Mister Baller
A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance
Cassie-Ann L. Miller
Mister Baller (A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance)
Copyright © 2020 Cassie-Ann L. Miller
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents appearing therein are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be interpreted as real. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status of the various products referenced in this work.
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Contents
Stories by Cassie-Ann L. Miller
About “Mister Baller”
1. Iris
2. Jude
3. Iris
4. Jude
5. Iris
6. Jude
7. Iris
8. Jude
9. Jude
10. Iris
11. Jude
12. Jude
13. Iris
14. Iris
15. Iris
16. Jude
17. Iris
18. Jude
19. Iris
20. Jude
21. Jude
22. Iris
23. Iris
24. Jude
25. Iris
26. Jude
27. Jude
28. Jude
29. Iris
30. Jude
31. Iris
32. Iris
33. Iris
34. Jude
35. Iris
36. Jude
37. Iris
38. Jude
39. Iris
40. Jude
41. Jude
42. Iris
43. Jude
44. Iris
45. Jude
46. Iris
47. Jude
48. Iris
49. Jude
50. Iris
51. Jude
Epilogue
So, what to read now…?
Dirty Cameos & Easter Eggs
Stories by Cassie-Ann L. Miller
The Bad Boys in Love Series
Mister Billions
Mister Baller
Mister Baby Daddy (pre-order)
The Blue Collar Bachelors Series
Lover Boy
Play Boy
Bad Boy
Hot Boy
Rich Boy
Dream Boy
Blue Collar Bachelors Box Set
The Dirty Suburbs Series
Dirty Neighbor
Dirty Player
Dirty Stranger
Dirty Favor
Dirty Lover
Dirty Farmer
Dirty Silver
Dirty Forever
Dirty Christmas
The Esquire Girls Series
Amber Nights (Amber – Books 1, 2, 3 & 4)
Madison’s Story
For Madison, Always (Madison – Books 1, 2, 3 & 4)
Ruthie’s Story
Ruthie’s Desire (Ruthie – Books 1, 2, 3 & 4)
Hailey’s story
Moments with Hailey (Hailey - Books 1, 2, 3 & 4)
Esquire HEAT Series
A Very Eager Intern
A Very Frustrated Attorney
Standalone Novels
Holiday Hookup with the Rockstar
Happy New You
About “Mister Baller”
My college rival. My ex-husband's best friend.
My new roommate? Oh, boy.
The last thing I want is to rent my spare bedroom to my ex-husband's best friend.
His six-foot-three, dimple-faced, alphahole best friend. His injured-professional-football-player best friend.
But desperate times, desperate measures, y'know?
I can't afford to hold grudges. These heaping bills of mine won't pay themselves.
Keeping my distance from my new roommate should be simple enough. I mean, I can't stand Jude Kingston. Plus, as my ex's friend, he's so off-limits he's virtually radioactive.
In any case, Jude promises to stay out of my way. He's just a broken football hero in need of a quiet place to focus on healing his injured knee and saving his lifelong dream.
Harmless, right?
Um, not so much...
The man is infuriating. He spends his days parading that shirtless, muscle-bound body all around my house. He insists on involving himself in my private business. He has zero concept of personal space.
But he also has this boyish, unintentional charm. And this inconvenient way of repeatedly coming to my rescue.
Suddenly, lust is throbbing in every room of this house.
Lingering gazes over the dinner table...
Sweaty workout sessions on the living room floor...
Stolen kisses in the moonlit hallways...
I can't fight these soft feelings growing roots in my belly. Jude is a vine, slowly wrapping himself around my heart.
But when a piece of my past threatens his entire future, will our love even stand a chance?
Mister Baller is a steamy, laugh-out-loud, enemy roommates-to-lovers small town romance featuring a stubborn footballer with a sinful eight-pack, an insufferable ego and the food preferences of a toddler. It is set in small town Illinois and is book 2 in the Bad Boys in Love series.
A full-length (85 000-word) standalone. No cliffhanger. HEA guaranteed.
1
Iris
Oh my god. Eff this diet.
The rich scents of basil and oregano practically throb in the air. A waitress weaves between tables with steaming plates of chicken parmesan. My eyes follow the woman's movements across the low-lit Italian restaurant like a mesmerized house cat watching a squirrel video.
I'm vaguely aware that I might be drooling.
When the divine chicken parm reaches its destination—the adorable elderly couple seated near the window—my empty gut lets out a loud, hollow noise that echoes above the ambient music. I clench my stomach to hush the sound.
Lexi aims a pitying glance at the sad-looking spring greens on my plate. “You sure you don’t want a bite?” She wiggles a forkful of cheesy, marinara-drenched pasta at me from the other side of our booth.
Oh, I’d make some sketchy life choices for a piece of cheese right about now...
The voice of reason barges into my parmesan fantasies like the cock-blocker she is. No, Iris. Cheese might give you a temporary dopamine hit but in the long run, you're only gonna look in the mirror and feel bad about yourself.
And heaven knows that my self-esteem has already taken a beating over the past few months.
I lost my marriage, my business and my sense of self all in the span of a few weeks. The last thing I need is yet another failure weighing me down.
Now, I’m 27, newly-divorced and determined to overhaul virtually everything in my life. My body, my finances, my health. I’m acutely aware that I won't get anywhere with this plan unless I'm willing to exercise a little discipline—and forego a little cheese—at this point.
Hence the diet. And the fixed budget. Both wonderful, mature adulting decisions.
Not so wonderful for dining out, though.
It takes everything in me to refuse Lexi's offer. I shake my head vigorously. "Oh, nah. I'm good with this." I stab my fork into the pile of limp spinach in front of me and shovel it into my mouth. "Mmm. Delicious."
My salad is not delicious. My salad tastes like dirt.
But I’m strong—and poor—so I’m sticking to my guns.
I haven’t seen much of my bestie over the past few weeks. We’ve both been busy with our own lives. Lexi's been struggling to balance her thriving bridal boutique with her bangin' hot sex life.
Me? I fill my days with testing out new business ideas, coming up with creative ways to dodge my creditors and trying to stretch every
