Excerpt of The Hot Corner by Amy Noelle

“Just tell me.”

My agent sighed. “Okay. They want you, Dani Young . . . also known as Danielle Pierce . . . also known as a wonderful, beautiful, forgiving woman with a heart of gold, talented author, fantastic friend . . .”

Shit. I was really, really not going to like this. “Would you spit it out? You can flatter and cajole me later.”

She took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes for a moment before focusing on me. “In a nutshell, they want you to write about Brad Reynolds.”

It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten yet because the ball in my stomach grew about five times bigger. Was she kidding me?

“No.” There wasn’t anything more to say. I was not doing it.

“Dani, just listen to me for a minute.” She leaned toward me, her hands folded in front of her like she was saying a prayer. She’d need more than an act of God to get me to agree to this asinine idea. “He’s the biggest baseball star in the world right now. Heading into spring training, he’s the player all eyes are on, on the field and off.”

There was a reason for that. Bradley Reynolds dated big-time movie stars and models and spent just as much time partying as playing ball, as far as I could tell. He was on par with a certain Yankee when it came to women, only he played in Los Angeles instead of New York.

“I write about athletes who have to overcome trials on their way to stardom.”

“But you could switch it up. Brad Reynolds is a name, Dani.”

Yes, and just hearing that name made me feel ill.

“I’m sure there are tons of authors who would be more than happy to write about the super-talented third baseman with the penchant for scoring on and off the diamond. He doesn’t need me.” He never had.

“Maybe not, but he wants you.”

Soda sloshed over my cup when my hand tightened around the glass. “What?”

“He asked for you, specifically.” Her smile was almost sympathetic.

I wanted to push away from the table, go bury myself in my bed, and pretend today had never happened. But I had to ask. “Why, Bec? Tell me why my ex-boyfriend wants me to write his story?”

“I work hard at my job,” Brad said. “You’re about to find out just how hard.”

“If I decide to stay.”

“You’ll stay. You’re too curious not to.”

It infuriated me that he knew that much about me. “Maybe I’ve changed.”

“In some ways, sure, but not in that way.” His gaze traveled down my body. “In some ways you’ve changed for the better.”

Take it all in, Brad. You can look but you can’t touch. “More ways than you’ll ever know.”

A slow smile spread across his face and I knew I needed to get away before I either killed him or kissed him. One or the other was bound to happen soon.

“I’m going to check into my hotel and we can get started tomorrow,” I said.

“I look forward to it.”

I started to walk away, but he called my name, and I turned.

“Your hair still looks like fire in the sun, Red.”

“Stay back or you’ll get burned,” I warned with a smile.

“We’ll see. I plan on getting answers to my questions, starting tomorrow.” He looked so damn confident.

“It’s my questions you’ll need to worry about. Are you sure you’re going to come out of this book looking like anything other than the asshole you are?”

“I think we’re both in for some surprises.”

There was no doubt about that.