Follow Kennedy and Elias through three years of ups and downs, as they learn about one another and themselves. Deemed to be the “perfect couple,” Kennedy’s past rises as a barrier between them. Will a lesson in sacrificial love keep the two of them apart, or will it be the bond that they need to bring them together again?
Photographer Kennedy Holloway has changed her life and is now pursuing her first love in a career of creating beautiful art from behind the lens of a camera. A freelance photographer for Courtside Magazine, she’s begun rubbing elbows with some of the NBA’s elite players. Running from heartache and disappointment, she’s come to the end of the road when she meets Atlanta Cobras’, Elias Da Silva.
Touted as the NBA’s #1 shooting guard and designated all-around ladies’ man, Elias’ private life is off limits to the paparazzi. No one really knows the man off the court, and he’s blocking every attempt from anyone getting too close, until he meets Kennedy on assignment. Her attempts to hide behind the camera only piques his interest further. He won’t rest until he wins at the game of love.
Excerpt...
Kennedy looked around her townhome one final time before releasing a sigh. Everything had been packed away. All her recently purchased furniture sent to storage, along with other valuables.
“You ready, babe?” Rick asked, draping an arm over her shoulder with a large grin creasing his face.
Not really, she thought but kept her feelings to herself. This was all so surreal.
Kennedy looked up at her husband and smiled. “Sure.”
She looked down at the baby in her arms, her heart pounding, and uncertainty dancing around in her mind.
The infant’s fists were bundled underneath her chin while she slept peacefully away. She had no clue of the turmoil the adults in her life were experiencing.
Jessica had left the hospital shortly before the nurses came to release her, never once looking back or saying goodbye to the baby. Rick had her on his own for two weeks, before Kennedy finally caved to his demands, against her mother’s wishes. Marilyn had not taken her calls since she announced to her mother that she had stopped the divorce and was moving back into their home.
Halfway through the drive to their home, Rick reached over and grabbed her hand into his pulling her from her thoughts. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, her head still resting in her other hand.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” he asked.
“Mm, nothing.”
“Come on, you can talk to me. You’re worried about being a mother?” he grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“No. Not really,” she muttered, turning to stare out the window. Her thoughts had been on Elias, wondering what he was doing. She had tried several times to no avail to reach out to him after the pictures appeared in the media.
“Then what?”
“Just wondering what Jessica could be thinking about to leave such an innocent life behind,” she lied, twisting in her seat to glance at the baby’s car seat. She couldn’t see her face very well from her position, but she could tell the newborn was still asleep. A soft shushing noise took over the car whenever she and Rick were silent.
“Mm. She’s selfish. I can tell you that much. Let’s not talk about her. I don’t want to think about Jessica anymore. I want to talk about the family me, you, and Trinity will be. Not to mention the little one that I plan to put inside you once I get you home in bed,” Rick stated, laughing.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Kennedy replied, jerking her hand from his.
He frowned.
“What do you mean? That was always our dream, remember? Especially yours, babe.”
“Seems like you got a head start on that one.”
Rick stroked Kennedy’s hair. “Come on, babe. You told me you’d forgiven me.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ll forget.”
“So, you’re saying we can’t start a family together?”
“We have a lot of healing to do, Rick. We’re hardly in the position to have another baby right now. Trinity’s barely three weeks old, and we have to learn how to take care of a child. The last thing we need to do is overwhelm ourselves with thoughts of another.” Rick sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He pulled into the driveway of their home. She had not been here in such a long time. This had once been a dream home for her, now all it held were painful memories. Just looking at it, made her want to run.