Book picks similar to
Tapping Out by Nikki Ash
romance
sports
second-chance
secret-baby
Reed's Reckoning
Ahren Sanders - 2014
Heartbroken and humiliated, she found herself changing the course of her life and picking up the pieces of her shattered heart. Now four years later, she has a successful career, amazing friends, and a young son with crystal blue eyes that reminds her every day of the love she imagined. Emotionally she has moved on but the wounds never healed. Reed Matthews has it all. Playing professional football was always his dream. Being one of the most successful wide receivers in the league comes with money, fame, and all the women he wants. Even with all his wishes coming true, he never stops thinking of the one woman that owned his soul four years ago. A chance encounter brings Reed to the realization that Ari Williams not only hid a life changing secret from him, but also things weren't as they seemed all those years ago. He's determined to get her back and build their lives together. When the truth behind their deception is revealed- friendships are tested, families are torn apart, and the one person behind it all is relentless.Can Reed protect those he loves and build the future he dreamed of?*Due to graphic language and explicit sexual situations, this book is recommended for readers 18+.
Maybe This Time
Chantal Fernando - 2013
But nothing could have prepared me for this. My brother’s friends are wild, protective, secretive, always around. And drop dead gorgeous. Out of all of them, there's something about Reid Knox. Brooding, temperamental, guarded… And I want him more than anything I have ever wanted in my life.
The Match
Winter Renshaw - 2021
No daddy? No problem.That’s what anonymous donors are for …But when the fertility clinic accidentally sends me a letter addressed to a man whose ID matches my paperwork, I discover my child’s father is none other than world-renowned tennis champion Fabian Catalano—famous for his gorgeous face, chiseled abs, and broody, wildcard reputation. Only everything changes when the clinic calls us in for damage control—and Fabian drops the bombshell of the century. Turns out the intense Adonis wants to get to know his daughter. So I invite him to stay with us—temporarily.Ground rules and all. And our arrangement is simple … until it isn’t.Between 2 AM feedings and stolen kisses, my sweet little simple life has taken a very complicated left turn. But oh, baby. What happens next—is a game changer.
Taming Mad Max
Theresa Ragan - 2011
Believing his life will be cut short, Max tries to live every moment to its fullest. For this reason, Max shies away from forming close relationships. What would be the point of falling in love and starting a family only to leave them as his father left him and his sisters? When Max discovers he has a thirteen-year old daughter though, it throws all his years of planning and preparation for an early death into a tailspin.Nutrition expert, Kari Murphy, used to think Max Dutton, aka Mad Max, was to die for, but she’s older and wiser now. The last time Kari reacted with her heart instead of her brain, she conceived the thing she loves most in life…her daughter, Molly. As much as she dislikes Max Dutton for taking her declaration of love and throwing it in her face fourteen years earlier, she knows that if it wasn’t for him her life would be meaningless. And that really ticks her off, especially when she’s hired by the NFL franchise to follow Max around for a couple of weeks and give him healthy-eating advice, foolproof facts about carbohydrates and tasteful tips on cooking and shopping smart. Kari doesn’t want to be anywhere near the man, but what choice does she have? Her career is on the line.Taming Mad Max finaled in RWA’s 2008 Golden Heart competition under the title, Better Late Than Never.
Chasing Butterflies
Terri E. Laine - 2016
Laine brings a new standalone New Adult Romance novel, Chasing Butterflies, about second chances on and off the field. One night … one kiss … one touch … will change everything. Kelley Moore’s tragic home life should make him a survivor. But when he’s uprooted yet again, his plans for a better future seem impossible. Being a player on and off the football field is all he knows, until Lenora Wells. The beautiful town princess makes him feel and want things he never thought he could have… Lenora will do anything to get out of her town, even if it means dating the wrong guy. There’s one problem: she can’t stop thinking about the gorgeous, complicated boy with the unusual eyes who gives her butterflies and makes her question her choices. When their lives collide, the world shifts and not in their favor. Four years later, the sins of their past can never be taken back and forgiveness won’t come easy. College is a different game, a second chance for something better. She’s not the girl he remembers and he’s the one boy she can never forget. He’s made a name for himself as the star quarterback -- the golden boy who can do no wrong. But he’s only interested in being her hero. Despite everything, she can’t deny he still makes her heart flutter; and she’s got him chasing butterflies. *Warning this new adult romance contains adult content and language and may not be suitable for younger readers.
12 Rounds
Lauren Hammond - 2012
One, he's the middle-weight boxing champion of the world with an undefeated record. Two, women find his cocky persona, chiseled biceps, and inked body sexy. Also, the fact that it's known that he doesn't do relationships only adds to his sex appeal. And three, he's Irish, proud of it, and a member of the Braithreachas Don Saol, a branch of the Irish mafia and king pins of the drug cartel taking over the streets of Cleveland.Connor Doyle(aka Connie) the boss and leader of the Braithreachas Don Saol, has been like a father to Sean, taking him under his wing and teaching him how to survive on the streets after the death of his parents. Sean has never been ungrateful, but has always wanted one thing...More. More to live for. More to fight for. More to believe in. A chance at a future without drugs or guns. A chance at a future without wondering which day will be his last.There's only one problem with that. You live by the braithreachas. You die by the braithreachas. And Sean knows whether Connie considers him to be family or not, the only way he'll be leaving the braithreachas is in a body bag.Hadlee Flax has had a year to overcome her issues. After almost being raped and brutalized, she's putting her best foot forward, seeing a therapist, and has even(with some persuasion from her best friend, Lara) enrolled in self defense classes. And she's doing well moving on with her life until she meets the dark, and conflicted Irish boxing champion of the world, Sean Reilly.Hadlee is immediately drawn to the gorgeous, cold, and mysterious man who speaks with a slight Irish brogue. She soon learns that there is much more to him than his darkened gaze, cool demeanor, and body covered in tattoos. He's not the type of man she thought he was. And Hadlee finds herself doing something she never thought she would do in the last year...Falling for a guy.Falling for Sean Reilly. A man who is on the path to becoming a boxing legend. One thing Hadlee doesn't know is the other part of Seans' life. His life of drug running, and killing. Or the fact that when he's not boxing he's walking the streets with a gat tucked into the back of his loose jeans, and glancing over his shoulder at every turn. But it doesn't take Hadlee long to learn that some attractions and relationships can be fatal.And sometimes...They just might be worth fighting for.
The Varsity Dad Dilemma
Lex Martin - 2021
Until someone drops off a baby with a note pinned to her blanket that says one of those jocks—either Rider or one of his roommates—is the father. The problem? Baby mama doesn’t mention which of these numbskulls is the sperm donor.I wouldn’t care about their paternity problems—not the slightest bit—except my brother lives there too. Which means that adorable squawking bundle might be my niece, and there’s no way I’m leaving her unattended with those bumbling football players.They need my help, even if they don’t know it yet. Once we solve this dilemma and figure out who’s the daddy, I’m out.I’ll just ignore Rider and those soul-searing looks he gives me every time I reach for the baby. He broke my heart three years ago. He won’t get a second chance.
Secret Plunge
Jasmin Miller - 2020
. . once you weather life’s bumps to get there. Of course.Like finding out your drop-dead-gorgeous one-night stand turned baby daddy is Ryan Monroe, swimming gold medalist who came out of retirement for one more Olympic Games.And that your dad is his new coach.Or that Ryan will never overlap his personal life with his work life again.That’s when the secrets . . . the omissions begin. Because sometimes, that’s how you protect fledgling relationships and those you love. Isn’t it?*previously published in Romantically Ever After*
Consumed
Alycia Taylor - 2014
So I looked in the most logical spot for a place to stay, the newspaper. After finding an apartment with a guy that was supposedly an MMA fighter and only walking distance to the college, I sent first month's rent payment. He seemed nice on the phone but when I showed up and knocked on the door I learned that I broke his number one rule, don't ever interrupt his "business". Will I be able to ignore the most popular guy on campus constantly hitting on me or will I give in and find that he's something more?
Binding Arbitration
Elizabeth Marx - 2011
The undefeated defense attorney is prepared to take her fight all the way to the majors.Circumstances force Libby to plead her case at the cleats of celebrity baseball player Banford Aidan Palowski, the man who discarded her at their college graduation. Libby has worked her backside bare for everything she’s attained, while Aidan has been indulged since he slid through the birth canal and landed in a pile of Gold Coast money. But helping Libby and living up to his biological duty could jeopardize the only thing the jock worships: his baseball career.If baseball imitates life, Aidan admits his appears to be silver-plated peanuts, until an unexpected confrontation with the most spectacular prize that’s ever poured from a caramel corn box blindsides him. When he learns about his son’s desperate need, it pricks open the wound he’s carried since he abandoned Libby and the child.All Libby wants is a little anonymous DNA, but Aidan has a magical umpire in his head who knows Libby’s a fateball right to the heart. When a six-year-old sage and a hippy priestess step onto the field, there’s more to settle between Libby and Aidan than heartache, redemption, and forgiveness.
Extreme Love
Abby Niles - 2013
But when the MMA fighter meets pretty Caitlyn Moore, he seems to be striking out left and right. The more Cait denies his advances, the more intrigued he becomes by the sharp-tongued beauty. She's a challenge he cannot resist.Comfortable with the average Joe, Cait doesn't get it when the ultra-masculine Dante walks into her life and expresses an interest in her. Sure, she's shed eighty pounds and her confidence is building, but there's nothing spectacular about her. Certainly not enough to hang onto a ripped babe-magnet like Dante, whose violent profession, catty groupies, and cruel competitors are already making her life a living hell. Dante's light-hearted pursuit quickly becomes a battle to win her heart as they find themselves thrown together again and again and it's affecting his training. Cait won't let him lose the biggest fight of his career because of her, but when her plan to keep him focused lands her in the dangerous clutches of Dante's vicious opponent, there is more at stake than just the championship belt.
Takedown Teague
Shay Savage - 2015
This is the raw, brutal underground of no-holds-barred combat. Inside the cage there is nothing but me and the pain I inflict on those who dare enter. In the cage, I never have to worry about anyone but myself. Yet, when she began standing outside of the cage, everything changed. I was no longer fighting for the money or the glory – I was fighting for her.
The Hurricane
R.J. Prescott - 2015
A gifted mathematician, she is little more than a hollow, broken shell, trying desperately to make ends meet long enough to finish her degree. Through an unlikely friendship with the aging, cantankerous owner of an old boxing gym, Em is thrown into the path of the most dangerous man that she has ever met.Cormac “the Hurricane” O’Connell is cut, tattooed and dangerous. He is a lethal weapon with no safety and everyone is waiting for the mis-fire. He’s never been knocked out before, but when he meet Em he falls, HARD. Unlike any other girl he’s ever met, she doesn’t want anything from him, but just being around her makes him want to be a better person. They are polar opposites who were never meant to find each other, but some things are just worth the fight.
My [Mostly] Secret Baby
Penelope Bloom - 2020
I apparently missed out on that one.Because Damon Rose came, and instead of running, I got pregnant.DamonYes. I remember Chelsea Cross.I remember five years ago when she thought she could handle me.Proving her wrong was… enjoyable.With hair I wanted to fist. A mouth that only stopped when I kissed it. A body that I needed to press against the nearest wall and claim.And now she wants a job.A smart man would say “no”.Or, I could teach her the same lesson I taught her five years ago.She can’t even begin to handle me.Author’s Note: Buckle up for the ultimate bosshole in this steamy, workplace romantic comedy with a sassy heroine and a stubborn grump who wants to ruin her day.
5 Rounds
Nikki Castle - 2021
The only problem is, she can't stand his arrogant, self-centered roommate, Tristan.Now, she has to figure out how to live in the same house with him for ten days while dealing with all the temptation that comes with… including punching Tristan’s smug face in. But when one night strips them of their masks and exposes the truth, they’re forced to reexamine how they really feel about each other.While Remy struggles with her attraction to this notorious womanizer, Tristan has to decide if his feelings for Remy are worth it, or if they'll just distract him from his longtime goal of becoming a world champion.Can Tristan and Remy drop their guards long enough to fall in love? Or will old prejudices deliver the final blow?Scroll up to dive into the world of Philly MMA today!