For the Love of the Game Books 1-3

Simply Connected (Lesbian/nonbinary) Once a celebrated child prodigy, Blaise Noether is now a struggling widowed mom trying to keep her head above water while she pursues her Ph.D. Only two things make her really angry: her kid's math textbooks and jocks. In her mind, all athletes are like the bullies who terrorized her in high school. So when she crosses paths with rising basketball star Christie Dillard, Blaise's interest is a null set. Christie is everything Blaise fears, fiercely competitive, brashly confident, and totally devoted to her game. That she is also endearingly awkward and irresistibly gorgeous is irrelevant data. But when Blaise glimpses a paradigm-shifting epiphany in the geometry of Christie’s jump shot, she begins to suspect this jock might be the missing variable that could balance the equation of her life. Diamond Heat (Transgender) Pitching phenom Daisy Flowers' career was sidelined by misogyny and transphobia. When she finally gets her chance at the big leagues, every fastball she throws if fueled by rage. Shortstop Jonas Sutton is a talented player who has never lived up to his potential, because he's hiding a secret of his own. The only thing he loves more than baseball is Daisy Flowers, and he desperately wants to stand by her side as she challenges the whole baseball world. But Jonas knows that Daisy is the fuse on the bomb that could blow his world apart. The Comeback (Lesbian/Gender Fluid) Ex-MMA champion Theresa Gutierrez was once the most dominant fighter in the history of the sport, until a devastating defeat almost ended her career. Now she's come to Seattle looking for a Christmas Miracle, one last shot at glory and redemption. Cameron Shaw is a struggling novelist who would rather be anywhere else in the world than covering a professional fight, but sadly bills must be paid. When these two meet, sparks fly. Worlds apart, they find themselves in the grip of something bigger than any championship. Sign‑up for the Alex Washoe's newsletter Author’s Facebook Group Author's Amazon Page Simply Connected For The Love of the Game #1 “You been back here a long time, Blaise. Ready for a pastry break yet?” I blinked up at the blurry form of Liam Dillard looming over me. It took me a second to remember I was wearing my reading glasses. With a sigh, I slipped them off and rubbed my eyes. “Sorry, kind of got lost.” Liam’s grin is almost as enticing as his pastries, pushing deep dimples into his brown cheeks. “I can see that. Hope all those scribbles aren’t problems with my accounts.” I looked down at my notes, barely legible without my glasses. Fragments of formulae and confused sketches, trying to get my head around ideas that wouldn’t stay focused. Focus was not my strong suit lately. “No, that’s uh…” Explaining a Gluck Twist and n‑dimensional exotic spheres was more information that Liam wanted. And believe it or not, realizing that before I was halfway through the explanation was personal growth on my part. Give the girl a silver star. I’d take my victories where I could. “I got distracted. I’ll make sure to subtract the time.” He harrumphed and set down a plate, loaded with two deliciously seductive triangles of fry‑bread sprinkled with powdered sugar and shaved almonds. I groaned. “Mandazi.” “Your favorite.” Liam specializes in African inspired treats and there are dozens of variations on this dish. Like American donuts but not as sweet, enhanced with different flavors, usually served with fruit dip. I was addicted. Dunking the first one in cherry yogurt, I snarfed half of it in one bite. Liam chuckled. “You know, since you’ve been doing my books, I haven’t had one late charge on my credit card or overdraft at the bank. I even got my taxes in on time. So, scribble all you want, girl.” I winced at ‘girl’, but my brain was too tired to respond. Not that I was likely to. Liam meant no harm, and I didn’t know why it should bother me anyway. I concentrated on the deliciousness in my mouth, realizing it had been hours since I ate. “Uhmmm.” I licked my fingers. “Anyway, your books are done for now. Has Nash showed up?” My son was meeting me here after his judo class, and I’d forgotten to check my phone for messages. “Yep. He came in with Julia a few minutes ago. I set ‘em up with some treats ‘till you’re done.” “Not too much, I hope. It’ll spoil his dinner.” Liam smirked as I quickly gobbled the other half of the pastry. “I know, I’m a hypocrite.” “Like the sign says, life is short, eat dessert first.” Tommy loved that sign. It drew us in here on one of our first family walks around West Seattle. Turns out, the sign was more accurate than he knew. Liam pivoted on one foot and headed for the door. He was a big man, but surprisingly light on his feet. He loved to regale his customers with tales of his glory days as a Washington State running back. There is nothing in the world worse than sports stories, but I like Liam and he’s my only source for mandazi, so I try to hide my irritation. “Oh,” he turned back like he’d forgotten something, a touch too casual. “I meant to tell you, my niece is dropping by today. I thought the kids might like to meet her.” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just watched him and took another bite. “She plays for the Tempests,” Liam added. If you live in Seattle, you can’t avoid hearing about all the teams. Navigators and Ospreys and Huskies. I was vaguely aware the Tempests were one of those teams but my interest in any of that was an asymptotic curve approaching arbitrarily close to zero. Liam still hesitated. “Christie is sort of interested in math.” I inferred that Christie was the aforementioned niece, so by implication an athlete of some