Ballers and Babes

When he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close at my brother’s wedding, my heart beat faster. When we danced into the night, my mind raced far ahead, entertaining all the possibilities I’d longed for. And later, when Cooper told me he’d won the starting quarterback job before he shared the news with anyone else, I started to believe we could be more. But I didn’t want to lose him as a friend, so I chose to focus on him solely as my buddy. That worked well enough for a while. Until that night, in front of everyone, when he shocked my world to its core.

After Violet saves the day with the highest bid, I don't even give her a two-minute warning before I kiss her in front of the whole crowd, and then announce that she's my girlfriend. Which would be fine, except my agent tells me we've got to keep up the act while he's negotiating my contract. Violet takes one for the team and pretends to be mine, but our boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage quickly turns into a full contact sport, and I want it to go into overtime. The problem is - I've been riding the bench for years.

As the team’s publicist, I need a football player to be the face of our charity calendar, and Jones Beckett needs a savvy PR woman to manage his new sponsorship deal. A simple give and take, and I’m sure I’ll have no problem following my iron-clad rule - don’t date a player. And never ever fall for one. No matter how charming, big-hearted, and devilishly clever the man is. But you know what they say about best laid plans.... Once I start spending my off-season days and nights with Jones, I’m following a brand new playbook.