Love in Play

Day (Lovin’ Blue) smartly limits the sex-as-sports analogies in this sweet, hot contemporary. Dominique Clark, a tall and curvy fashion magazine editor, is smitten by ex-pro football player Jake McDonald, Dominique’s son’s school coach and new hero. Though single mom Dominique doesn’t want to bring a man into her life, her overdramatic gay assistant, Reggie, talks her into agreeing to a limited, discreet fling with Jake. But Jake relentlessly challenges Dominique’s trust issues and pursues a real relationship using a mix of sex appeal, charm, great cooking skills, and his honestly good mentoring relationship with her talented son. Though real-life moms may squirm a bit at the complete flouting of teacher–parent ethics, Jake’s boundary-pushing wooing style never steps over the line into outright creepy, and readers will cheer for the happy family of three. Agent: Natasha Kern. (Dec.)