HARD HITTER

Raelyn DeRose has it all- almost. Great friends, a wonderful- not to mention insanely wealthy- family, and a fulfilling, successful career as one of the best physical therapists around. Her love life, however, is a bit lacking. After a failed engagement, she''s on a bit of a hiatus from men, and is definitely feeling the effects of her dry spell. When she catches an article about her childhood best friend and his booming professional baseball career, she can''t help reminiscing and feeling as though she may have lost her shot at true love ages ago.

Meet Quinn Casey: Major-League All-Star, hard-hitter, and okay, he''s kind of a sex icon. When Quinn finds out he''ll be sitting out this season after an injury, he gets called back home to deal with something he thought he''d left in the past. Not only is he confronted with his beyond complicated relationship with his mother, but he''s also thrown a curveball when he runs into his childhood best friend at his first physical therapy session. With their history and his new reputation, Quinn knows he''s got a lot of work to do if he wants to take his last chance all the way home.

It''s obvious after their first run-in that there''s still a lot of steam between these childhood sweethearts, but will their passion- and let''s not forget the bed-breaking sex- be enough to make up for their past mistakes? Or will this hard-hitter strikeout on love?