Single by Collette West

Now, as a convert to the merits of baseball by the sheer enjoyment of Collette West New York Kings, I was delighted that she had another series coming out and when I discovered that there were cross over characters, well it was sure to be a blissful experience…but was I right?

I was always a little, wary in the past at to Roberta’s motivations, she was one of those characters that seemed to always be there or there about’s but never quite opened up enough to let you get a good fix on whether she was someone you could like or not.

I knew she had been through a lot but it wasn’t until this story that I finally understood her…and by that I mean all of her.

She has had it worse than I could have ever considered and I thank the author for holding her whole story close for so long but I think she deserved this opportunity to let her demons go and it wasn’t until the secure arms of Luke Singleton were finally surrounding her that she felt able to do that, he provided her a security that she never really thought she would have or in a way thought she deserved.

Luke, oh where do I start?

Serious injury forced him into a position that he never considered possible and many never thought he would recover from and the true extent of his injury and rehabilitation is not something that the world has ever had a handle on. An intensely private man he has secreted himself away at home with his mother but not everything there is what it seems.

Luke’s mother’s health is deteriorating, her mental capacity is diminished and she needs full time care, which is something Luke is not willing to even contemplate. He is working his fingers to the bone in a desperate attempt to care for her himself and keep her at home as long as possible but with the new season about to kick in, he needs help and that can only come in the shape of the woman he has secretly longed after… Roberta.

Supposition, misunderstanding and miscommunication all seem to be ganging up on the pair of them initially but when she eventually realises what is going on with Luke’s mother, Roberta’s natural care giver springs to the fore. This is what she is born to do, it is what she needs most in life, she thrives on looking after people and by caring for his mum she is also caring for him.

I liked the fact they kept their arrangement under wraps, I like the time they took to almost grow into a relationship, the details that they slowly uncovered about each other and the honesty that the love they felt for each other was willing to give them both.

There is of course a blip along the way and that comes in the shape of the demon that haunts both their pasts, but he cannot halt their future, Luke won’t allow it!

I liked the other guys in the team, I liked that some of the Kings got in on the act, I liked the fact that we are set up nicely for yet another barn stormer of a series but most of all I liked the fact that this was an out an out romance, it had characters that had been hurt and needed time and attention, that oozed love and empathy and with Luke especially, I loved that it was willing to show respect, kindness and devotion, he was a beautiful role model for the modern romantic- just saying!