The Catcher And The Lie

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2008 Ebook Cover


Book Description

Blurb

From Samhain Publishing:

One player works extra innings to make Abby break her own rules about love.

After a year of personal and professional upheaval Nick Valente is in the market for redemption, not temptation. Getting involved with any woman, especially smart-mouthed Abby McCabe, is simply not in this player’s game plan.

Experience, mostly bad, has convinced Abby McCabe that she has a special gift for finding men who can’t help falling out of love with her. Getting close to a man, especially one who plays the field professionally, is sure to add another loss to her emotional score sheet.

As summer heats up an unexpected spark turns into a flame. But fear of getting burned winds up putting two strikes in their relationship. With Nick on the bench, it’s up to Abby to turn the game around. Trusting this man with her heart could deliver the biggest save of her life—or the biggest error she ever made.

Will they strike out or end up with a homerun?

Warning, this title contains the following: a hot baseball player with all-star equipment, a smack talking woman who doesn’t know the score, and a world class collection of inflatable dolls.

Excerpt

From Samhain Publishing:

Lifting her foot off the gas, Abby approached her block with renewed trepidation. Cindy was persistent and just enough of a loose nut to linger in her daughter’s driveway until the sun came up. When the thin ribbon of her driveway finally came into view, Abby heaved an enormous sigh of relief. Images of a hot shower and a date with her electric toothbrush replaced a vision of her mother reciting a dramatic monologue.

Slipping into the narrow stall of her shower with a fresh bar of lavender soap, Abby increased the pressure and heat of the spray until her limbs felt numb. Tomorrow was the final day of class for her summer students and the final home game before the Bisons hit the road once again. She could do with a break from six o’clock wake-up calls and Nick Valente in form-fitting baseball pants.

Abby turned off the spray, grabbed a towel, and mercilessly wrung the excess water from her hair. Taking a second towel, she padded her skin gently, smoothed scented lotion from head to toe, and sauntered back to her bedroom.

Rummaging through an overstuffed drawer of mismatched pajamas, she finally settled on a hot pink tank top and a pair of lime green bottoms. The soft peal of her doorbell caused her to trip on the right leg of her pajama bottoms, which had caught around her ankle. With her butt now flat on the floor, she wriggled into the clingy cotton pants and pushed herself back into a standing position.

It was ten after nine. Too late for an unannounced visitor. Since she had no peephole, and felt awkward asking for a name first, Abby uttered a prayer and pulled her front door open. Her mouth went dry and her brain froze. Nick stood on her doorstep, dangling her work identification badge from his outstretched hand.

“Found this in Kevin’s driveway. Figured it must have fallen from your car.”

She must have hesitated a second too long because an awkward smile replaced Nick’s initial grin.

“Is my showing up here a problem?” Nick shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

Abby crossed her arms in front of her chest. A tank top, no bra and a breathtaking man on her stoop were a recipe for disaster.

“Of course not,” Abby stuttered. “Just a little surprised that you could track me down.”

Nick’s eyes took on a devilish glint. “Hold on to your knickers, but this big dumb athlete can actually read.”

The meaning of his words sunk in immediately. Duh. Her address was on the back of her Norfolk College badge. Finding her house hadn’t required detective work on his part, just a third-grade education.

“Are you going to invite me in or force me to ogle your supreme makeover out here?”

A wave of embarrassment washed over her. Abby’s home was modest. The fact that her entire living space could fit comfortably into Bridget’s garage almost had her sending him on his way. She loved every square inch of her cottage, but had spent so much time around people like her parents and Bridget that she couldn’t deny her discomfort.

Abby stepped back, allowing Nick to enter her living room. His silence only added to her unease. Without permission he moved silently from the wall behind her couch to her connecting kitchen. Despite her best efforts she couldn’t resist the sight of his powerful shoulders and jean-clad butt as he studied her space.

“Again, you surprise me, McCabe,” Nick said, retracing his steps back to her living room.

“Well, I unloaded the mansion last year. The high ceilings were a bitch to dust.”

Nick shifted, leaving only inches between them. “What I meant was that for a person plagued by fashion woes, I never expected you to have kick-ass taste when it came to home decorating.”

Talk about surprises. Most first-time visitors had decidedly mixed feelings about her life-size murals. Not that she created the scenes. No the art was pure José, the Bisons’ second baseman. Together they had collaborated on bringing color and life to her personal space. Since it was a cottage, Abby had chosen her favorite beach scenes as inspiration. Undulating sand dunes with tufts of sea grass and a peek of the ocean covered the main wall in her living room. Her eating nook revealed a boardwalk café with bathing suit clad patrons soaking in the summer sun. Cindy took umbrage with the amount of skin revealed. Claimed it gave her indigestion just to look at it.

Abby pinned him with a haughty look. “You’re sweeping me off my feet here, with your flowery compliments.”

The heat in his eyes had warmth spreading through the region of her abdomen. “You want to be wooed by the likes of me, McCabe?”

Alarm bells rang out. That was a trick question. One she didn’t want to think about, never mind answer. When his eyes dipped below her face, resting on her unrestrained breasts, her throat tightened. She wore a C cup, which decency demanded be reigned in with a bra. Of course, she hadn’t exactly been expecting company. Her mother would have made her toss on a trench coat.

“Actually, Valente, you don’t strike me as the type who is going to put much effort in when it comes to a woman. You know, snap your fingers and see who comes running.”

He lowered his hand and rested it on her now exposed hipbone. “Is that a challenge? ’Cause I got to tell you, I’m more than ready to rise to the occasion.”

Before she could think, never mind respond, he leaned in and lowered his mouth to hers. She froze for a moment, surprised that she didn’t feel the spark that often flared with a first kiss. She should have known that it would be different. Nick would be different. The brush of his lips ignited a devastating ache. She closed her eyes, ignored the hammering in her heart and let him devour her with his warm mouth. The taste of beer, barbeque sauce and an aroused Nick washed over her and she immediately wanted more.

Nick didn’t disappoint. His hands traveled lower, cupped the curve of her ass, and pulled her flush against his hips. She arched her back, eager to find release for the pressure that continued to build between them. When his hands dipped beneath her tank top, slid up her stomach and gently palmed her breasts, Abby lost the ability to think.

She laced her fingers behind his neck, silently encouraging him to continue exploring. When his gaze lifted, she saw hunger and something close to regret in his eyes. Instinct had her pulling back.

Publication History

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