Stealing His Heart (The Kingston Heat Series)

Stealing His Heart

by

Ella Jade

Stealing His Heart

Copyright © 2014, Ella Jade

ISBN: 9781940744131

Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.

Electronic Publication: March, 2014

Editor: Antonia Tiranth

Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs

eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Back Cover Copy

Will the bad-boy pitcher strike out when it comes to love?

Shy music teacher Sophia Ballis has sworn off men. After a bad experience with a college jock she decided it was better to be alone than to get burned again. She focused on her education and now her new job at a local private school.

Professional baseball pitcher Paxton Hughes is a player both on and off the field. He’s signed to the Kingston Crushers to bring home the coveted championship title. Nothing can get in his way. Serious relationships don’t mix with a life on the road and he never loses focus on the game. One-night stands are his specialty for a reason.

While out jogging one spring morning, the two collide, setting their course in motion. Pax is immediately drawn to the unassuming beauty. Sophia is aware of his reputation and decides one night of meaningless sex with the attractive Texas charmer is just what she needs to get over her self-imposed dry spell. Pax has more than a one-night stand on his mind, but will his bad-boy persona and demanding schedule ruin any chances of a happily ever after?

Content Warning: contains explicit sex and adult content

Dedication

To my three guys...thanks for making sure all of my baseball facts and lingo were correct. I couldn’t have written this one without you.

Chapter 1

As Sophia Ballis jogged around the lake and over the hill on a cool April morning she took in the pretty setting before her. Overnight dew covered the grass. Fog disappeared into the tree line. Spring had made its appearance. The birds tweeted, and the sun peeked out through the clouds. This was the first year in many that she wasn’t living in a college dorm. She was happy to be home, even if it had meant moving back in with her parents when she graduated the semester before. Her teaching degree had taken her an extra few months to obtain, but not everyone completed their degree in four years these days.

She trotted through the long and winding paths of the upscale neighborhood, humming the notes of the classical sonata she planned to play for the kindergarten children later that morning. She hadn’t found a full-time teaching job, but managed to land a job as an assistant at a local private elementary school just a few miles from the house her parents cared for.

Her parents had immigrated to the well-do-to Rhode Island community of Kingston from Greece in the late seventies when they were sixteen. They had worked for the Cambridge family for the past forty years. They were trusted employees who resided on the huge family estate. The Cambridges cared for her family and treated them as more than workers. They even put Sophia through college. Now that their own children were grown and out of the house, the couple traveled many months of the year and left Sophia’s parents in charge of the property and main house.

She was fortunate to be able to come back and live with her parents, but had hoped she would have a more stable job that paid better by now. Her father told her not to worry—her time would come and until it did, she always had a home with them.

As she finished up her jog, she rounded the lake one last time. Just as she had the past three mornings, she saw
him
. He was a bit later than usual today but he still came out of the east path and around the lake. It was early, so not many people were out yet. She wondered if that was why he chose to run there. A man like him probably wouldn’t want to be bombarded by fans when he took his morning run. She would never bother him but she did like watching as he took off through the paths. He had a perfect running stride that accentuated his tight, muscular calves each time his foot hit the pavement. He always had his earbuds in and his baseball cap down low. Sophia might not have known who he was if it wasn’t for her father’s love of major league baseball. She’d been watching the Kingston Crushers for as long as she could remember.

She stopped under a huge oak tree to stretch out her legs. The morning sun had become stronger in the last ten minutes. Glancing at her phone, she realized it was time to head back home to shower and get ready for work. Shoving her phone inside her hoodie pocket, she stepped out onto the path. She wasn’t paying attention and before she could move out of his way she collided with Paxton Hughes, the starting pitcher for the Crushers.

“Whoa, little lady.” He gripped her upper arm to keep her from falling flat on her face, but she couldn’t catch her balance and ended up smacking into his hard, muscular chest.

“I am so sorry.” She gazed into his hazel eyes. “I didn’t see you coming.”

“Good thing I saw you, sugar.” Morning stubble covered his chiseled jaw and stretched down his neck. “You could have run me down.”

She’d heard him speak during post-game interviews but his low, southern drawl seemed more prominent in person.

“Again, I’m sorry.” When she realized her palm was still pressed against his chest, she quickly retreated.

“No harm.” He grinned, flashing his brilliant white teeth in her direction. “You live around here?”

“Just across the lake.” She pointed to the trail leading to her house.

“I’m on this side of the lake.” He nodded toward the path that she assumed led to his place. “I’m new to Kingston.”

There weren’t that many homes in the private gated community, so it had been big news when he moved into the neighborhood. He’d signed a four-year deal with the Crushers and wanted to lay down roots in the area according to interviews.

“I know.”

“I guess it’s a small town so you know when the new guy moves in.”

“Something like that.” She smiled, feeling awkward in his presence. He was a local celebrity and she was talking to him. Kingston was rich in baseball history. Residents could often find a player hanging around if they knew where to look. She had never been assertive enough to approach one before. He was no exception, but she was happy their paths had crossed. Seeing him up close was quite the thrill.

“You jog here often?” he asked.

“About four times a week.”

“Cool.” He looked around the lake. “It’s a great place to run.”

“Very peaceful.”

“I’m sure I’ll be running here more often now that I’ve seen the view.” His gaze traveled down her body and back up to her face. “It’s real nice.”

He’s flirting. What do I do?

“Run with me.” His request echoed throughout her head.

Is he serious?

She wanted to say yes but obligations and responsibility wouldn’t permit it. “Like I could keep up with you. I’ve seen you run.”

“Checking me out?” He smiled, looking a bit smugger than just a few seconds ago.

“You’re hard to miss.” She stepped around him. “Thanks for the catch.”

As much as she wanted to stay and chat with the hot baseball player, she had to get to work. She feared if she stayed any longer she’d end up making a fool of herself. When it came to men, she wasn’t in her element. She found it easier to avoid them.

“Anytime, sugar.”

“Have a good run.” She put her earbuds in and tried to trot off as gracefully as possible. “See you around.”

“I hope so.” He watched as she jogged past him.

Sophia’s heart strummed hard against her chest. She’d just had a conversation with Pax Hughes. The starting pitcher of her hometown team. The hot, Texan cowboy with an arm the Crushers hadn’t seen in over a decade. He was their ace. The savior the city had been waiting for to get them all the way to October and finally bring home a pennant. He was also the sexiest man she’d ever encountered.

Why hadn’t she told him her name? Why hadn’t she flirted?

Because you’re a coward.

* * * *

Pax watched the foxy, little brunette jog out of his sight. He shook his head and whispered, “Damn,” as she went by. She was one fine woman.

He’d seen her the past few mornings. She’d shoot him a shy smile as she ran along the trail. It had taken some timing today, but he managed to step into her path as she came out from under the oak tree. He had to speed up to make sure she stumbled into him, but he’d gotten in her way just in time.

She smelled of peaches. A sweet peach. She’d distracted him with her timid voice and wide brown eyes. He hadn’t expected such innocence to go with a body like hers. He didn’t even get her name. It wasn’t like him to miss an opportunity with such a babe, especially when he had premeditated running into her.

What the hell?

If she knew who he was she didn’t go all vixen and throw herself at him like most women would have. That was different. A challenge.

Refreshing.

Chapter 2

Sophia sat in the faculty room and listened to her best friend Maggie O’Keefe talk about her newest boyfriend. Maggie worked in the front office of the Hemingway Academy, the private school Sophia hoped to obtain a full-time teaching position with.

“I’m exhausted,” Maggie said as she picked at her salad.

Her striking auburn hair was pulled into a high, sleek ponytail, accentuating her cheeks and jaw. They had been friends since kindergarten. Maggie’s family owned the local farmers market Sophia’s parents frequented. Maggie’s parents had emigrated from Ireland shortly after the Ballises had from Greece, giving the two families a connection. They had bonded immediately and spent years building and maintaining a strong friendship.

“What time did you get in?”

“In? I never made it home. I spent the night at Kyle’s.”

“I take it you like him?” Sophia finished her water bottle and tossed it in the recycle bin.

“That’s an understatement.” She laughed as she drizzled some dressing over the lettuce. “He keeps me real busy. All night long.”

“I’ll bet.” She shook her head over her friend’s wild sex life. Maggie had always been the bold one with a big appetite for the opposite sex.

“I think this time is different,” she said. “I really like him. We’ve been together three weeks, you know.”

“Wow! A record.”

“Exactly.”

“He’s a cutie too.”

“He knows how to treat a woman. I’m not used to such a gentleman.”

“He treats you good?”

“Real good.” Maggie finished eating her salad and then snapped the lid back on her plastic container. “He takes me to dinner before sex. I’m not used to that either.”

“Maybe you weren’t hanging out with the right guys?”

“Perhaps.” She smiled, probably thinking about all the men she had hung around with. “Maybe I’m just tired of the game. I’ve been screwing around for years, and now it feels right to take things slower and see where they lead. I like spending time with him.”

“Good for you.”

Sophia couldn’t help but feel a little envious. She hadn’t had a solid relationship since her sophomore year of college. She’d gone out with the quarterback of the college team. Ryan Montgomery had been the cutest boy on campus, and they’d hit it off from the start. Sophia thought he was the one—her forever. She gave up her virginity and devoted six months of her life to him. She was young and naïve. While she had been devoting her time to Ryan, he had been chasing the skirt of every cheerleader in a thirty mile radius. After the breakup and humiliation, Sophia decided it was best if she focused on her grades and career. She had been fortunate enough to have the Cambridges pay for her education and she didn’t want to let anyone down. She never thought she’d be out of the dating scene for three years. Time seemed to get away from her.

“Did I tell you who his father is?”

“No.” Sophia pulled her thoughts away from her lonely love life. “Who?”

“The team physician for the Crushers.”

“Seriously? This whole town is connected to that team in some way.”

“We do live in the one pocket most of the players are fond of. They all have houses around here, and most of them even stay in the off-season. I guess they like the Rhode Island air.”

“I guess so.”

“That hot, new pitcher they signed last season just bought a house in your neighborhood. I hear he’s a real player too.”

“Paxton Hughes?”

“Yep, you know what they say about number twenty-one.” Maggie referred to Pax’s jersey number.

“What?”

“He’s a lot of fun.” She winked. “Kyle gives me all the inside scoop on the players. Most of them are starting to settle down and get married, but the newer guys are younger and more active. Pax gets around.”