The Big Release Party Continues ...
Those who know me, know about my family's long-standing love affair with football! I was especially excited about this book because it combines football and romance. You can't go wrong with that, right? I was hooked from the first page of Pass Interference and know you'll love it
too!
Taylor Hart's book, The Christmas Groom is coming next week.
If you haven't gotten your copy of Love on the Rebound, you can get it HERE.
Get your copy of Pass Interference HERE.
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Hyde Metcalf, wide receiver for the Denver Storm, is recovering from pneumonia and needs the best personal trainer in Colorado to get him in shape for the season. With his dad missing again and his mom fighting Alzheimer’s, it's crucial he stays close to home.
Lily Udy idolizes Hyde Metcalf and the Denver Storm. Her dream is to be a team trainer someday. When Hyde walks into the gym she’s working at and her boss gives her the opportunity to train him, it’s more than a dream come true.
Hyde thinks he may have found the perfect trainer and maybe more with Lily, until another man who wants Lily for himself, the media, his mom, and a horrible accident come between them. Happily ever after may be a pass that neither of them can jump high enough to reach.
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Pass Interference: A Last
Play Romance by Cami
Checketts
“Lily.”
Ike interrupted her as she demonstrated to the six a.m. group training session
how to do a proper dropping pushup. Several of them were cheating and she knew
they could do it correctly and would thank, or possibly cuss, her tomorrow when
their chest muscles felt like they’d been ripped apart.
“Malee
needs you,” Ike said.
“I’m
in the middle of a session here.”
“I’ll
take over.”
She
hesitated.
“She
said it’s really important.” Ike winked. “Like maybe as important as you going
out with me Saturday night.”
“Not
happening, Ike.”
Several
of the class members overheard and snickered at Lily shooting down the
body-building trainer. His looks weren’t the problem, it was his attitude
toward women. Like they were beneath him in the professional realm, but he
would forgive them for that if they fawned all over him and dated him. Ick. He
asked Lily out so often she’d become an expert at rejecting him.
“You’ll
give in someday.”
She
laughed. “I highly doubt that.”
“You
really need to go talk to Malee now.”
Lily
noted that he was actually being serious and acquiesced. “Okay. The workout’s
all on the board.”
Ike
squeezed her arm as she walked past.
“Thanks,”
she muttered. He was an okay guy, but always too cocky and flirtatious. She was
at the gym to work or workout, not to flirt, but that was a hard concept for
some of the men.
A
few of her class participants gave her desperate looks. They liked her to be
there to motivate them through the boot camp style class. Ike did a good job.
He just wasn’t as intense as she was, tended to start talking with the clients
rather than pushing and motivating them the entire hour.
Lily
always made sure that her clients got their money and time’s worth and then
some. She’d lived through lean times growing up with six siblings and fighting
her way through college with a scholarship, grants, and a full-time waitressing
job. She worked in the fanciest gym in Golden, Colorado, the Fitness Academy.
It was nice and had all the equipment a trainer or gym goer could hope for. It
might not be as ritzy as some of the gyms in downtown Denver, but it was closer
to her home and family in Georgetown, and the rent in Golden was much cheaper
than Denver. Some trainers, Ike, would claim she shouldn’t feel guilty about
taking rich people’s money, but she refused to take advantage of a client’s
time or money, no matter how much of it they seemed to have.
She
walked down the hallway and the stairs to the personal training office across
from the main weight room. Poking her head in, she saw a tall, well-formed man
with his back to her. Some men were just built right and this guy definitely
had some good genes. The broad shoulders and sculpted lines of his neck, back,
and arms, right down to his glutes and legs. The soft cotton of his T-shirt and
fleece of his sweats couldn’t hide any of his musculature from her trained eye.
Was
he applying to be a new trainer? Lily immediately felt the competition swell in
her. She was fighting to get enough clients as it was. Giving deals for
training and trying to prove she was every bit as good as any male trainer.
With her specialty in sports-specific training, she was building up a great
clientele of high school athletes, and even some from the local college. Her
dream was to someday work for the Denver Storm. A girl had to have dreams, even
if they were monstrously big.
Her
boss, Malee, stared at the man as if he was a superstar. That didn’t bode well
if she was hiring him to train here. Lily really liked Malee and she was great
to shuttle clients Lily’s way, but this guy could steal her clientele just by
being a walking billboard. Maybe he was a future client, though he didn’t look
like he needed any body sculpting help, that was for sure. Their low conversation
didn’t carry, so sadly Lily wasn’t getting any clues ahead of time.
Lily
stepped into the office all the way. Malee’s head popped up and the man turned
to face her. Lily’s jaw dropped. That good-looking face was not one anybody who
had an electronic device of any kind wouldn’t recognize. “You’re, holy Toledo,
you’re Hyde Metcalf!”
He
smiled and she honestly wanted to swoon right then and there. “Holy Toledo?”
She
blushed.
On
camera, Hyde Metcalf always seemed to have half a smile on his face, like he
knew a joke everybody wanted to be privy to. But when he really smiled, wow, it
was a good one. She didn’t have as much insight as she wanted to about his
personal life because she tried diligently not to become obsessive about him,
but she knew he had an African American father who’d also played for the Storm
back in his day and a beautiful, blonde mother. He was the perfect blend of his
parents. His eyes were dark with long lashes framing them and his face was just
nice—the right amount of manly lines with enough softness to make him real.
Just
because she didn’t allow herself to Google his personal life any more than once
a week, or read every article put out by the gossip magazines about him, didn’t
mean she didn’t know his every stat, watch his games faithfully, and follow him
on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, really wherever he had an account. Okay, she
was pathetically star struck by him.
Her
hands were trembling with nervous excitement and she wasn’t sure what her face
was doing. She wanted to touch him and make sure he was real.
“And
I hear you’re Lily Udy,” Hyde said, extending his hand to shake hers.
“The
one and only.” Lily gave him a firm handshake, liking the size of his hands. Of
course they had to be big to snatch the ball out of the air like he did. Oh,
my, goodness, he was real. She wanted to jump up and down, take a selfie with
him, and call her brothers to tell them how amazing this was—she was meeting
Hyde Metcalf and he knew her name. Her youngest brother, Josh, would go
completely berserk.
“Malee
is telling me you’re the best sports specific trainer in Golden,” he said.
Lily
cocked her head and tried to appear confident, though he could probably see the
pulse in her neck jumping. “Maybe in the state of Colorado.”
He
chuckled. “Oh, I like confidence. This is the girl I need.”
Need
for what? Because she was totally up for whatever he needed. Lily! Her
mother’s voice in her head told her not to be infatuated with him just because
the guy was a big time star. But come on, she loved him. Well, not loved him,
loved him, but he was the best wide receiver to play the game. He had 1871
receiving yards last year. Plus, he was always just doing cool things.
Coordinating an event to raise money for juvenile diabetes research and, from
the video footage she saw, spending time with many of the children one on one.
Helping a single mom whose daughter had cancer with medical bills. The media
captured all of it and she knew famous people had a hard time hiding nowadays.
The
only bad media he got was when his mother was interviewed, an older blonde lady
who was a bit rotund, but still beautiful. It was interesting that they
involved his mom so much, but she always said hilarious things, usually
bragging about her “sweet, little boy”, but she always seemed to somehow cut
his girlfriends down and whether it was intentional or not, it came out pretty
funny, but not exactly good PR. The other day she’d told a reporter, “That
girl’s shorts were so short I saw her tush.” The reporter had goaded her and
she’d continued with, “Well, I shouldn’t say the word tramp, but if you
saw her tush what would you think?” Last year, she’d called one of his
girlfriends a “floozie” then she’d been horrified when the reporter looked
shocked and she kept repeating, “I meant frou-frou because she dresses so …
fancy all the time.” The press had a field day laughing about that one.
Okay,
so maybe she Googled Hyde more often than once a week and knew a few things
about his personal life.
“Hyde
wanted to meet you before we signed the contract,” Malee said.
“Contract?”
Oh my, calm down, heart. Hyde Metcalf is looking at me and smiling!
“You
probably heard about the pneumonia?” Hyde asked.
“Follow
you on Twitter,” she admitted.
“Nice.
I like a girl who’s informed.” He cocked an eyebrow and folded those beautiful
arms across his chest. Yum, what she wouldn’t do to work with biceps like that,
or touch them, touching them would be a little creepy though, right?
“I’ve
recently been cleared to return to physical activity,” Hyde was saying and she
tried to keep up, “and I’ve got two months until practice starts full bore for
the season. I’d like you to train me.”
Lily
had to grab onto a nearby chair. “Your team trainers are some of the best in
the nation.”
“Hey,
what happened to that confidence?” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You’re the
best in the state of Colorado.”
“I
am. But I’m a year out of college, I don’t have the experience your trainers
have.” She had to be honest with him, even if it killed her if he decided to
walk away.
“So
you should have all the most recent training info,” Hyde said.
Lily
gave him a grateful smile and tried to find that confidence again. She was a
specialist in sports training and she could do this. She could do a fabulous
job of training this man to be ready for the season, but truly he did have some
amazing trainers at his disposal.
“Yes,
that’s right,” she said, “but why did you choose our gym?” Shut up, Lily,
and sign the stinking contract before he gets away.
“I
wanted to stay close to home,” Hyde admitted, ducking his head.
Lily
raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to explain. She knew he was from Golden,
everyone in the town knew and were more proud of that fact than Livability.com
listing Golden as a top small town. But Hyde didn’t live here anymore, did he?
She tried to remember all the places he had homes—a coastal place in
California, some island in the Caribbean, and maybe Park City, Utah. She’d have
to check, but he also had a penthouse in downtown Denver. I mean, come on, the
man made over fourteen million dollars a year and who knew how much in
endorsements? Who wouldn’t want that face selling cologne on television? She’d
buy whatever he sold, if she could afford it.
“My
mom needed some help so I had her house remodeled a few months back and I’m
staying with her.”
Whoa.
He obviously didn’t need to share that information with two basically
strangers. She could see why he kept it on the down low. The press would have a
heyday with the mega-stud moving back in with Mom, no matter what the reason.
“That’s
so sweet,” Malee gushed.
Lily
stared at her friend. It was sweet and Malee was obviously as infatuated with
him as Lily was. Lily couldn’t blame her.
“I
wanted a trainer and gym close by so I don’t have to drive into Denver every
day for workouts until practice and team training officially start. My agent
got great recommendations for The Fitness Academy.”
Lily
nodded. “Well, you made a good choice.”
He
smiled again, looking relieved. “I hope so.” He sobered. “But you really do
have to be the best. I’ll give you one week to prove yourself. If I’m satisfied
with your workouts and my progress, I’ll keep working with you and give you a
ten thousand dollar bonus at the end of June. If I’m not satisfied, I’ll pay
off the training for May, but I’ll have to go with the team trainers.”
Lily
gulped. A ten thousand dollar bonus? Oh, she loved this guy so much.
“Malee
informed me that your hourly rate is a hundred. That’s reasonable.”
A
hundred? She charged sixty at the very most, quite often less, and usually was
doing package deals where her clients got an hour free for every three hours
they trained. Malee was giving her the glare, telling her not to reveal any of
what she was thinking. Lily’s breath caught. Tick off her boss and maybe lose
her dream client or be honest?
“I
don’t usually charge that much,” she said in a rush.
Hyde
looked her over and nodded. “That’s okay. I’ll pay a hundred.”
Lily
exhaled, grateful she’d spoken up and even more grateful he’d dealt with her
revelation so well.
“I’d
like to do two hours a day, six days a week,” Hyde continued.
Lily
appreciated that he was a get things done kind of a guy, but seemed like he
could joke and make things fun as well. He was every bit as cool as his media
persona, maybe more, and she got to train him for two hours a day, six days a
week, for the next two months. Her brothers were going to be insane with
jealousy. Her little brothers idolized Hyde Metcalf, especially the youngest,
Josh. She wondered if there was any way she could arrange a meeting. It would
be the highlight of Josh’s life.
“When
do you want to start?” she asked.
“Right
now.”
“You’re
cleared for all activity?” She was already planning the workout she’d put him
through.
“Malee
has the doc’s note.”
She
put out her hand and grinned. “Let’s do it.”
He
stepped closer and grasped her hand again, but this time it wasn’t a nice to
meet you handshake, more like—you passed the test and now you get the privilege
of shaking my hand good and long. Lily noticed that his hands were not only
big, but tingly. Wait, were they tingly or was she? The scent of fabric
softener and musky man smell wafted over her.
“Snuggle?”
she asked.
“Excuse
me?”
“Do
you use Snuggle fabric softener?”
He
laughed. “I think so. My mom insists on doing the laundry rather than sending
it out.”
He
came from a different world than her obviously, and she wondered what the media
would do to him when they found out he was living with his mom again. The
momma’s boy taunts would probably be horrid, but she thought it was pretty
honorable. Moving back home to take care of his mom. She wondered what was
wrong with his mom and she wondered if she needed to let go of his hand now.
She
forced herself to release the clasp and he looked down quickly, as if he wasn’t
ready to be done touching her either. Okay. She had to keep this professional
no matter how smitten she was. This was a huge paycheck for her and the gym,
and also a huge advertising tool. She could imagine Malee was planning all
kinds of scoops on that one.
“Obviously
people are going to know I’m coming here, but I’d like you to wait on using me
for advertising until after July first.” He looked at Malee. “Can you add that
to the contract?”
Malee
nodded, sat at her computer and typed away.
“We
have a private room upstairs where we do personal training,” Lily said. “If
you’re okay with seven to nine in the morning or any time between eleven and
four we could workout in there and not many people would see you.”
“Do
you have all the equipment we need?”
“Yes,
or I’ll bring it in from the main weight room. I’d also like to do some
workouts outside.”
His
smile crinkled his cheeks. “I’d like that too. Let’s go for the morning time
slot.”
Malee
pulled the printed pages from the copier. “Can you look this over, Mr. Metcalf,
then sign at the bottom. I’ll also need a credit card for billing purposes.”
“I’m
going to run quick and check on my class while you sign the paperwork,” Lily
said. “They should be finishing up, but I don’t want them to think I left them
hanging.”
“Okay.”
Hyde nodded to her.
Lily
bounced upstairs and down the hallway. She could not believe this blessing that
had fallen from heaven. She wanted to scream and dance, but forced herself to
be somewhat calm.
Ike
was talking to a couple of the girls from her class, but everyone else was
gone. “Are they already done?” she asked.
“I
let them out early for good behavior.” Ike winked. “I’d do more than that for
you if you could demonstrate a little good behavior.”
Lily
glared at him. “Stop, Ike.”
The
girls giggled and said their goodbyes as Ike strode right up to her.
She
stood her ground, not willing to back away and let him think he could bully
her. “I don’t like you making my class too easy,” she said.
“I
could make things real easy with you.” Ike had the nerve to brush his fingers
up her arm.
Lily
whirled from him and ran right into Hyde Metcalf. Hyde held onto her arms to
steady her and she was amazed at the difference of his solid, entrancing touch
and Ike’s touch that felt like creepy spiders on her skin.
“You
okay?” Hyde asked in a low tone. He lifted his eyes over her head and pinned
them on Ike.
“Yes,
I’m fine.”
Ike
smirked as he walked around them. If he knew who Hyde was, he didn’t
acknowledge it. “See you later, sweetheart,” Ike said to Lily.
Lily
ignored him, trying to hide the shudder that ran through her. She didn’t want
to be unprofessional with Hyde watching.
Hyde
kept his eyes on Ike until the trainer rounded the corner then he turned back
to Lily.
“You
ready?” she asked.
“Sure.”
He grinned at her. “Put me to work.”
Lily
rubbed her hands together, putting Ike completely from her mind. She was
training Hyde Metcalf. Super athlete extraordinaire. It was better than being a
Denver Storm trainer. She got Hyde one-on-one and this paycheck was going to
make a huge difference for her family, especially her sister just younger than
her. Life had just taken an enormous upswing.