Love on the Line (35 page)

Cara’s mother turned, blushing. Ryan’s mother flushed too.

“I beg your pardon,” Cara’s mother said as she walked over to where Perk stood. “We were occupied with our grandson.”

“I realize he has more charm than me,” Perk said in a softer voice. “But you can’t have a christening without a ceremony. And you sure can’t have one without the babe.”

Perk’s words had to compete with the warmth flooding Cara’s body as she and Ryan reached out to take Casey into their joined arms. Their son looked up at them and gave a gummy smile, his eyes wide with wonder.

As Perk concluded the ceremony, Liza escaped Sam’s grasp and wandered over to lean against Ryan. Casey’s curious eyes fixed on Liza’s fuzzy ears, and he nearly wriggled from their grasp trying to reach for them.

They moved to the barn for the reception. The caterer they’d hired from Point Reyes served a meal made from the bounty from Cara and Ryan’s garden. Bustling servers uncorked and served champagne.

Cara sat with Ryan’s sister, Eve, at a table near one wall and jiggled Casey on her lap, tapping her foot to the music of the band of locals they’d hired to play. She watched, intrigued, as the new clinic doc squared off with Cain and managed to coax a dance from Molly. They’d outfitted the old dentist office and hired an around-the-clock medical staff. Until the new clinic was completed next year, at least they had a team in place for the interim.

When Alana’s handsome brother Simon cut in and whisked Molly to the center of the dancers, Cara had to smile. Molly had reentered the world of romance, and it looked like she was going to have a good run at finding a man to share her life. And even though love had its shock, its bite, its ways to surprise and disrupt, she was pretty sure Molly was up to the challenge. Actually welcomed the challenge.

Molly was doing an admirable job of not being star struck over Alex’s sister, Sabrina. Sabrina’s second film had made her a sensational box office draw, and she’d become the new darling in Hollywood.

Cara had to admire the way Sabrina took the fame and fuss in stride. More than once they’d talked about the challenges of living in the public eye. Cara had realized that her own challenges paled when held up to the ones faced by Sabrina. The previous week she’d been grabbed by a zealous photographer and now had her arm in a sling as a result of the man’s assault. Though Sabrina laughed off her brother’s concern that she had only two months to recover and get in shape for an action film, Cara saw the pain and worry in her eyes. She’d joked that she could be a wounded heroine, that maybe the world was ready for reality. Alex told her not to count on it.

The musicians announced a short break, and Ryan stepped up to the stage. He clinked a knife to his glass, waving everyone quiet.

“I have a surprise.” He paused and several people groaned at him milking the drama. “A surprise for the beautiful mother of our son.”

He jogged to the side door of the barn, flicked a switch, and it opened on its track. There, strung with tiny white Christmas lights, was a brand new school bus with a red bow across its door.

Everyone cheered. Even Perk, who wasn’t one for surprises. Cara suspected he’d been in on the planning of this one.

“But since Molly’s the one who’ll be driving it,” Ryan said as he turned to look across the room to Cara, “with your permission, perhaps she should cut the ribbon?”

Cara laughed and nodded.

Molly had to be prodded to the front of the group by Belva. She took the scissors Ryan held out and snipped the red cord.

Over the applause of their guests, Ryan clinked a knife to the edge of his glass once again. “And now I have a confession.” His tone was nearly somber.

He held out his hand for Cara.

Casey giggled as she handed him into Eve’s outstretched arms.

Ryan held her in a gaze that burned with heat and passion as she walked up to the stage.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and raised his glass. “I’ve learned a lesson that most of you all probably already knew. I was just a bit slow to catch on.” He tugged Cara closer. “When love’s in the game, losing is
never
an option.”

The group cheered as he met her lips with his.

Home
.

Held in Ryan’s arms, Cara finally recognized what it felt like to be home.

<<<<>>>> 

Thank you!

Thanks for reading
Love on the Line
. I hope you enjoyed it!

·
                 
Would
you like to know when my next books are available? You can sign up for my new release newsletter at
http://www.pamelaaares.com/newsletter-signup/
to find out about future books as soon as they are released!

·
        
You've just read the fourth book in the
Heart of the Game
series. The other books in the series are:

Love Bats Last
(Book #1, Alex and Jackie)

Thrown By Love
(Book #2, Chloe and Scotty)

Fielder's Choice
(Book #3, Alana and Matt)

Aim for Love
(Book #5, Laz and Sabrina, available summer 2014)

·
        
You, the reader
, have the power to make or break a book’s reputation. Reviews help other readers find books they love. I appreciate reviews from all perspectives and would love to hear your opinion. If you have the time, please leave a review and let me know what you think about
Love on the Line.

I write so that readers may enjoy the experience of reading my books. I hope you enjoy every one! And stay tuned, there’s more of the Tavonesi clan ahead.

Thank you
so much for reading and for spending time with me.

In gratitude, 

Pamela Aares

Another winner in Pamela Aares' Heart of the Game series. Get ready to enter the fast-paced world of alpha male, All-Star athletes and the top-of-their-game women they come to love.

Aares deftly weaves together the desires and strategies of world-class sports with the equally charged realm of the heart to create a fast-moving tale you'll wish would never end.

Mary Beath, award-winning author of

Refuge of Whirling Light

And don’t miss…

Other Books by Pamela

Book One in the Heart of the Game series

A stormy night changes their lives forever...

The baseball diamond isn't the only field for all-star player Alex Tavonesi; he also runs his family's prestigious vineyard. What he can't seem to run is his love life. He's closing in on the perfect vintage and the perfect game, but so far the perfect woman has eluded him.

Veterinarian Jackie Brandon is eluding her aristocratic past and memories of a soccer star who jilted her just before their wedding. She devotes herself to a marine mammal rescue center on the northern California coast, where hundreds of seals and sea lions are washing up dead.

A chance meeting in a midnight storm brings Alex and Jackie together to rescue a stranded whale. Watching her work, he realizes she's the passionate, courageous woman he thought he'd never find--he just has to overcome her deep distrust of jocks. Jackie’s passion and courage lead her to discover what's killing the sea mammals. The culprits want to silence her, and Alex is the only one standing in their way. What will he sacrifice to save the woman he loves?

Love Bats Last is available online as a print or eBook at all of your favorite booksellers.

Click here to buy
Love Bats Last

Book Two in the Heart of the Game series

A kiss in a dark alcove triggers the greatest challenge of their lives...

Ace pitcher Scotty Donovan has been traded from his longtime team—and hates it. But to his surprise, he now finds himself in the sweetest game of his life: winning the heart of smart, sexy physics professor Chloe McNalley.

Chloe loves teaching, but she's never fit into academia. When she falls for Scotty, she discovers his arms and heart are where she belongs. They share a passion for the game, a fascination for the mysteries of the universe and an increasing love for one another.

Then Chloe inherits Scotty's new team. As player and team owner, they shouldn't be dating. They try to hide their passion, until a blackmailer threatens them personally and professionally. Exposure could be the end of everything--Scotty's career, Chloe's team ownership, and their new love—unless they find a way to transcend the taboo standing between them.

Thrown By Love is available online as a print or eBook at all of your favorite booksellers.

Click here to buy
Thrown By Love

Book Three in the Heart of the Game series

When love’s the game, you can’t play it safe…

All-Star shortstop Matt Darrington has more than a problem. His wife died, and now he’s juggling a too-smart-for-her-britches six-year-old and the grueling pace of professional baseball. Worse, his daughter is mom shopping. When they explore a local ranch, she decides the beautiful, free-spirited tour guide is premium mom material. Matt thinks the sexy guide looks like Grade-A trouble.

Alana Tavonesi loves her cosmopolitan life in Paris. But when she inherits the renowned Tavonesi Olive Ranch, she has to return to California and face obligations she never wanted. Selling the place is her first instinct, but life at the ranch begins to crack her open, exposing the dreams hidden inside her heart.

On a lark she leads a ranch tour, where she meets Matt Darrington. His physical power and a captivating sensual appeal fire her in a way no man ever has, but he has a kid—and being a stepmom is a responsibility Alana will never be ready for. Still... she can’t keep her mind or her hands off him.

When Matt’s daughter goes missing from a kid’s camp at the ranch, Alana organizes the search effort, knowing from experience the areas a bright child would be drawn to explore. As she and Matt work together to search for the little girl, Alana discovers that father and daughter have won her heart. Yet it may be too late for love…