by M. A. Foster
Contents
Character List
Thank You
Foreword
Author Note
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Epilogue
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BALLER PLAYLIST
ALSO BY M.A. FOSTER
Baller
Copyright © 2020 by M.A. Foster
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9798672008752
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy.
Cover design: Andrea at Bookend Designs
Formatting: Pink Elephant Designs
Character List
MAIN CHARACTERS
Liam Mackenzie
Vanessa Abbott
THE MACKENZIES
Max “Mac” and Ella “Mimi” Mackenzie ~ Liam’s parents
Max Mackenzie ~ Liam’s older brother.
Jessica Mackenzie ~ (Max’s wife) Liam’s sister-in-law
Liam’s nephews:
Dylan Mackenzie
Cole Mackenzie
Willow Mackenzie ~ Cole’s daughter
Harper Murphy ~ Cole’s fiancée
Aiden Mackenzie
Emerson Mackenzie ~ Liam’s sister
Liam’s niece:
Jayla King-Easton ~ married to Zach Easton
THE PARKERS
Dr. Jameson “James” and Katherine “Kate” Parker ~ The Parkers are longtime friends of the Mackenzies and godparents of their children.
Cameron “Cam” Parker ~ Liam’s best friend.
Logan Easton ~ Cam’s nephew
Zach Easton ~ Cam’s nephew; Married to Jayla.
Side Characters and Mentions (California)
Tyge Reynolds ~ Liam’s roommate and teammate.
Matt Deacon ~ Liam’s teammate
Milana Bedhi ~ Actress; married to Matt Deacon.
HERITAGE BAY
Heritage Bay is where Liam grew up. It’s a fictional place inspired by certain areas of the author’s hometown.
Side Characters and Mentions (Heritage Bay)
Bass (pronounced Base) ~ Emerson’s best friend & Jayla’s bodyguard
Levi Martinez ~ Jayla’s head of security (Gabbi’s brother)
Mia Russo ~ Vanessa’s coworker.
Holly Connor ~ Nurse.
Lexi Davis ~ Jayla’s friend.
Oliva Connor ~ Jayla’s pregnant friend.
MAGNOLIA PARK
Magnolia Park is where Vanessa grew up. It’s a fictional place inspired by certain areas of the author’s hometown.
Side Characters and Mentions (Magnolia Park)
Jake Peterson ~ Vanessa’s fiancé.
Vanessa’s best friends (the fabulous foursome): Gabriella Martinez, Kate “Katie” Bennett, Kennedy Vaughn
John Abbott ~ Vanessa’s father and Liam’s college baseball coach.
Kelly Langston ~ John Abbott’s girlfriend
Piper Langston ~ Kelly’s daughter; Zach & Jayla’s friend from school
Brian McKinnon ~ Vanessa’s prom date
Roberta “Bertie” Sallows ~ Vanessa’s ex-best friend
This book is dedicated to Janett Gomez.
I will forever be honored to call you a friend.
Your love and support for authors will never be forgotten.
The (book) world will never be the same without you.
Thank You
Thank you to all the men and women who risk their lives every day to take care of others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ll make up for all the years I was supposed to be kissing you.”
~ Leo Christopher
Author Note
Baller is book five in the Heritage Bay Series, and can be read as a standalone. However, it does contain spoilers from previous books in the series.
Blurb
They say if you love someone, set them free, and if they come back, it’s meant to be.
I didn’t exactly set Vanessa free.
I screwed up.
She left.
Five years later, she’s back wearing another man’s ring.
And this time I have no choice but to let her go.
But fate has other plans for us.
And once again, I find myself face-to-face with the love of my life.
I take that as a sign from the universe that we truly are meant to be.
She wants me to let her go.
Believe me, I tried. Not once but twice.
It broke me.
It broke her.
It broke us.
I won’t make the same mistake again.
Because if you truly love someone, you don’t set them free.
You hold on to them with everything you’ve got.
MAY. SEVEN YEARS AGO
LIAM
Come over.
A smirk played on my lips as I read the text from Kinsley. This girl. It was the fourth time this week she’d asked me to come over. Not that I was complaining. If I hadn’t known better, I’d say she was getting attached. We had a good thing going for a while, but sadly our fun was coming to an end. Kinsley was going to med school, and I was on my way to the big leagues.
I’m busy, I texted back before dropping my phone in my lap. I stretched out my legs, crossing them at the ankles, and looked over at Cam sitting beside me, texting away on his phone. Cam Parker had been my best friend my entire life. We’d played on the same team since Little League, and in just a few weeks, we’d be graduating college and entering the draft. We’d both been in talks with the LA Heat, and I’d secretly hoped we’d both get picked up. My stomach knotted to the point I almost felt sick thinking there was even a chance we’d be separated.
My attention moved to the rest of my tea
mmates scattered around Coach Abbott’s backyard. I’m gonna miss these assholes. Some were huddled up in groups exchanging friendly barbs while others were gathered in and around the pool. Every year Coach hosted an end-of-the-year party for the University of Heritage baseball team. It was the last party for many of us, as we’d be moving on with our lives after graduation. Most of us were aiming for the pros while others had only played to get through college and were pursuing an entirely different career path.
Coach Abbott was standing at the grill, beer in hand, head thrown back laughing at whatever Coach Bill was saying. Probably something dirty. Old perv.
My phone buzzed in my lap, and I picked it up to find another text from Kinsley. This time it was a selfie of her naked profile. She was posing in front of her bathroom mirror, her blonde hair piled on top of her head, the flash from her phone covering her face.
I groaned under my breath. Give me 20.
I exited out of the text and checked the time. It was still early. Kinsley lived ten minutes away. I could be back before the food was done.
I looked back over at Cam, who was still texting away on his phone. “Who are you texting?”
“Jules,” he replied before lifting his gaze to meet mine.
I raised my brows. “You two bangin’ again?”
“For now.” He smirked.
Cam and Jules had been on and off since high school. Jules was awesome and pretty hot, too, but their relationship was fucking weird.
Shaking my head, I stood from my seat. “Cover for me.”
His brows pinched. “Where are you going?”
“Kinsley’s.”
“Can’t you wait until after the party?” he asked in a bored tone.
“She sent me a nude.” I grinned and gestured to the hard-on in my jeans. “I need to take care of this. If Coach asks where I went, just tell him I had to run home real quick.”
“Go,” he whispered harshly, waving me off. “And hurry the fuck up. You’re my ride.”
“I’ll be back in an hour,” I told him, then edged toward the back door.
I waited until Coach was distracted, then slipped inside and made my way through the house and out the front door.
Stepping out onto the front porch, I pulled the door closed behind me and looked out at the cars lining the street just as a small red sports car sped off.
The sound of heels tapping against the pavement pulled my attention to a familiar feminine figure moving up the walkway. Her head was down, her face hidden behind a curtain of thick wavy brown hair.
Something fluttered in my stomach. “Freckles?” I called out just as Vanessa stepped into the dim light.
Her head snapped up and her eyes met mine. I frowned. She looked crestfallen but pissed off at the same time. My heart twisted in my chest. This girl had no idea how much she owned me.
When I was six, my older sister, Emerson, moved to California for college. A week later, she called my parents to tell them she’d eloped in Vegas with a guy she met on the plane. His name was Marcus King, and he was the front man of a semipopular rock band called Royal Mayhem. My parents were devastated. I think that was the only time I’d seen my father cry. At the time, I didn’t understand what the word “eloped” even meant, or why my parents were upset. After they explained that she’d gotten married, I still didn’t understand why they were upset. My sister had married a rock star. You couldn’t get much cooler than that.
When I was about sixteen, I’d asked Marcus why he married my sister after only knowing her a week. I was usually bored with a girl after a week; I couldn’t imagine wanting to marry anyone. Marcus told me, “I knew she was it for me the moment I laid eyes on her.”
“How?”
“I felt it. I knew if I let her walk away, I’d regret it.”
I’d looked at him like he was full of shit, and he’d laughed. “I know it sounds crazy. You’re still young, but trust me, when you feel it, you’ll know. And you’ll never want to feel anything else ever again. Not everyone is lucky enough to find the love your sister and I have, but if you do, don’t let it slip through your fingers. Chase it. Fight for it. Hold on to it with everything you’ve got.”
The first time I laid eyes on Vanessa Abbott, nearly four years ago, it hit me like a punch to the chest. My heart raced and an electric current shot through my limbs, like I’d been shocked, but not in a painful way. My whole body hummed. It felt like an extreme adrenaline rush, but not the kind of rush I got when I was on the field. This was different, euphoric. I wanted to call Marcus right then and tell him that I finally understood what he meant.
Unfortunately, the timing was all wrong. For one, Vanessa was too young. I was eighteen and had just begun my freshman year at UH. Vanessa had just turned fifteen and she looked every bit of it. She wore her hair in braids. Freckles dotted the bridge of her button nose and across the tops of her cheeks, and her lips were full and pink. She had no idea how pretty she was, and I hated that I was drawn to her.
Most importantly, Vanessa was Coach Abbott’s daughter, which made her completely off-limits. Over the years, we’d gotten to know each other fairly well. She wasn’t always around, but when she was, I felt that rush. I was addicted. When Vanessa turned eighteen, my teammates started to take notice, and it pissed me off. She was mine. All of her: her pretty hazel eyes, those adorable freckles, and a smile that could bring any male within a mile radius to his knees. In fact, I’d never seen her without a smile on her face.
Until now.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at prom?”
I moved to stand at the edge of the porch and nearly swallowed my tongue as she came into view. Gone was the girl who wore black Chucks, denim shorts, and band T-shirts. Tonight she’d transformed herself into a goddess. Her chestnut hair hung down past her shoulders in long waves. Her emerald green dress was long and strapless, accentuating her petite shoulders and hugging her slender frame with a slit running up the side exposing one long tan leg. She was beautiful either way but… damn.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as she climbed the steps to the porch, then turned to sit on the top one.
“Nothing.” She exhaled a heavy sigh.
My dad once told me, “If you ask a woman what’s wrong and she says nothing, it’s a lie. Buy her some flowers and apologize.”
“Was that Brian who just dropped you off?” I sat down on the top step beside her and draped my forearms over my thighs.
Brian was her boyfriend. She’d been dating him most of her senior year. I’d never met the kid, but I hated him for obvious reasons. I hated Vanessa dating anyone, but she deserved the full high school experience, just as I had.
“No, that was my friend Gabbi. Her date pissed her off, too, so we left.”
A surge of protectiveness spread through me. “What happened with Brian? Do I need to kick his ass?”
She shook her head. “Nah. I already kicked him to the curb.”
“You dumped him at prom?” I chuckled.
My beautiful savage.
“Yeah.” She lifted a slender shoulder as if she couldn’t care less, then looked over at me. “I busted him kissing Bertie of all people,” she added with a shudder.
“Bertie?” I quirked a brow, intrigued.
“Her name is Roberta, and she’s not my favorite person.” She flicked her wrist. “Long story.”
“You don’t seem all that broken up about it.” There was no trace of tears. Her makeup was still on point.
“I’m not, actually. I’ve known Brian since elementary school. We’re not in love or anything, but that doesn’t mean he gets a free pass to make out with my enemy. We were in a relationship. He cheated, and that’s a deal breaker for me.”
Isn’t this the sort of thing that brings out a female’s inner crazy? I’d never seen a girl react so nonchalantly over a cheating boyfriend. Obviously Vanessa wasn’t about the drama. I made a mental note to hunt Brian down later and thank him for being a dumbass before slamming my fist in his f
ace.
“Well, Brian is an idiot.” I threw my arm around her shoulders and hugged her to my side.
She leaned her head on my shoulder and sighed. “This is just one of those times when I really wish my mom was here.”
Vanessa’s mom died when she was young, and Coach had raised her.
“I’m sorry.” I pressed a kiss to her temple, then stood to pull my buzzing phone from my pocket.
It was another text from Kinsley: Are you coming over or not?
Shit. I’d forgotten about her.
“Are you leaving?” Vanessa asked.
I drew in a deep breath and sighed. There was no way I was leaving. My head and heart were at war. No matter how I felt about Vanessa, the timing was never right. She still had a lot of growing up to do, and I needed to keep my head in the game. Literally. Everything I’d ever hoped, dreamed, and worked for since I was five years old was at the tips of my fingers. Soon—very soon—I’d be gone, and Vanessa would be heading off to college. Timing was no longer an issue, because time was something we no longer had.