PURCHASE HERE!!!
Harper and Lance can totally be enjoyed as a stand-alone BUT to understand the entire dynamic and intertwined live you need the other storyβs. You wonβt be disappointed the entire trio is binge read worthy.
This one started different than the others and TBH at first I wasnβt sure about it. The mystery that is Lance. The stoic solid man who keeps to himself is how weβve come to love the man. His story is the unique one of the bunch. Lots of dramatic twists and heart wrenching turns.
As his story unfolds youβll find yourself riveted. Plus Harpers past and future offer up more heartache.
This is a story of two bruised and battered souls holding on by their fingernails to a chance. Loyalty, faith and whole lot of determination make a very soul owning tale.
Iβve really enjoyed the lives of these college students and saving Lance for last was perfect.
I was born to play and bred to win.
My priorities were instilled in me early onβfamily and football. Those ideals led me to TGU and a coach whose ironclad principles mirrored my own.
With one last college season to play, my goal was singularβget drafted. By realizing my NFL dream, I could save my family, our ranch, and the only home Iβd ever known.
Two birds, one ball.
Playing hard was my only option, but thereβs always a wild card.
For all of my planning and hard work, I never anticipated falling for the coach’s daughter. Harper was a fair catch, but who knew loving her could be the one play to throw my career before it started or that the weight of our secret would change the game.
*This is book #3 of The Underdogs Series, but you can read as a stand-alone. *Formerly published in Team Player 2 but is now a 107k full length novel with an extended epilogue.
Harper
βIβve missed you, you know? More than you can imagine.β
βCanβt imagine it at all,β he says, picking through a book heβs not reading.
βCan I help you two?β One of the store sales associates asks, and I shake my head and smile. When she takes her leave, I look over to Lance who stands fuming on the other side of a table filled with loose items. Weβre in a mismatch shop full of mostly cheap junk, and I canβt imagine him finding anything for his mother here.
βLance, I have missed you. Horribly.β
βCould have fooled me.β
I can only take so much. Irritated, I lift a designer coffee mug from the table.
βYou like this for your mom?β
βNo.β
βHow about this?β
βNope.β Heβs not even looking at whatβs in my hands.
βYou sure? Itβs a hide purse. Cute for a rancherβs wife, donβt you think?β This gets his attention, and stormy eyes lift to mine.
βWould you buy that for you?β
I look it over and shake my head. βNot really my style.β
βBet itβs not.β
I can feel my ears reddening. Fuming, I eye a box on the shelf, snatch it and shove it into his chest. βHow about this giant fucking purple dildo and matching anal plug!? Think mom will like that?β
He looks up completely unaffected, βNope.β
βI donβt think weβre in the right place,β Tossing the box down, I stalk out of the cluttered shop and into the department store next to it. Heβs hot on my heels.
βGot that fucking right.β
I turn back to see heβs spoiling for a fight and release a stressed breath. Fighting with him is the last thing I want to do. βLook, lets, justβ¦β I search around and pull a sweater from the closest rack. βHow about this? Simple, elegant.β
βYou think Momβs simple, huh? Iβll give her your regards.β
βThatβs it.β I hook the sweater back on to the rack and close the space between us, forcing his eyes to mine. βGod, youβre still a brute, arenβt you? You havenβt changed a bit. Still pig-headed as hell.β
βPig-headed?β He opens his mouth in mock shock and covers his chest with his hand. βHow dare you.β
Iβm in between fight or flight, but Iβve been dodging this long enough. My heart canβt take more confrontation. I missed him too much. His eyes flare with satisfaction at my irritation. βMisery loves company, right, Lance?β
βNever said I was miserable.β
βYou donβt have to. Did you come to New York just to torture me?β
βMaybe.β
βRub it in on what Iβm missing out on?β
A voice sounds from next to us. βIs there something I can help you find today?β
We both turn to the woman with lasers in our eyes, and she swallows. I clear my throat. βWeβre fine. Thank you.β
Lance winks at the woman, his eyes scanning her form. βMaybe you can help me?β
βYou son of a bitch,β I hiss, before walking away from the table. His voice rings out next to me as I rip through a rack of scarves.
βGood to know you care, Priss, gotta admit, itβs surprising.β
I reel on him. βDonβt you dare! Leaving you was the hardest thing Iβve ever done in my life. I had to make a clean break. I had just lost everyone that mattered to me. I was losing my mind.β
βI got pissed for one day, and you went off the grid.β
βAnd you let me go because you knew no matter how much we wanted it to work, it couldnβt. You have no idea what I went through!β
βWhat you went through? Do you know I spent six months ranting to an Uber driver named Dave because everyone on my team hated me when the truth came out?β He stomps after me as I pull sweater after sweater off the rack. βTroy jumped ship after he got drafted. I had no one but Tony and those fights.β
I turn to him with twenty sweaters in my arms. βJenner? When did yβall get so tight?β
βWhen shit got tough, and my fucking girlfriend bailed!β He glares down at me, his breaths coming out fast.
βGuys, weβre going to need you to take this outside.β A woman whom I assume is the store manager approaches us cautiously.
I look around the store and see all eyes are on us, especially the women sizing him up. βHeβs available ladies,β I snap, laying the sweaters on a nearby table, βIβm willing to bet he comes really cheap.β Heβs on my heels as I push through the glass of the department store.
βOh, was I supposed to wait for you? Must have missed that memo. Thatβs it, you must want a saint. Thatβs why you didnβt stay.β
βI was twenty years old and alienated from a place I didnβt want to be anyway.β
βGood to know.β
βThatβs not the way I meant it. And you know damn well until you, I was only there to appease my Dad, who I barely speak to now.β
βIβm sorry about that, I am, but thatβs on him. And what in the hell are you talking about βalienatedβ?β
βForget it.β I pull on my gloves as heavy snow starts to come down. βI think weβve concluded our tour for today.β
He glances around the sidewalk. βWell, no need to show me more, I hate this fucking place!β
βAnd why is that? Not enough free-range chickens?!β
His eyes flare. βYou digging on the ranch now, Priss? I saw a fucking rat the size of a cat on my run this morning!β
βProbably has better manners than you, shit head.β
βPulling out the big guns now, huh? Thereβs that backbone. I was wondering where it went.β
βGo home, Lance, you hate it here. And you obviously hate me.β
βJust the opposite. Itβs impossible, and believe me, Iβm trying!β
βWell, I hope you succeed! Thanks for stopping by, Mary Poppins. Best Christmas ever! Make sure to bulldoze the nativity scene on your way out!β
βFuck this.β He throws his hands up and eyes me warily before turning and walking away.
βMerry Christmas to you, too!β
About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author and Texas native, Kate Stewart, lives in North Carolina with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. She pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance, as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense. Kate’s title, Drive, was named one of the best romances of 2017 by The New York Daily News and Huffington Post. Drive was also a finalist in the Goodreads Choice awards for best contemporary romance of 2017. Her works have been featured in USA TODAY, BuzzFeed, and translated in five languages.
Kate is a lover of all things ’80s and ’90s, especially John Hughes films and rap. She dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity, and on occasion, does very well at whiskey.
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