Called Up (29 page)
Authors: Jen Doyle
He touched his forehead to hers. “And she belongs to me.”
* * * * *
Acknowledgments
If the first book takes a village, then the second book takes a
lot
more support from that village. So first, I must give a huge THANK YOU to Kelley, for the countless nights, weekends, and pretty much otherwise round-the-clock taking the reins at home (yes, I did that one on purpose) so that I could write. Thank you also to Mom, who gave up Sunday-morning crossword-puzzle time—you are one of the three best grand/mothers in the world. And to Dad, for going along with it all, as well as Lucy, Will and James for all of your patience and love. Maybe someday you will read my books, but not today.
Thank you also Jess, Jenny T. and, again, Mom, for your early and ongoing support, as well as to Bobbi L. and Bobbi D. for the absolute perfect feedback at the most crucial time.
To Jon and Billy for keeping an eye out for my baseball facts, Heather for the Inspiration perspective, Jenny #2 from behind the bar and Emma for, well, some important research that will not be named. I am deeply grateful for all of your comments; any errors are mine alone.
I’m also especially grateful to Christine W. for coming back into my life just in time (on all fronts).
And a tremendous shout-out to Jonathan and Jenny at J. Stevens Salon for helping to start this journey off with a bang, not to mention Jess (yes, again!), Rachel, Jaime, Colleen,
plus
Jen Hallock, Bobbi Lerman, Kristen Drew and Nicole Michaels for that amazing first week and all of the cheerleading along the way.
None of this would have been possible without Sarah E. Younger and Alissa Davis. I am forever grateful to both of you for seeing The Dream and turning it into the reality.
Also available from Jen Doyle
and Carina Press
About the Author
Award-winning author Jen Doyle is a big believer in happily-ever-afters—so she decided it was high time she started creating some. Jen holds an MS in library and information science from Simmons College GSLIS and, in addition to her work as a librarian, has worked as a conference and events planner as well as a communications and enrollment administrator in both preschool and higher education environments. Some might say that there is very little difference between the two; Jen has no comment regarding whether she is one of the “some.” She currently lives in the Boston area with her husband, three children and three sometimes problematic cats. Visit her at
jendoyleink.com
,
Twitter.com/jendoyleink
and
Facebook.com/jendoyleink
.
Pick up a new sport this season! Scoring a
happy-ever-after is always guaranteed.
CALLING IT
by Jen
Doyle
“Sexy and sweet and packing some serious heat, CALLING IT is
a debut home run.”
—Marina Adair, #1 national bestselling author of
Summer in Napa
After a near career-ending car accident and with paparazzi
surrounding his penthouse, all-star catcher Nate Hawkins can only think of one
place to go: home. But when he finds his old apartment occupied by a half-naked
woman wielding a baseball bat, he’s not sure what to think…except that maybe his
luck has finally changed for the better.
KNOCK OUT
by Michele
Mannon
Worth the
Fight
, book one
“With her gifted writing, Mannon allows readers to laugh out
loud, swoon and bite their fingernails at all the appropriate times.”
—
RT Book Reviews
, Top Pick!
A former ballerina turned ring girl meets her match in a
brooding, sexy MMA fighter.
KNOWING THE SCORE
by Kat
Latham
London Legends
,
book one
“I love Kat Latham’s London Legends series—the rugby players
are hot, the emotion is hard-hitting and the sex is sizzling!” —Molly O’Keefe,
RITA Award–winning and bestselling author
A rugby player with a scandalous past gives up his vow of
celibacy to help a virgin overcome her fear of intimacy.
PAIRING OFF
Red Hot Russians
, book one
“…a very enjoyable book by a knowledgeable author about a sport
I love to watch…”
—
Smart Bitches
A scandal-plagued American figure skater’s last chance at gold
means pairing up with Russia’s sexiest male skater…who happens to be the first
man she ever loved.
THE WINNING SEASON
by Alison
Packard
Feeling the
Heat
, book two
“This was a trifecta for me—a great heroine, a realistic
courtship, and the added benefit of a well-integrated backdrop. It’s one of of
my favorite books of the year.”
—
Dear Author
After hitting rock bottom, bad-boy catcher Matt Scanlon is
traded to the team he’s loathed since boyhood, and he must confront a painful
incident in his past before he can rebuild his life and his career.
RUSH ME
by Allison Parr
“Parr delivers sharp, witty dialogue and sarcastic one-liners
that I found hilarious. And, you get football.”
—
USA TODAY
When post-grad Rachael Hamilton accidentally gatecrashes a
pro-athlete party, she finds herself alone with quarterback Ryan Carter, darling
of the professional football league. She thinks he’s a dumb jock with a sexist
attitude, and he thinks she’s an uptight, elitist snob. But when Rachael
reluctantly agrees to cohost dinners at Ryan’s apartment, the two opposites find
they have more in common than they imagined.
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If you love romantic comedies with British flair, you’ll love ACT LIKE IT by Lucy Parker—available now!
ACT LIKE IT
by Lucy Parker
A sharp-witted heroine and an infuriating-but-swoon-worthy leading man bring down the house in this utterly charming contemporary romance debut.
“I liked this book so much, I read it twice.”
—Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
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Do you write in the below genres? Harlequin’s Carina Press wants to see your manuscript.
• Contemporary Romance
• Romantic Suspense
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ISBN-13: 9781459294356
Called Up
Copyright © 2016 by Jen Doyle
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
