Holding (The Sports Quintet Series, #1) / The Sports Quintet Series (ePub)

What happens when all your dreams finally come true?

You become very aware of the vultures.

Raven
While his childhood memories weren't the best, Raven King hadn't let the circumstances of his birth stop him from working hard to make a better life for himself. Though his parents had been horribly neglectful, he'd had his four best friends to get him through the rough times, and the bond between them was something that could never be broken. After all, they hadn't been dubbed The Loyal Five for nothing.

Ten years later, Raven is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, a defending champion, and has the world at his fingertips, the nightmares from his childhood no longer keeping him awake at night. With more money, fame, and talent than any one person needed, his life was damn near perfect, and he was wise and grateful enough not to ever take it for granted.

Esme
While her childhood memories were good ones, Esme Daley was still very aware that the world wasn't fair and that it took hard work to carve out a decent life for yourself. Still, with loving parents, a great sister, and a kickass best friend, she really didn't have any complaints. She knew that she was blessed to have such solid people in her life, and it was something that she never took for granted.

Ten years later, Esme is at a place in her life where she can honestly say that she's happy. She has a job that she loves, and even if it is just a small community segment on the news, it's still all hers, and she loves engaging with her viewers. Yeah, her boss is a complete jerk, but she's lucky enough to be able to avoid him for the most part, so that's a plus.

When two worlds collide...
Doing his best to distance himself from a family scandal, Raven is adamant about not doing any on-air interviews. Still, being a star athlete, he's left with little choice but to fulfill his media obligations. However, while he had expected to be ambushed with salacious journalism, he hadn't expected to be ambushed by Esme Daley and her refreshing honesty and personality.

Doing her best to keep her damn job and make her boss happy, Esme is forced to conduct a sports interview, though she didn't watch sports or have any idea how football was played, nor did she care. However, while she had expected to fail disastrously at interviewing superstar athlete Raven King, she hadn't expected to end the interview with him asking her out on a date.

Caught up in a whirlwind romance, the pair come crashing down hard when a misunderstanding thrusts both of them into a spotlight that neither of them want to be in. Anger, accusations, and pride all come together to create a heartbreak that will be hard to come back from...if they're even able to. They say that the truth will set you free, but sometimes the truth comes too little, too late.

Note: This book contains adult situations, adult language, sexually explicit encounters, mention of abuse, mention of child abuse, and mention of unlawful sexual encounters. If sensitive to any of the aforementioned issues, please do not purchase.