Catching Hell

By Mindy Klasky

Unrequited love turns into a scorching age gap romance in this sexy stand-alone baseball romance!

 

Zach Ormond is a thirty-seven-year-old catcher nearing the end of his contract, grateful for a no-trade clause that will let him retire a star in Raleigh.  Twenty-five-year-old Anna Benson grew up in the Rockets' front office, trained by her grandfather to take over the team.

 

When Zach finally realizes Anna is no longer a star-struck kid, their passion flares like post-game fireworks. But soon a freak accident forces the team to acquire a new player, and Anna must convince Zach to forfeit his no-trade guarantee.

 

Zach uses his considerable seductive power to make Anna keep him—both on the team and in her bed. But can they live happily ever after if their romance destroys the team they love?

 

The Diamond Brides Baseball Series:

 

Each volume can be read on its own, and the series can be read in any order.

 

Perfect Pitch (DJ Thomas and Samantha Winger)
Catching Hell (Zach Ormond and Anna Benson)
Reaching First (Tyler Brock and Emily Holt)
Second Thoughts (Nick Durban and Jamie Martin)
Third Degree (Josh Cantor and Ashley Harris)
Stopping Short (Drew Marshall and Jessica Barnes)
From Left Field (Adam Sartain and Haley Thurman)
Center Stage (Ryan Green and Lindsey Ormond)
Always Right (Kyle Norton and Amanda Carter)

 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Book View Cafe
• Release date: Feb 1, 1983
• ISBN: 9781611383683

Mindy Klasky

Mindy Klasky learned to read when her parents shoved a book in her hands and told her that she could travel anywhere in the world through stories. She never forgot that advice. When Mindy isn't "traveling" through writing books, she quilts, cooks and tries to tame the endless to-be-read shelf in her home library. You can visit Mindy at her Web site, www.mindyklasky.com.

Book preview

1

Some day, all this would be hers.

Anna Benson sighed as she looked around the owner’s suite at Rockets Field. The cleaning crew had worked their magic during the night, emptying trashcans and restocking the small refrigerator with soft drinks and game-time snacks.

But they hadn’t touched the huge table that ran along the side wall, the one snowed under by a blizzard of papers. And they hadn’t moved the beat-up laptop that was plugged into the wall. And they hadn’t shifted a single one of the multicolor pens, pencils, and highlighters standing at attention in a variety of old coffee cans scattered around the room.

The cleaning crew was the best that money could buy.

Anna grabbed a can of Coca-Cola, her third of the day, but before she could drink it down she turned to the thermostat on the wall and made a quick adjustment. The suite was chilly, especially for a Friday evening in June. Maybe it would warm up before Gramps had a chance to complain. Anna shook her head. The gruff old man complained about everything—the weather, the umpires, the low-sodium, low-sugar snacks Anna kept on hand.

Let him argue. She intended to keep him with her as long as possible.

As if in response to her tart mental challenge, the door to the suite opened, and her grandfather’s querulous voice drifted into the room. Damn. Gramps was in the heavy-duty wheelchair, the one that gave him full support for his head and neck. A quick glance at Rob, Gramps’ day-nurse, confirmed her suspicions. This was a bad day.

Fighting a heavy heart, Anna crossed the room to plant a kiss on Gramps’ temple. The old man patted her arm, but he was already gesturing for Rob to roll him toward the front of the suite.

I want to keep an eye on Ormond tonight, Gramps said, clearly bristling for an argument.

Anna nodded, hiding the automatic flip of her belly as she spread a red and blue blanket over the old man’s lap. She wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on Zachary Ormond herself. She always had—from the moment she’d first met the catcher, when she’d been a star-struck ten-year-old with scabs on her knees from learning how to slide into home plate. Then, he’d been her hero, a twenty-two-year-old switch-hitting rookie who’d gone first in the draft and was already called up from the minors because the Rockets needed his defensive arm behind the plate as much as they needed his bat.

In the intervening fifteen years, Anna had become interested in a lot more than Zach’s legendary on-base percentage. Even before she’d truly understood the challenges of marriage, she’d watched him succumb to an ill-fated union with a surgery-enhanced bimbo as fake as the silk-wrapped nails she sported on national television. As a high-school student, Anna had watched Zach’s marriage fall apart; she’d daydreamed about the then-available star taking her to Homecoming, to Prom, to all the other high-school dances she skipped. In college, Anna had majored in Sports Management, and she’d written her senior thesis on the potential economic disruption of one player’s blockbuster long-term contract, using Zach’s ten-year deal with the Rockets as her primary example.

And all the while, Anna had found herself wondering how it would feel to have the legendary Ormond charm directed at her—Zach’s famous chivalry, his gentlemanly goodwill.

Okay, truth be told, Anna had wondered about a lot more than chivalry. She’d lost herself in more than one daydream about those Gold Glove hands, about…

She shook her head. She’d known Zachary Ormond for fifteen years. He’d watched her grow from a little girl to the woman she was today, and he’d never given her the slightest hint that he thought of her as anything other than Old Man Benson’s granddaughter.

She kept her voice carefully neutral as she responded to Gramps. With yesterday as a travel day, his knees should be in good shape.

But that motherf—mummy Cranston is the ump behind home plate. We’ll be lucky if he only fu—fouls up half the calls.

Anna swallowed her smile as her grandfather scrubbed his language. The managers and coaches who worked for him often remarked that the old man had taught them compound nouns they’d never imagined. But Gramps took preternatural pride in the fact that he’d never sworn in front of his wife, not once in the sixty-two years they were married. And Marty Benson would rather be confined to a hospital bed than defile the precious ears of the orphaned granddaughter he’d adopted twenty years before.

As Gramps went on to castigate the opposing team’s owner, the lack of double-salt pork rinds, and—yes—the glacial temperature in the suite, the room began to fill up. Anna smiled at the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Public Relations. She distributed stacks of papers to each staff member who arrived, efficiently explaining problems that needed more detailed attention.

As a barbershop quartet sang The Star-Spangled Banner, everyone took a respectful break from business, but after the anthem they returned to the serious work of managing a baseball team. The suite door opened just as the Rockets’ pitcher threw his first fastball over the plate, and Anna glanced up at the disturbance with a quick frown.

Gregory Small eased into the seat next to her. Sorry I’m late, he said. I was on the phone with Cincinnati.

She nodded, accepting the excuse, even though the general manager should be offering it to Gramps and not to her. Small had been her grandfather’s right-hand man for nearly a dozen years, exercising ultimate power over all new contracts and trades. The man had a computer instead of a brain, and he’d long ago replaced any semblance of a heart with a 108-stitch baseball. But he was good at his job, the best Anna had ever seen.

And she’d seen a lot.

With the exception of the four years she’d spent at University of Michigan, Anna had practically lived at Rockets Field. Her parents had been killed by a drunk driver when she was only five, and her grandmother had surrendered to a torrent of illnesses, all tied to severe depression over losing her only son. Gramps had made the best of a terrible situation, keeping Anna close every waking moment that she wasn’t at school.

At her grandfather’s side, Anna had learned the ins and outs of baseball, the highs and lows of team ownership. She’d watched silently as Small argued for multi-million-dollar contracts, and she’d learned to predict how her grandfather would invest the profits from his furniture manufacturing empire.

When Anna had first returned from college, she’d worried about the Rockets’ management, about their accepting her as a valuable member of the behind-the-scenes staff. But after three years of hard work—years when she had steadfastly refused to rely on her family name to win even a single argument—her co-workers had come to accept that Anna was the real thing. She had baseball in her blood. She was respected for her business acumen, completely separate from her position as Gramps’ heir apparent.

And now it was time for Anna to give back to her grandfather. The old man might be grumpy. He might complain about everything in sight. He might be dictatorial as he gestured from the stiff seat of his wheelchair.

But Anna knew that Marty Benson loved two things in this world—the Raleigh Rockets and Anna herself. And she was determined to give him confidence that his beloved team would survive—would thrive—even after he was gone. She was going to prove to her grandfather, no matter what it took, that she had the grit to own the Rockets and to make them succeed.

DJ Thomas rang up his third out, a great start to the game. Anna watched Zach straighten from his catcher’s crouch and walk back to the dugout. He was moving easily, without a hint of the lower-back tightness that had kept him out of the last two games.

Pulling her scorecard in front of her and selecting the bright green pen she always used to record Philadelphia’s moves, Anna settled back in her chair. This was a perfect night for baseball.

This was a perfect night for baseball.

Out of long habit, Zach tapped his batting helmet twice before he stepped out of the dugout. He took a couple of practice swings from the circle plastered with the Rockets’ logo, watching the Philadelphia pitcher deliver his fastball to Cody Tucker.

Damn, Tucker was a cocky son of a bitch. He stood on top of the plate, daring the pitcher to brush him back with a hundred-mile-an-hour ball. The kid had already been hit by pitches half a dozen times in the two-month-old season, but he was leading the league in home runs. And he wasn’t even legal to drink yet.

Zach took another practice swing. With Tucker in front of him in the line-up, Zach’s own stats were shaping up. He was on track for 125 RBI. Maybe that would get the goddamn press to give it a rest about the eighth year of his contract, about whether the Rockets were really getting their money’s worth.

Another practice swing. Zach could feel the tightness in his lower back, the nagging ache that never really went away. But he’d babied himself for long enough. Rockets fans came to see him play, not to watch him huddled in the dugout, spitting sunflower seeds and squinting at guys who were younger, faster, and a hell of a lot more limber. Zach had spent his entire career with Raleigh; there were grown men in town who had never known another catcher behind the plate.

Not that he could put off the inevitable much longer. Two more years, after this season. Two more years of proving he was worth every penny he’d negotiated so long ago. He wanted to make Raleigh proud. Wanted to make Old Man Benson say that Zach’s contract was the best piece of paper he’d ever signed.

Even if Zach couldn’t help being jealous of the speed and strength and downright ability of a kid like Cody Tucker.

Crack!

The ball flew off Tucker’s bat, shooting down the first-base line. The right-fielder took a shitty read on it, missing the rebound off the wall. Tucker flew by the bag, easily rounding toward second.

The right-fielder finally got his glove on the ball, but he made an awkward pivot back to the diamond. He bobbled the ball on the transfer, and Tucker exploited the mistake, turning toward third with a burst of fresh speed.

Zach moved with the ease of many years of practice, darting toward the plate to pick up the bat Tucker had flung away. The throw in from right was impossibly high; the cut-off man had to waste time leaping up to snag the ball.

Tucker barreled into third as the first-baseman recovered. The third-base coach made a split-second decision, windmilling his arm, sending Tucker toward the plate and an inside-the-park home run. The kid lowered his head and drove forward like a missile.

The ball came hurtling toward home, hitting the catcher’s waiting mitt. He was too far from the plate, too far down the line to tag up, so he planted himself squarely in front of the charging Tucker.

Back off, asshole! Zach bellowed to the other catcher. Tucker barely hitched his shoulders as he braced for the collision, even though the opposing player outweighed him by thirty pounds, and that was before the leather and steel of protective gear was taken into consideration.

The impact sounded like a side of meat dropping onto a steel table. Zach’s retinas registered the carnage before his mind was consciously aware:

The Philadelphia catcher, knocked back on his ass, sliding all the way behind home plate.

The ump, his hand already folding into a fist, his thumb extended, calling Tucker out.

The kid, jaw set, legs extended, sliding in hard.

The ankle, twisted to an impossible angle, 180 degrees from normal.

The crowd, frozen in immediate silence, still on their feet from cheering their hero home.

The kid again, screaming through clenched teeth, curled into himself, stretching for his foot, craning his neck to see something he should never see.

Zach hollered for the trainer even as he threw himself to his knees beside Tucker’s head. Look at me, he shouted, desperate to make contact through the kid’s wall of pain.

Tucker whined in high-pitched agony, writhing like a speared fish. The motion was the worst possible thing he could do; he was twisting his foot even more, forcing it further in directions it was never

Reviews for Catching Hell

[eleasha-8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just received my advanced copy of Catching Hell by Mindy Klasky. This book was short and sweet. I was able to read it in between studying and really enjoyed the book. I am interested in reading the next one. The main characters were easy to love and enjoy.

[jk6113 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Catching Hell was an enjoyable and fast read that will delight baseball and romance fans alike! I definitely enjoyed reading the book! My only complaint is that there wasn't much build up to the romance - it seemed to have been predetermined before the book began. However, that may be because I hadn't read the first book in the series. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and learn a few more of the intricacies to the game of baseball and will definitely be looking out for Mindy's next book.

[tpenny-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this romance book, however, I felt the story was a little rushed and the book a little short. The main characters (Anna & Zach) were very likable though, and I was immediately rooting for them. A sweet & sexy book, very entertaining! All in all, a fun & quick read! Definitely planning on reading the others in this series!

[regencyreader-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Let me be fair by saying that my heart lies with historical romance (mostly regency-era) books, but I do read modern romances here and there.Basic storyline: The heir to a baseball team has always had a crush on the team's star catcher, a man 12 years her senior. Through certain events, the two end up on opposite sides of negotiations.The Good/Interesting: The setting of the world of baseball, including back office happenings was interesting.Frustrating: A little less plot and I would have just labeled it pure porn. I would have loved to see the author spend a little more time going from secret, long-time crush, to one somewhat awkward experience, to jumping into bed. The characters were developed enough for what the story was, but could have been enhanced with a bit more time spent.I will say that the sample of the next book in the series that was included at the end did intrigue me. I question whether that one will take as quick a turn into the purely physical as "Catching Hell" did. I'm not against that side of a story as long as it's truly just part of the story and it doesn't feel like the pool cleaner just showed up at the house and 3 minutes later is cleaning out the wife's pipes. Like I said, "Catching Hell" had slightly more plot than that, so I gave it a mid-range 3-star.

[patricia1972-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was yet another great book by mindy klasky. I truly ejoyed the whole plot. A sassy female and a cocky jock what could be better. So far I have loved this series and can t wait to read the other books.

[brainjacks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book. It is a nice storyline and reminiscent of a good romance novel crossed with Judy Blume intensity of the storyline (Eg: "Tiger Eyes"). I enjoyed how the author took us through learning about each of the characters and their relationships. Very well written and I recommend this book for a fun, light summer read!

[schmapp_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Catching Hell is the second book in the Diamond Brides series but can be read easily as a stand alone book. This romance kicks off between Anna and the Rockets catcher Zach Ormond. The crush on her end goes back a long time and starts to heat up. Things get complicated when they want to trade Zach to another team. Overall this was a great, easy to read romance. I read it and a couple sittings and enjoyed the story.

[hellonicole_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Anna is being groomed to take over the Raleigh Rockets for her grandfather, Zach is the team's veteran catcher. All kinds of tension, sexual and otherwise, builds up when a player gets hurt and the team tries to trade Zach, who has a no-trade clause.Overall a fast read (don't judge by progress updates, I had other things to read), but because of the build up of the relationship between Anna and Zach felt rushed, forced. Yeah, she'd had a crush on him for years, and yeah she was suddenly 'grown up in his eyes'. But hey, if you're looking for something that gets pretty straight to the nitty gritty, and that's well written, too, Catching Hell isn't a bad read.

[riikkat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anna and Zach are on a collision course in more ways than one. Anna has had a crush on the star of Raleigh Rockets for ages. Just when Zach is starting to realize that Anna has finally grown up, Anna faces some difficult business decisions that might ruin their relationship before it's barely begun.I don't know the first thing about baseball and in fact read this book while watching ice hockey. Luckily the story was still very enjoyable and the characters likable. The story ended up just this side of believable, even though due to the shortness of the book the relationship didn't have much time to develop.I really enjoyed Catching Hell and I'd love to read the other books in the series.

[jendoyle2000 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As always, I enjoyed the baseball setting and I really liked both Anna and Zach, but things did get a little too harsh for me with the games that they were playing re. the contract negotiations. And I was a little sad at the ending because it seemed [SPOILER ALERT] Zach was forced to give up too much. Still looking forward to #3 in the series, however.

[crazy4reading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another book in the Diamond Brides series. I won this through LibraryThings Early Reviewers program. This is the second book in the series. We meet Anna and Zach.Anna Benson is the granddaughter of a baseball owner. She is now helping with the team as her gramps is ill. Zach is the catcher for the Raleigh Rockets. Anna is 14 years younger then Zach and she is in love with him.This story is entertaining. I enjoyed the banter between Anna and Zach. The sexual tension is felt from the beginning when they first met. Now this story continues into the third book with Anna's friend Emily and the new acquisition the Rockets have made.

[dotland101 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you love contemporary romance novels with hunky pro sports such as those from Rachel Gibson, or Carly Phillips..... then this is for you. Especially if you are a baseball fan, you can't miss this series of "Diamond Brides" from Mindy Klasky. Catching Hell is the second book in the series, but don't worry. It's a stand-alone novel with cute romance between an heiress to her grandfather who is the team owner, the Raleigh Rockets. Anna Benson has a lot to prove to her grandfather and everyone that she is worthy of the job. But when decisions concerning a loss of an important batter of the team with serious injury that would end his career, and an old timer - the team catcher and first base, Zach Ormond (whom she's been attracted to since she was ten!!) fell on her lap to make.... thing has gotten complicated and dicey, on both business and personal levels. How can both Anna and Zach keep their romance afloat amidst business dealing and keep telling themselves it's not personal, it's business? Find out from Catching Hell, a not-too short cute romance story, easy reading perfect for a breezy lazy summer.

[lms8esmith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Catching Hell, book two in the series, was a great read. I was happy to read Anna and Zach's love story. I really enjoyed watching Anna handle her own with the males in the team meetings. Then there is Zach! Who doesn't love a hot baseball catcher! The one flaw I have with this series is that the relationships seem to happen too easily. I know they are short reads, but I wonder what could happen with the great characters if the books were a little longer. All in all, this is a great series!

[lexiesmom-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm a hockey fan. Aside from the Jackie Robinson story I have never read a book with baseball as part of the story line. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the role reversals in the story. The "girl" holding her own in the "guy's world. It was a well told love story with a little comedy thrown in for good measure. The characters were likable for the most part and were easy to identify with. The bedroom scenes were detailed but not graphic and there was very little use of foul language. It was a book I thoroughly enjoyed.I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for this honest review. But I enjoyed it enough to purchase another book in the series before I took the time to write this review.

[rjlouise · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I KNEW THIS SERIES WOULD GET BETTER. (Sorry, had to get that out of the way.)I still love Mindy Klasky, I still love baseball, I still love that this series is going in position order. I hate that I have to wait until next Sunday to get a shot at the next book and until November until I get the final book in this series.I felt like this book improved a LOT on the issues from the series starter, PERFECT PITCH. First of all, the relationship of the characters is better established and feels less rushed. Second, there was more baseball in this one and I loved it. The politics of playing and club house antics fit right in. The first book felt a little more about the pageant and less about baseball. Third, the pacing of the book felt more polished.Again, though, there was some hand waving of issues between the characters. Not everyone is going to automatically understand why another character did something. I want to see problems get solved, not just disappear.A- (many issues with first book resolved, fun story, great characters; still feel like there was some hand-waving of important issues)

[labrat35 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a free copy of Catching Hell from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. I am a huge baseball fan, so I couldn't wait to read this book. It was a fast read and I LOVED the story and characters. Would enjoy reading other books in the series.

[aileen3403 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just love this series by Mindy Klasky. I read Perfect Pitch and was so glad to get a copy of Catching Hell. I love the characters in the book and like the way the story line evolved. I don't usually tell in my reviews what the book is about because everyone can read the samples. I couldn't put this book down and will be getting the next one soon. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. Can't wait for the next one.

[lulu150 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was lucky to get an ARC copy from the author of Catching Hell and loved it just as much as Perfect Pitch. I really liked the characters of Zach and Anna and the chemistry they had. It is a great, quick, easy and entertaining romance book!

[cheryl_nolan-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Anna Benson steps up to manage the baseball team when her grandfather has a stroke. She also has an impossible situation with one team member to solve ... but love is in the air!

[b.j.o. · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you love baseball and strong heroines, CATCHING HELL may just be the next book you should read. At just 174 pages, it can easily be read in an evening, and packs a wonderful combination of intrigue and romance. Featuring a romance between Anna Benson, the 25-year old granddaughter of the Rockets' professional baseball team owner, and their star, but aging catcher, Zach Ormond, CATCHING HELL is the epitome of why work love relationships should be avoided; but, as we all know, sometimes there is no denying passion even under the most inopportune of circumstances.Anna has had a crush on Zach Ormond since he first started with the Rockets when he was a rookie and she was just 10 years-old. Having been raised by her grandparents, after her parents died in a car accident, she spent a lot of her free time at the Rockets ballpark with her Grandfather, further adding fuel to her secret obsession with Zach. Still, the only person she has previously informed of her feelings is her best friend, and notwithstanding her best friend's constant encouragement, she refuses to act any way other than professionally towards Zach.Having been born and raised in North Carolina, where the Rockets are based, and being a loyal man, Zach always envisioned playing with the Rockets for his entire career. To that end, he fought tooth and nail to get an unprecedented, no-trade clause added to his ground-breaking multimillion dollar a year contract with the Rockets. Longing for a happily ever-after on his farm just 45-minutes away from the Rockets' home field, Zach has unfortunately not been as successful at this love life as he has been with his baseball career. Then one evening Anna and Zach find themselves at the hospital, tending to an injured teammate, and sparks begin to fly. Zach, being 12-years older, warns Anna about the panoply of reasons why they should ignore their feelings; but Anna being a strong woman, and used to being in charge, determines that it is time to take control of this situation and dominates Zach into compliance.Of course, shortly thereafter all hell breaks loose, and Anna and Zach find themselves in the untenable position of being lovers by night but adversaries by day as Anna is tasked with job of convincing Zach to waive his no-trade clause and agree to a trade, so the Rockets can recruit a replacement for their injured star rookie. They agree to keep their love and professional lives separate but, when an all out, no holds barred, war breaks out, can they possibly find a way to "catch" a HEA?I really enjoyed CATCHING HELL, and read it all in one sitting. It was that good! In fact, I'd wager to say that the first 90% or so of the book deserves a 5-star rating. The ending, however, came a little fast for me, and I would have really loved to see the romance at the end further elaborated and detailed. So while I was sad to see this one come to an abrupt end, I still loved the plot, writing and style and therefore I highly recommend it to enthusiasts of sports romances. Source: Early Reviewers copy provided through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

[malin0johanna · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A moderately long book about a young woman who is about to take the step up as the heir to a baseball team. We follow her rocky road to prove that she can handle the job not only to her grandfather, but also to herself and her colleagues.She has a crush since childhood on one of the players and we get to follow their path to a life together. It is not always easy when two stubborn people want to get their way.A very readable book out of a writer who I think will write more bestsellers in the near future.

[medavis66 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was great! Perfect, quick romantic read. I love baseball, and sports books in general, and this one definitely did not disappoint. I loved reading about the workings of the team, Zach's contract dispute, and (most importantly) their growing relationship. The only thing I would've liked to have in this book was MORE. The resolution and ending was wonderful, but I'd like to have a book 2 (and 3 and 4, if I'm being honest) just on these characters. Zach and Anna were perfect for one another! I'm in for the series! I'll be getting book 1 now and looking forward to the others, as well.I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for providing an honest review.

[kmt01_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Even if you are not a sports fan, you will definitely like this book. This is Anna’s story, as we follow her through her first days taking over the baseball club her grandfather owned, learning the ins and outs, joys and sadness of ownership. It is also the story of Zach, the team’s catcher and long-time team member (he has never played for any other team), who finally realizes how important finding and keeping the one you love close, while helping Anna through her first days as team owner. The two have known each other for years, as Anna, raised by her grandfather after losing her parents early on, was always around the club, in its offices, watching the team practice and play, sitting on the side during her grandfather’s meetings concerning and with team players. The two don’t realize it but there is a lot of chemistry between them. Zach hesitates because he is several years Anna’s senior. Anna is too busy trying to be an owner like her grandfather. When one of the team’s star players is injured during a game, they finally meet at other than meetings and professional team discussions. However, things don’t get easier after that, mostly because the team management decides to somehow convince Zach to break his no-transfer clause in his contract, so they can trade him for another player to sub for the injured one. How they go about this is sort of ruthless, but this is major league ball and things can be ruthless anytime you work with contracts and money. I loved this book. There was not a lot of baseball mumbo jumbo in it. Baseball was just the backdrop for the story. Anna and Zach’s characters were well developed, and there definitely was real chemistry between them. I have read others of the author’s novels, but this is the first one in this series. Having read this one, I am ready to get the first book in the series, hoping it will be as great as this one was. Mindy Klasky has definitely shown that she can write and write well. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.

[cathygeha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I have read by Mindy Klasky and also was a gift through LibraryThing. I have always enjoyed a good romance and that is just what this book is. The writing is well done, the characters are both strong individuals with interesting lives, the pacing, intrigues and troubles faced by the couple are for the most part believable. I don’t know that a major league baseball player would have made the decision in the end that Zach made for himself and Anna BUT it was in keeping with a fairy tale ending romance.

[iadam-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book free from the author through LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review. May December romance. Anna is trying to fix the baseball team’s problems and Zach wants to finish his no trade clause contract. Both of the main characters are very adult about handling conflict in this difficult work love relationship with very little drama but it does eventually affect their love relationship. Read the book to see how they work this out. This was a very enjoyable book. I also enjoyed the relationship between Anna and her grandfather.