The Big Play Journal (Big Play #5) Read online

  Have you ever felt that spark the second you looked at someone?

  Good on ya, mate!

  One of the reasons The Red Zone is so special to me is because Kaija is a New Zealander. Mack calls her kiwi girl and I love this because when I went to an international school as a kid, one of the American guys used to call me kiwi girl. Being able to leave such a big part of myself behind in a story was a huge privilege.

  Mack adores the way Kaija talks, and some of my favorite lines are watching them interact over the language together.

  What’s your dream?

  One of Mack’s biggest battles in this book is stepping out from under the burden he’s placed upon himself. I absolutely love how he starts to see the person he wants to be, and through Kaija, finds the courage to pursue his dreams.

  I’m a firm believer in following your heart. I know it’s not always easy, and sometimes you can’t follow your heart at the time you want to. But I speak from experience when I say that fighting for the life I want, has been totally worth it.

  Do you ever feel that way?

  What are some of your dreams?

  Cupcake, anyone?

  Mack and Kaija pranking each other is one of my favorite aspects of this book. When I first came up with the idea, I was worried readers might not like the fact that two people who were secretly pining for each other were going out of their way to torture the other one. But thankfully, most found it really fun and it added an extra flavor to their relationship. I had to do quite a bit of research to figure out the right pranks…when I stumbled across this one, I was stoked!

  Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the book…

  EXCERPT FROM THE RED ZONE

  “Hey, Mrs. T. How’s it going?”

  “Great. Thank you, hon.” She places a large box on the counter. I recognize the packaging immediately and can’t help a smile—Cupid’s Bakery. Yes! I love that place. “This was delivered for you and the boys.”

  I reach for the envelope and rip it open.

  To our favorite Raiders,

  Congratulations on a great win. Here are some cupcakes to celebrate.

  From your fans at Cupid’s

  “That’s cool.” I grin, showing her the note.

  “Awww, how sweet. Well, you boys deserve it. Go and enjoy.”

  “Do you want one?” I go to open the box, but she stops me.

  “Don’t you dare tempt me with that chocolatey goodness. I’m trying to watch my weight.”

  “What are you talking about?” I beam at her. “You’re gorgeous, Mrs. Trillman.”

  Her cheeks flash red. “Oh, stop it.” She titters. “Go on, get going, before you make me blush some more.”

  I wink at her, setting off another round of giggles before taking the box and sauntering out of the office. Man, I love it when Cupid’s surprises us like this. When we got into the division finals, they sent us three Black Forest Chocolate Cakes that were out of this world. They are by far the best bakery in town.

  With a smug smile, I saunter to the cafeteria with the massive box in my hands. The boys are going to love me for this.

  The open space is crowded with human traffic, so I lift the box high and make my way to the football table. As soon as I set the box down, I’m swamped.

  Tyler flips the lid. The box is filled with cupcakes, made pretty with swirls of glossy, orange icing. “Yes! Damn, I love those guys.”

  “Not as much as I do, brother.” Finn snags a cupcake and starts peeling off the wrapper.

  I grab one before they’re all taken, tearing the blue wrapper and shoving the whole thing in my mouth. I bite down, expecting to smile. Instead, my eyes bulge and my gag reflex kicks in.

  Fire. Mint. Sour. Bitter—it’s the most disgusting concoction I’ve ever tasted.

  I spit the offending cupcake into my hand.

  “What the f—?” Tyler starts hacking up the food while Finn pulls a series of ridiculous faces and forces himself to swallow…then lunges for the water bottle on the table and chugs.

  In a mild state of shock, I scan the table of spluttering Raiders…and that’s when I hear it.

  A deep belly laugh. The kind people make when they can’t control themselves.

  I glance across the cafeteria and see a pair of sparkling emerald eyes staring back at me.

  Have you ever pranked anyone?

  Kaiser & Mack…One Year Later

  KAIJA

  A crescendo ripples through the stadium as the Auckland Blues near the try line. I jump to my feet, straining to see the player on the wing side-step an oncoming tackle, spin around another player and then dive over the line.

  “Yes!” Mack roars, raising his arms above his head and going nuts with the rest of the crowd.

  Man, he is cute when we go to rugby games. He’s more into it than half the New Zealanders here. I love how much he adores my home. It’s becoming his too.

  I grin at him when he spins around and plants a kiss on my lips.

  “Love this game!” He laughs and takes a seat as play resumes. I glance at his handsome face, still slightly in awe of the fact he’s living in my city. When he first mentioned it over a year ago, I figured it would be a pipe dream, but he’s made it happen.

  He worked his ass off and got accepted into the Auckland University of Technology, where he’s studying health sciences. He’s aiming for sports physiotherapy. It keeps him insanely busy, but his campus isn’t too far from mine so we try to steal lunch together at least once a week. I’m working towards becoming a dietitian and am loving the challenge of university life.

  Mack boards with a family friend so he lives just around the corner from me. We spend as much time together as we can, yet sometimes it still doesn’t feel like enough.

  I shake my head. Can’t believe I’ve turned into one of those sappy girlfriends, but Mack makes it so hard not to feel that way.

  I’m in love with him, and it’s only getting worse as the months roll by.

  I find myself praying all the time that his visa will get renewed with no issues, that he can continue studying here, all the way through to graduation. I don’t want to lose my man.

  The crowd heats up again as play enters our end of the field.

  “Go!” I shout, shooting to my feet and joining the crowd as we urge our players into another beautiful try.

  “Woohoo!” I wrap my arm around Mack’s shoulders and kiss his cheek.

  “Colt would love this.” He shouts in my ear. “Man, I wish he was here.”

  I squeeze Mack and give him another kiss. He really misses his friends. This is the one major downside of living in Auckland. He hasn’t made any mates that even come close to the friends he had in Nelson. I wish I could transport them all here, but Colt’s doing great at Boise State and sometimes life just can’t work out the way you want it to. It means so much that Mack is here because of me. He’s left everyone behind to make me the happiest girl on the planet and I never want to take that for granted.

  MACK

  We edge out of the stadium, jostled by the happy crowd. The Blues creamed the Crusaders in an epic win. It’s so unexpected. The Crusaders are one of the strongest teams in the Super 18 competition, but the Blues played like never before.

  People are still cheering and hollering their triumph as we shuffle towards the exit. Kaija’s fingers are threaded between mine. I give them a squeeze and smile down at her.

  “Thanks for the surprise. It was a great night.”

  She grins. “You’ve earned it. You’ve been working your bum off, and I wanted you to have a good night out.”

  I kiss her forehead and nearly get knocked off my feet. I catch Kaija before she hits the floor then glance over my shoulder.

  The group of guys behind me apologize. I give them a tight smile then nod. “No problem.”

  As they bustle past us, I can’t help watching them. Four big guys, obviously good friends who’ve come out for a night of rugby. They’re no doubt off for a few beers
at a nearby bar.

  I miss my friends.

  “Hey, you okay?” Kaija nudges me with her elbow.

  “Yeah.” I nod. “Yeah, I’m great.”

  “Liar.” She shakes her head, turning sideways to move past a pack of large revelers, and finally pulls me out of the stadium.

  “I’m not lying.” I wrap my arm around her, loving the feel of her hand snaking around my waist. “I’m great. I love my life.”

  “But you miss your friends.”

  I look down at her, wondering how she always manages to read my mind.

  “At least Layla and Finn will be here soon.”

  “Yeah.” I bob my head. “That’ll be awesome.”

  I don’t want to kill the high from such an awesome win, so I swallow back my comments about wishing it wasn’t just the two of them.

  The phone in my pocket buzzes and I pull us to the side of the path so I can dig it out. It’ll be damn hard to hear whoever is calling, but the second I see Colt’s name on screen, I quickly answer.

  “Hey, man. How’s it going?”

  “Yeah, good. I’m just quickly calling to ask you a favor.”

  “Shoot.”

  “I was thinking about tagging along with Layla and Finn this summer. You guys got room for two more bodies?”

  My stomach pitches with excitement. “Oh, dude. We will make room.”

  Colt laughs. “Good. Because I want to surprise my girl and was hoping you’d help me out. She’s missing our crew and I think it’s time we get together again.”

  I give Kaija an excited grin. Her forehead wrinkles in question, so I squeeze her shoulder, assuring her I’ll explain it all in a second.

  “Not sure how I’ll fund this whole thing, but I might call on some favors from my parents and…”

  “I’ll help out. I can loan you the money for flights, whatever. Just get your butts down under, mate.”

  Kaija rolls her eyes at my pathetic kiwi accent while Colt hisses in my ear. “Dude, you really need to work on that.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

  “Whoops, Tori incoming, gotta go. Make sure you keep this a surprise!”

  “You have my word.” The phone cuts off so I slide it back into my pocket then grab Kaija into a hug.

  “So, I take it we’re going to be having some extra visitors at the end of June.”

  “Yes.” I kiss the side of her head.

  “How many? Four or six?”

  I jerk back to look down at her. “Six, that’s such a great idea! I should totally get Tyler and Sammy down here too. It’ll be a little Raiders reunion.”

  Kaija tips her head to the side, her long hair tumbling over her shoulder, her green eyes sparkling under the street light. “You look so happy right now.”

  “I am!”

  Her pretty little nose twitches as she looks to the ground. “You sure you wouldn’t rather be at Boise State? Closer to all those people you love?”

  My chest constricts at her quiet murmur. Placing my finger under her chin, I gently tip it up so I can look her in the eye.

  “You know I can’t do that, because then the person I love the most will be miles away from me.”

  Her lips rise into a sweet smile and she pecks me on the lips. “I wish you could have it all. But I’m selfish, so I’m really relieved that you’re here with me. I never want you to go…unless I’m coming with you, of course.” She laughs. “Maybe I should just marry you so that we’re legally allowed to be together, no matter where we are.”

  A warm fuzz spreads through my entire body as I wrap my arms around her waist and draw her against me. “You want to marry me someday?”

  “Maybe.” She grins, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

  “You totally want to marry me.” I’m smug and I don’t even give a shit.

  “Now, now Mr. Mahoney, don’t be looking like that.”

  “Why not?” I leave my arm around her shoulders as I swivel us towards her car and keep walking. “I have the hottest girlfriend on the planet and she’s totally in love with me. If I’m looking smug right now, I have every damn right.”

  Kaija squeezes me and murmurs, “I do love you.”

  My heart does that same double-kick every time she says that, and I’m once again reminded why I stay.

  Because of her.

  From the day I first saw her, she captured me and she’ll own my heart forever.

  THE HANDOFF

  Have you met my book boyfriend?

  Out of all the Nelson High Raiders, Finn is the one who stole my heart. When I was designing his character profile, he quickly grew into the kind of guy that I’d swoon over. He’s tall, handsome, comes from an awesome family. He’s kind, sweet, thoughtful…and protective—that’s what I love most about him. He protects the people he cares about, which makes him the perfect partner for the initially fragile, Layla.

  What do you look for in a book boyfriend?

  Unveiled beauty…

  Layla is a character that needs to be understood to be loved. In the first two Big Play Novels, she comes across as too cool for school, and a bratty snob. But beneath the surface is a girl desperate for love—someone who’s still hurting after the loss of her father. Watching Finn peel back the layers and fall in love with her is a thing of beauty. Thanks to Finn’s unwavering devotion, Layla changes and grows throughout The Handoff, which actually makes the third book in this series, my favorite.

  Do you ever feel misunderstood?

  Don’t mess with Mrs. Jones…

  If Finn’s my book boyfriend, then his mother is my book mom. I don’t know if that’s even a thing, but if it is…she’s totally mine. I adore her. From her bustling hips, to her pointed looks, to that “Hmmm” she always does when she’s unimpressed.

  I actually took my inspiration from Octavia Spencer in The Help. The way she portrayed Minnie Jackson was pure genius and I wanted Mrs. Jones to emulate that just a little.

  Because I fell so in love with her character, I actually made her far more integral to the story than I initially intended. She just ended up being the perfect remedy for so many situations.

  Here’s a little snippet from the book, after Layla’s health has started to improve and Finn’s mom wants to get the girl moving again…

  EXCERPT FROM THE HANDOFF

  “Okay, time to go for a walk outside.” Mom’s hand skims down Layla’s hair, tucking it behind her shoulder like Layla’s her daughter or something.

  Layla’s eyes bulge and the cards spill out of her hands. I’m pretty sure it’s not Mom’s touch that’s jolting her so bad. She swivels in her seat and lifts her chin at my mother.

  “I don’t want to go outside.”

  Her forceful tone is given a pretty swift smack-down. “Excuse me?” Mom perches her fists on her hips and pulls out the pointed glare.

  Layla holds her ground, her fingers tightening on the back of the chair as she slowly repeats, “I don’t want to go outside.”

  I love that she’s hitting back. It means she really must be feeling better. But she still has a lot to learn about my mother if she thinks she can win an argument so easily.

  “Honey, I wasn’t asking. You’ve been cooped up in this house for five days straight. You’re getting your strength back, and you need some exercise. Now, go on.” Mom flicks her thumb at the door, expecting immediate compliance.

  Layla’s lips twitch and she shakes her head.

  “Girl, don’t make me force your butt out that door.” She points her finger at me but keeps her eyes on Layla. “I may be short, but if I can push that elephant out of me, I can sure as heck get your twig legs working the way I want them to. Go for a walk.”

  Layla’s chest deflates and she leans away from my mother, her eyes darting around the room like she’s ready to bolt up the stairs and lock herself in the bathroom.

  Clearing my throat, I lean in to diffuse the situation, gently sliding my hand over Layla’s tense fist.

  “I know this grea
t spot near the lake. Hardly anyone ever goes there.”

  I keep my smile in place until that fleeting look of panic crests over her face, disappearing behind a grateful smile.

  “Mom, can I borrow your car?” I rise from the table and start getting myself ready.

  “Don’t you be driving her all over town. She still needs her rest after this.”

  I snatch the keys out of the bowl on the table and give my mother a smile. Bending forward, I kiss her cheek then hold my hand out for Layla. Much to my relief, she takes it.

  “We’ll be home for dinner,” I call over my shoulder as Mom walks out of the entrance to go and putter in a different part of the house.

  The power of love…

  I’ve mentioned it before, but for me, one of the biggest selling points of The Handoff is the fact that neither character will give up on the other. Layla is convinced Finn’s too good for her. With all the rumors circulating, she feels completely unworthy of him, but it doesn’t even matter, because he’s not giving up. He’s seen who she really is and even if no one else ever does, it’s enough for him.