Game for Romance
by Pamela Aares
The Tavonesi Series #1-4
Publication Date: November 4, 2014
Also in this series: Thrown by Love, Fielder's Choice, Love on the Line,Aim For Love
Genres: Boxed Set, Contemporary, Romance, Sports
Synopsis:
Lose yourself in the first four, full length books of USA TODAY Bestselling author Pamela Aares' TAVONESI Series. On Sale at $4.99 for a LIMITED time, four books for the price of one. The box set includes LOVE BATS LAST, THROWN BY LOVE, FIELDER'S CHOICE and LOVE ON THE LINE. Find out why readers are raving about this sizzling new, captivating series about sensual All-Stars and the alluring women who challenge them to love.
BOOK 1: LOVE BATS LAST
In LOVE BATS LAST, All-Star first baseman Alex Tavonesi has his hands full: he inherits the family vineyard and?is fighting to win one of baseball’s most coveted honors, the Triple Crown. But when he meets veterinarian Jackie Brandon by chance in a midnight storm and helps her rescue a stranded whale, the love she ignites derails all his careful practices and plans.
BOOK 2: THROWN BY LOVE
In THROWN BY LOVE, ace pitcher Scotty Donovan has been traded from his longtime team—and hates it. But to his surprise, he now finds himself in the sweetest game of his life: winning the heart of smart, sexy physics professor Chloe McNalley. But when she inherits the team he plays for, following his heart could ruin his career.
BOOK 3: FIELDER'S CHOICE
In FIELDER'S CHOICE, 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. When love’s in the game you can’t play it safe...
BOOK 4: LOVE ON THE LINE
In LOVE ON THE LINE, heiress Cara Barrington fled the opulent world of her rich and famous family to carve out an idyllic existence on the California Coast. In the sleepy town of Albion Bay, she’s embraced the simple way of living she's always craved. No one knows her identity, and she’s free from the pressures of wealth . . . until her sexy new neighbor threatens the unpretentious world she’s worked so hard to build.
"Not since Nora Roberts and Barbara Freethy has an author written such engaging characters and unusual, heart-wrenching challenges to love." ~ EarthLovingLens
"Pamela Aares takes you on a wonderful roller coaster ride that you will want to keep repeating!" ~ Read Your Writes Book Reviews
"Pamela Aares has done it again... another great sweet read with just enough drama and hotness. The perfect balance is what you will find with this read." ~ The Color of Ink Reviews
“My favorite reads are spin-off series by authors like Nora Roberts and I’m happy to find another author I love reading as much.” ~ Julie Martin Wallace, Geode Press
"Another awesome book in the Tavonesi Series! The characters and the story were fantastic. Just as with the first book, I was immediately drawn into the story and couldn’t put it down." ~ There's This Book Reviews
“This story has so many levels that all weave together beautifully. From the moment readers start tuning the pages, there will be no putting this story down! ~ InD’tale Magazine on book one, Love Bats Last
Excerpt: Love Bats Last
A truck roared into the lot, its headlights flooding the pen and path, temporarily blinding Alex.
“Damn!” Gage swore under his breath. “They should yank her green card and her license.”
Alex’s eyes adjusted, and he saw the woman from the river hop out of the truck, calling out orders to the two men unloading crates from the back. Even at a distance there was no mistaking her English accent or the confidence and strength woven through the lush tones of her voice.
“Take these two down to the hospital,” she said, pointing to the heavy crates the men were hefting from the back of the truck. “And set up the X-ray; that one’s been shot.” She nodded toward a smaller crate still in the truck.
She whirled to face them and froze when she saw Alex. The wariness in her eyes surprised him.
Wet auburn curls fell loose and tangled around her face, framing her beautiful and honeyed hazel eyes. She was even lovelier than he remembered.
“You do turn up in the oddest places.”
Without a glance back, she headed toward the building she’d called the hospital.
“You know her?” Gage asked.
“Not really. Ran into her up in Sonoma last week. We weren’t introduced.”
“That’s Jackie,” Gage said, tilting his head toward the departing woman. “She’s the boss. And that’s her at her most suave. She might be wanting in bedside manners, but she’s the best marine mammal vet in the world. She’s why I’m here.” He handed Alex the IV bag he’d lifted from its hook. “Watch to see that this drains properly.”
He walked to the truck and lifted the smaller crate from it and headed toward the hospital.
Standing in the misting drizzle, holding an IV bag hooked up to a very sad-looking sea lion, Alex calculated how ridiculous he must appear. His shoes were coated in mud, and he was soaked through. A loud snort sounded behind him, and he turned just in time for the sea lion to sneeze snot all over his overcoat. The smell had a stink like no other. Even so, as he snagged a towel off the fencing with his free hand and began to wipe down his coat, an odd elation flooded him, like hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. It made no sense.
But he smiled anyway.
Then he hung the towel back on the fencing and watched the last of the IV fluid drain from the bag. When Gage didn’t return, he hooked the empty bag to the fence and started across the parking lot. Whether he was headed for his car or to the lighted hospital, he wasn’t sure. Then he remembered he’d let Scotty take his car. Not a very clever move. He’d have to call a cab. The promise of a hefty tip was the only hope he had to entice a driver out into the headlands on a night like this.
Before he reached the dimly lit building, the door swung open and Gage and Jackie stormed toward him. Well, she was storming. Gage was shuffling along beside her, his long strides easily keeping up with her shorter ones. She marched right up to Alex.
Excerpt: Fielder's Choice
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.”
Excerpt: Love on the Line
The crowd in Detroit was rowdy. One thing about playing in center field, Ryan got a taste of the hard-core fans and their energy. He’d stolen a home run from the Tigers’ best hitter in the eighth, so he wasn’t on their happy list.
Ryan crouched and focused on Romaro, their closer, and tuned out the catcalls and obscenities. If Romaro did his job and struck out Hobbs, the final Tigers hitter, the game was theirs. But there was nothing comfortable about a one run lead. Ryan had played against Renaudo in the minors—the guy had power and, more than that, he could put the ball where he wanted it.
Romaro’s pitch was too sweet. Hobbs connected and shot it through the gap. Ryan was too far back to scoop it on a hop. He waved off Paxton in right field and dove, rolling, and then sprang to his feet and fired the ball to Alex Tavonesi, poised and ready at first. Ryan’s throw was on the mark, and Alex stayed on the bag, but the umpire called Hobbs safe.
Ryan cursed. Sometimes close calls didn’t go your way. But Hobbs should’ve been called out, ending the game.
When the next Tigers hitter shot a line drive into shortstop Matt Darrington’s glove, the crowd booed. Usually Ryan could translate the negative energy of the opposing team’s fans into what it was—love of the game. But tonight the echoing boos just dragged him into the gloomy, black feelings he hated to give the upper hand.
They’d won—he should at least feel happy about that.
But he didn’t.
He was miserable and pissed because he had to jump on a plane, fly to Boston, and sit in a courtroom publicly facing more lies and accusations. Worse, for the first time in his Major League career, he’d miss a game.
He boarded the plane and swore that no matter what happened, he’d never miss another game. There were thousands of guys out there hungry to take his job, a hundred of them lined up, ready and waiting. But more than that, the game was sacred to him. But the law was the law, and this time he hadn’t had a choice.
Pamela Aares is an award-winning, internationally bestselling author of contemporary and historical romance novels and also writes about fictional romance in sports with her new Tavonesi Series. Get ready for Alpha male All-Stars and the strong women they come to love!
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 readers and 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
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