Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Playing at Home by Jax Calder
Sporting Secrets, Book 2
Jacob Browne comes from rugby royalty but he’s never come close to being the heroic idol his father was on the rugby field. And now he’s failed off the field as well with the breakdown of his marriage. When his ex-wife hires a manny, it feels like the ultimate kick in the guts that another guy gets to spend more time with his kids than he does.
But when he actually meets Austin, the connection that grows between them upends everything Jacob thought he knew about himself and forces him to reconsider what it truly means to be a hero.
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The next week saw me simultaneously trying to prove to Jacob that I was good at my job while trying not to tread on his toes by overstepping any boundaries.
It required the combined balance of a tightrope walker and a gymnast on the beam.
I’m not sure if he was like this with every nanny, or if the fact I was a guy made it worse. But there were times when the girls would turn to me for something and I’d see his jaw clench.
I got it. It must be hard to have another guy encroaching on your territory.
Especially for a guy like Jacob who was obviously an incredible dad.
I’d spent enough time with other families to be able to identify the real thing, the gold nugget among the fool’s gold.
So many dads were what I called glory parents. They happily participated in the fun stuff, cheering from the sidelines of the soccer game, giving piggybacks at the park. But they weren’t there for the gory stuff, the tired, whining child right before dinner, the sick child calling out in the middle of the night.
But Jacob was there for everything.
Jacob knew the name of every character in Peppa Pig and SpongeBob. He listened attentively when Lily spent over ten minutes describing the dynamics at her doll’s tea party, and even asked insightful follow-up questions.
He enthusiastically followed Eloise outside when she found a beetle to show him, and then hunted around for more beetles in the woodpile and even punched holes in the lid of an ice cream container so she had somewhere to keep her new friends.
And now it was Friday evening, and although there was a rugby game on TV, he’d muted it so he could concentrate on building a fairy tree house out of LEGO bricks for the girls. His creation was getting more and more fantastical as he added extra platforms to the original design, turning it into a sprawling monstrosity.
“I’m not sure that tree house is going to meet the building code,” I commented from where I was tidying up the puzzles the girls had completed earlier.
“Are you dissing my LEGO-building prowess?” Jacob’s expression was playful.
I held up my hands in a gesture of innocence. “I would never do something like that.”
“Really? Because it seemed like you were mocking my creation.”
“Mocking, no. There might have been a slight critique of the structural soundness, I admit.”
Jacob looked over at Lily and Eloise, who’d been watching the interaction as if it were the most fascinating game of ping-pong ever.
“I think Austin just volunteered to build another tree house for you girls. He’s going to show us how good he is at construction.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “I don’t know if that’s exactly what I was saying.”
Lily clapped her hands excitedly.
Jacob tilted his head, a smirk on his face. “Are you scared your LEGO-building skills aren’t up to it?”
I scoffed. “Are you kidding me? What do you think I learned in my early childhood education degree? It wasn’t all about children’s brain development and language skills. No, siree. We also learned valuable skills in LEGO-building and how to use a Nerf gun for maximum soakage.”
Jacob chuckled, and hearing the low vibrations of his laughter caused a matching quiver in my stomach.
To celebrate the release of Playing At Home, Jax is giving away a $10 Amazon Voucher and an e-set of the Sporting Secrets Series so far (2 ebooks)!
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
About the Author:
Jax’s stories are all about light-hearted conversations and deeply-felt connections. She loves exploring exactly why two characters are the only ones who’ll make the other truly happy, and the journey they take to reach their happily-ever-after.
Jax lives in New Zealand and is a rabid sports fan, a hiking enthusiast and has a slightly unhealthy addiction to nature documentaries. As an extrovert who spends way too much time in her own head, she loves to connect with readers. Join her Facebook group Jax’s Crew (www.facebook.com/groups/jaxcaldercrew) for bonus stories plus exclusive excerpts from her upcoming books.
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