Stopping Short

A widow and a cocky bad-boy hero with PTSD find healing in a fake engagement in this sexy stand-alone baseball romance! Drew Marshall, the Rockets' bad-boy shortstop, is about to be cut from the team. In the middle of spring training, his baseball skills are slipping, and his recent scrapes with the law place him in hot water. Drew's agent hires spin doctor Jessica Barnes to save the shortstop's career. Widowed Jessica knows nothing about baseball, but she’s determined to rescue her client. Along the way, she needs to prove she's finally over the death of her risk-taking husband. Alas, a well-intentioned teammate tells ravenous paparazzi that Jessica is Drew's secret fiancée. Now the couple is trapped in the same hotel room, sharing one bed, a fake engagement, and a mutual attraction that’s hotter than the Florida weather. What could possibly go wrong? 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) If you like passionate stories that include a fake relationship (fake engagement or fake fiancé or fake fiancée), a widow rebuilding her life, a bad-boy survivor of childhood trauma overcoming abuse and PTSD, spring training (Grapefruit League) on the Florida Gulf Coast, major league baseball, athletes, sports, alpha males, a bad boy hero, a strong female lead, and a sexy, spicy, hot contemporary romance beach read, this is the book for you! 121922mfm