All in with him, p.1
All In With Him, page 1
All In With Him
Book Three in The Men of Summer Series
Lauren Blakely
Contents
Also by Lauren Blakely
About
All In With Him
Prologue
Prologue
1. Grant
2. Declan
3. Grant
4. Declan
5. Declan
6. Grant
7. Declan
8. Grant
9. Declan
10. Declan
11. Grant
12. Grant
13. Grant
14. Grant
15. Grant
16. Declan
17. Declan
18. Grant
19. Grant
20. Declan
21. Declan
22. Grant
23. Grant
24. Grant
25. Declan
26. Declan
27. Declan
28. Grant
29. Declan
30. Grant
31. Declan
32. Grant
33. Declan
34. Grant
35. Declan
36. River
37. Grant
38. Declan
Epilogue
Another Epilogue
The Final Epilogue
Also by Lauren Blakely
Contact
Copyright © 2021 by Lauren Blakely
Cover Design by Helen Williams.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This contemporary romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This book is licensed for your personal use only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you enjoy sexy romance novels with alpha males. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Also by Lauren Blakely
Big Rock Series
Big Rock
Mister O
Well Hung
Full Package
Joy Ride
Hard Wood
* * *
Rules of Love Series
The Rules of Friends with Benefits (A Prequel Novella)
The Virgin Rule Book
The Virgin Game Plan
The Virgin Replay
The Virgin Scorecard
* * *
Men of Summer Series
Scoring With Him
Winning With Him
All In With Him
* * *
The Guys Who Got Away Series
Dear Sexy Ex-Boyfriend
The What If Guy
Thanks for Last Night
The Dream Guy Next Door
* * *
The Gift Series
The Engagement Gift
The Virgin Gift
The Decadent Gift
* * *
The Extravagant Series
One Night Only
One Exquisite Touch
My One-Week Husband
* * *
MM Standalone Novels
A Guy Walks Into My Bar
One Time Only
* * *
The Heartbreakers Series
Once Upon a Real Good Time
Once Upon a Sure Thing
Once Upon a Wild Fling
* * *
Boyfriend Material
Asking For a Friend
Sex and Other Shiny Objects
One Night Stand-In
* * *
Lucky In Love Series
Best Laid Plans
The Feel Good Factor
Nobody Does It Better
Unzipped
* * *
Always Satisfied Series
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Instant Gratification
Overnight Service
Never Have I Ever
PS It’s Always Been You
Special Delivery
* * *
The Sexy Suit Series
Lucky Suit
Birthday Suit
* * *
From Paris With Love
Wanderlust
Part-Time Lover
* * *
One Love Series
The Sexy One
The Only One
The Hot One
The Knocked Up Plan
Come As You Are
* * *
Sports Romance
Most Valuable Playboy
Most Likely to Score
* * *
Standalones
Stud Finder
The V Card
The Real Deal
Unbreak My Heart
The Break-Up Album
* * *
The Caught Up in Love Series
The Pretending Plot (previously called Pretending He’s Mine)
The Dating Proposal
The Second Chance Plan (previously called Caught Up In Us)
The Private Rehearsal (previously called Playing With Her Heart)
* * *
Seductive Nights Series
Night After Night
After This Night
One More Night
A Wildly Seductive Night
* * *
Sinful Men Series
My Sinful Nights
My Sinful Desire
My Sinful Longing
My Sinful Love
My Sinful Temptation
About
Once upon a time all I needed was baseball, friends and extracurricular activities. Then everything changed when Declan Steele stormed into my life and upended all my priorities with his heart, his love, his passion.
So my next five-year plan will include this new ground rule—Love big.
Only, that’s easier said than done when my man and I come face to face with hard truths and new troubles about what it means to be all in.
That’s when I learn that finding love isn’t the hardest part.
Keeping it is.
* * *
All In with Him is the final novel in the Men of Summer series, and should be read following Winning With Him.
All In With Him
By Lauren Blakely
* * *
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Prologue
Grant
* * *
My five-year plan didn’t just happen. It holy fuck happened.
When I was twenty-two, I had big dreams and nothing but hope to back them up.
Now, at twenty-seven, I’ve won a World Series, started in three All-Star games, and enjoyed my pick when it comes to endorsement deals.
My career hasn’t left the upswing.
I’m still playing the game I love for a living, so it’s hard to want for anything else. I know far too well what it’s like when life isn’t good, and I appreciate the hell out of every moment on and off the field.
Since my last five-year plan worked better than expected, maybe it’s time I laid down a new set of goals. After all, my world has changed so damn much since I made the first one.
Changed for the better.
The next plan will include these existing ground rules—live well and play hard. But I’m adding a third.
Love big.
I’m determined to let those principles guide me through the next phase of my life. I intend to savor each day, leave it all on the field, and give my everything to the man I love madly.
That’s what I didn’t include in my original plan—finding the big love of my life.
I have him now, and that means I have more than I ever dreamed of when I was growing up, when elusive things like happiness, safety, and comfort felt far out of reach.
They’re here now, big time.
But then, that old enemy, doubt, swings by.
Pokes me on the shoulder.
Whispers darkly in my ear.
Asks me if my life is too good to be true. If it’s going too well.
Maybe doubt knows something I don’t. Since one fine evening, when I’m out with my man at a club, I learn that finding love isn’t necessarily the hardest part.
Keeping it is.
Prologue
Declan
* * *
Once upon a time, I could compartmentalize anything.
Baseball, dating, men. They all went in separate drawers.
I kept love and sex on opposite sides of my life, separated by sky-high walls.
That seemed like a good idea at the time.
Turned out to be the worst. I was so used to wearing blinders I nearly missed a second chance wit h the love of my life.
But I got my act together, learned my lessons, and opened my heart. Now, my guy is back, and I’ll do just about anything to make Grant Blackwood happy—because he makes me happier than I’ve ever been.
Happier than I ever thought possible.
The trouble is, the closer we get, the more Grant challenges me in ways I never expected. He pushes me past my comfort zone and straight into the public eye, where the lights are much brighter than the ones at the ballpark at night.
As our life together stands in the spotlight, I’m coming face-to-face with hard choices. What I’ll give up. What I won’t. I finally have the peace and freedom I never had when I was young. But I want my life to be mine. I want ours to be ours. I want to shut the door at night and just . . . be.
But the more time I spend with Grant, the more I learn that the man I love does more than rock my world—he rattles it out of orbit.
After far too long with too many people knowing my secrets, I’m not sure I want everyone knowing my un-secrets.
Somedays, I just want Grant all to myself.
Trouble is, I don’t know if that’ll be enough for the man I love.
1
Grant
Life is full of dilemmas.
Some are big. Some are little. The key is to know how to handle both.
I’ve tackled the super-size dilemmas. Hell, the path I’ve traveled the last few years has been marked with tons of them. After navigating roadblocks and potholes, I can say with certainty I’m finally living my best life.
Not because it’s free of predicaments.
Because it’s full of little ones.
Would I rather have a hand job or a blow job from my boyfriend when I wake up in the morning? Or is today going to be one of those epic days when we can go all in and bang each other like crazy in our king-size bed? Full on, no-holds-barred, trade-on-and-off-and-on-again sex till we are both wrecked?
Hell, who’s on top is my favorite quandary.
Unfortunately, choosing from the fantastic options at my favorite sex buffet is neither a big nor a little dilemma today. With Declan out of town, I’m a sex-camel on desert rations.
When I park my car in the players’ lot at the San Francisco Cougars ballpark one Thursday afternoon in July, I grab my phone and the opportunity to text my man. That’s how we make it through the season’s away games—message, Zoom, FaceTime . . . all the usual suspects.
It’s not ground-breaking, maintaining a long-distance relationship through technology. These routine textual check-ins with Declan are so damn relationshippy, but that’s what I love about them—every day, I remind him that I want him and miss him, and every day, I feel wanted and missed in return.
As I walk through the lot, weaving through my teammates’ McLarens, Ferraris, and Mercedes, I fire off a text to my man.
* * *
Grant: All-Star break one stinking day away. Why are we not taking off for Hawaii on Saturday instead of Houston?
* * *
Declan: Mmm. Don’t tempt me. You, me, and three days to relax in the sun is my new fantasy.
* * *
Grant: By relax, I assume you mean fuck?
* * *
Declan: I did say fantasy, Grant. Fucking you is always part of my dream scenario, you know that.
* * *
Grant: Since we’re in different leagues and starting against each other in the All-Star game, I have this elaborate fantasy of making sure you strike out in your first plate appearance. Nothing will make me happier than playing a part in taking down my lover.
* * *
Declan: Tell me more about this COMPLETELY IMPROBABLE fantasy. (Also, why the fuck do you daydream about me failing?)
* * *
Grant: Because it means I can handle playing baseball and being with you. Because it means you don’t distract me. Because calling the right pitches to strike you out means I can fuck you at night and love you at home and compete with you at work.
* * *
Declan: Fucking and loving. Count me in. But for the record, I can’t wait to clobber the fuck out of whatever pitch you call at the All-Star game—hit that and knock it out of the ballpark.
* * *
Grant: All I read was hit that. Maybe you’d like to hit that when you come home tonight.
* * *
Declan: Or maybe you would. Such a big dilemma. I do, however, have another dilemma regarding our plans this weekend.
* * *
I tense, almost to the door. Is he going to back out of our plans? Clubbing has never been his thing. But it’s my thing, and I desperately want to go dancing with my boyfriend in public. I can’t wait to take him out tomorrow night.
* * *
Grant: Talk to me.
* * *
Declan: I still don’t know what the hell to wear to Edge.
* * *
I laugh as I push open the big steel doors to the stadium, relieved his big quandary is of the clothing variety. That, I can handle.
Clicking on his name, I call him as I walk along the ballpark’s underground concourse. “Is this a fashion emergency call?” Declan jokes when he answers.
“Evidently,” I say. “But it doesn’t have to be. You know I think you always look good no matter what you wear. Jeans, Henleys, T-shirts, polos, basketball shorts . . .”
“Presuming you don’t want me to wear the latter?”
“Good call. But I’ll help you find just the right thing to wear dancing.” I like to make his life easy. I want Declan to feel at home anywhere we go and whatever we do. “I was worried your dilemma was how to wriggle out of our date.”
“Wait. Was that an option?” he asks, deadpan. “I’ll try wriggling.”
I scoff. “Please. You can wriggle with me on the dance floor. I’m an awesome dancer, and I’ll make sure you look good.”
“Bet I’d look good dancing at home,” he says, in a flirty, teasing tone.
“No doubt, but I want to see you at the club with me, and I’m giving you the Grant Blackwood promise that you’re going to have the best night ever.”
He takes a beat before he answers. “Then, tell me what to wear. That’ll solve my dilemma.”
“I’ll take care of your clothes. You don’t have to worry your pretty head about it.”
