Scoring the Player's Baby

Naima Simone

Jul 2018 · WAGS Book 3 · Sold by Entangled: Brazen

About this ebook

After a divorce from her cheating football player ex, PR whiz Kim Matlock would rather drive a pine tree through her walled-off heart than work at the Seattle Wedding Expo. And the last thing she expects is to be grabbed and kissed breathless by a hot giant of a man looking to fend off a stalker. She doesn't want emotional entanglements, but she can't say no to one scorching night with the sexy stranger.

To her shock, she finds out afterward that a) he's a pro football player, aka her kryptonite, and b) she's pregnant.

But nothing could have prepared her for his response...

Each book in the WAGS series is STANDALONE:
* Scoring with the Wrong Twin
* Scoring Off the Field
* Scoring the Player's Baby

Ratings and reviews

All the men in Kim’s life have let her down, shown her to be less and not worth acknowledging. A move across the country with her job is her attempt to get her life together and prove that she is more than her brother’s sister. What she didn’t plan on was a one night stand with the sexy Ronin after he pulls her into a make belive scenario at a wedding expo. And she certainly never expected to find herself pregnant. But more than anything, she never expected to find herself involved with another professional football player. Ronin is attracted to Kim the minute he lays eyes on her. In an attempt to politely repel a casual hookup that has turned clinger, he gets the benefit of putting his arms around her. He should be happy she hasn’t called him after their one night together. There’s a reason he doesn’t do relationships and Kim has the potential to blow those reasons to smithereens. But his guilt can’t allow that to happen. I loved both of these characters. Kim was strong and independent but when she let her guard down she was approachable, sweet and fun. I enjoyed watching her morph from a woman who had preconceived opinions to one that was willing to lay everything she was on the line for love. Ronin had such a great sense of humor and he used it often to ease the distance Kim put between them. His response and future actions concerning the baby was heartwarming and totally swoon worthy. It also didn’t hurt his case any that he was a total dirty talker. This is a fast paced read that doesn’t carry a lot of angst. There was a good bit of push and pull from Kim and just a tad from Ronin as they worked through their past issues. Kim’s ex has a bit of a sideline but I’m not really sure what the purpose of that was. I was more concerned over Ronin’s past and his ability to get beyond it. Overall, this was a very nice read with awesome secondary characters that liven up the pages and plenty of steamy goodness between Kim and Ronin. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley and Entangled Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75 stars--SCORING THE PLAYER’S BABY is the third instalment in Naima Simone’s contemporary, adult WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends) football, romance series focusing on the men and women of the profession football league’s the Washington Warriors. This is PR specialist, thirty-year old Kim Matlock, and wide receiver for the Washington Warriors, twenty-eight year old Ronin Palamo’s story line. SCORING THE PLAYER’S BABY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. There is a slight cross-over with the author’s Bachelor Auction series where we were first introduced to our heroine Kim Matlock, her half-brother Alexander, and father Malcolm Bishop. Told from dual third person perspectives (Ronin and Kim) SCORING THE PLAYER’S BABY follows the building but struggling relationship between PR specialist Kim Matlock, and wide receiver for the Washington Warriors Ronin Palamo. Kim Matlock is a well-educated, accomplished and intelligent PR specialist; a woman who doesn’t do relationships, and refuses to date anything resembling a professional football player-been there, done that and has the divorce papers to prove it. A one-night stand with a mysterious but sexy as sin stranger results in an unplanned pregnancy that forces Kim back into the stranger’s radar, three months later. Unable to forget about her ex-husband’s betrayal, Kim struggles with building a relationship with the father of her child. Enter Ronin Palamo, who also struggles with relationship issues from the past, but a man who is willing to take responsibility for his unborn child, offering Kim a chance at family and a happily ever after. What ensues is the building romance and love between Kim and Ronin, and the potential fall-out as our couple continue to battle memories and ghost from the past. Kim Matlock knows rejection first hand including her ex-husband’s infidelity, and the ongoing rejection from the father she never knew. Fifteen years earlier, her then sixteen year old half-brother Alex, heir apparent to Bishop Enterprises, went in search of the sister he would grow to love, forcing Kim’s father, billionaire Malcolm Bishop to reluctantly acknowledge his bast*rd child. Guarded and cautious Kim continues to mistrust Ronin’s intentions for a life-long commitment. Ronin Palamo’s father abandoned the family for his love of the bottle, ensuring a life-long rejection by the children he fathered but Ronin would suffer an even greater loss when his best friend and the love of his life succumbed to a life-threatening disease. A man-wh*re by reputation, Ronin buried his grief in one-night stands but something about Kim drew Ronin like a moth to a flame. The colorful secondary and supporting characters include Kim’s unwelcoming father Malcolm Bishop, her brother Alexander, and her ex-husband, defensive back Matt Cooper. We catch up with Ronin’s teammates and friend, and their partners -Zeph Black and Sophia Cruz; Tennyson Clark and Dominic Anderson, as well as Sophia’s twin sister Giovanna Cruz- the camaraderie and support is endearing and fun. SCORING THE PLAYER’S BABY is a spirited and character driven story line. The premise is realistic and enjoyable; the romance is passionate and energetic; the characters are sexy and edgy.

LOVED this book!!! This is a sexy romance with the hotness off the charts! Ronin is a pro football player and also a player off the field, while Kim is rigid and has locked her heart away after it was destroyed by her father and her ex-husband. So when the two of them meet, it's just for one night of adult fun....until it's not because there's a baby involved. I loved the characters and felt invested in their story. I wanted them to have a HEA ending, almost as much as I wanted Kim to do something about her father. This is a well told tale that fans of the genre will love and want to put at the top of their summer reading list. While this is part of a series, this is a stand alone novel, however, it's so good that you really owe it to yourself to read them all. The author is on my must read authors' list.

About the author

Naima Simone's love of romance was first stirred by Johanna Lindsey, Sandra Brown, and Linda Howard many years ago. Well, not that many. She is only eighteen...ish. Though her first attempt at a romance novel starring Ralph Tresvant from New Edition never saw the light of day, her love of romance, reading, and writing has endured. Published since 2009, she spends her days—and nights—creating stories of unique men and women who experience the first bites of desire, the dizzying heights of passion, and the tender, healing heat of love.

She is wife to Superman, or his non-Kryptonian, less bulletproof equivalent, and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They all live in perfect, sometimes domestically challenged bliss in the southern United States.

Come visit Naima at www.naimasimone.com.