The Athletic Groom Excerpt

Hello,

A baseball team is a complex, ever changing entity. Capturing that in a book was a real trick and one of the most fun challenges in writing the BMB series.

I’ve included an excerpt for the book below. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a fun day. 🙂

Book Excerpt:

Isaac rubbed his right thumb up the palm of his left hand as if he were oiling a new first base mitt. To say he was intimidated by Harper’s beauty and obvious intelligence would be as much of an understatement as saying it got kind of dark when the sun went down.

Her long blonde hair hung loosely over her left shoulder. She had blue, almost navy eyes with small specks of silver thrown in like scattered jewels. She was taller than the average woman putting her forehead at kissable height…and her curves! What could Isaac say, he loved a woman with curves and Harper’s knee-length, fitted dress showed hers off nicely.

Logan had insisted they watch her last press conference. She was like a struggling relief pitcher who was blowing the lead. Despite being frazzled, she’d toughed it out and finished the interview. Thinking about her late into the night, he came away with a deep sense of respect. Few people could do what she did.

Which is why, when she said she knew there was more to his story than the printed word, he believed her and opened up, giving the condensed version of his confrontation with Coach Jcobs and his frustration with the idea of winning at all cost. “Don’t get me wrong, I love to win. But I really, really hate to lose.”

“And there’s a difference, isn’t there.” She quipped, finishing his reference to Moneyball. He grinned, the image of the two of them on a sofa, watching a movie together, his arm around her shoulders and her head on his chest filled his mind. The image was so clear, so inviting, that he blinked when she spoke again.

“So why not put the injured kid in the game? He’s a closer, that’s what they do,” she asked in reference to the reason he was fired. She folded her arms.

A sense of being let down washed over Isaac. Baseball was big business and the Richmonds were as big as business came. “I recruited this kid. He has potential to play pro. He was injured off the field but if he pitched, he’d blow out his arm. I couldn’t see him throwing away a future for a single inning.”

“Especially since you were going to lose the game anyway.” Harper lifted an eyebrow, challenging Isaac in a way he couldn’t get a read on.

He could let it slide; agree with her and get the job. But, it mattered to him that she understood. With all the interviews, questions, and prodding, he just wanted someone to understand. He thought, maybe, that someone could have been Harper. Guess not.

“No. Not because we were going to lose. Even if the game had been on the line, if he had been the deciding factor, I would have sat him because a player is more than their throwing speed or batting average.” He stood quickly, his heart running the bases. Coming to California had been a mistake. “Maybe I’m not the one you’re looking for.”

The pressure attacked again as Isaac opened the door to leave.