a brand new Corvette. His face had been on the cover of magazines. He’d made the talk show rounds. Met the President. Women had lined up outside his door. And he’d had his choice of endorsement deals, including a line of men’s hair care products. Now, if his game didn’t improve, his agent would be lucky to get him a spot peddling adult diapers.

      Reluctantly, he headed toward the parking lot.

      “Hey, Bryce, you got a minute?” He recognized the voice of the woman standing beside his car. A month ago, he would have been happy to see her. Professionally, СКАЧАТЬ