In The Billion Dollar Player by Mandy Baxter, Jase Blackwell, starting tight end for the Dallas Cowboys, is a pro when it comes to football—and to women. Never one to shy away from a challenge, “Billion Dollar Blackwell” is finally able to get the cute waitress he’s had his eye on out for a little fun. But when their steamy encounters inspire Jase to play better than he ever has before, he has to wonder if this exciting woman is more than just a good luck charm…

Avery Lockhart doesn’t understand why a pro football player would want to go out with her. Incredibly wealthy and undeniably sexy, Jase Blackwell is everything she thinks she’s not. Getting a little closer to this enigmatic billionaire, however, proves too much for Avery to resist. But as their passion heats up, so does Jase’s game play, and soon, the rumors start to fly. Is Avery only being kept around to ease Jace’s pre-game superstitions? Or, like she believes, does their connection run deeper…?

(As you all know, I have this fantastic habit of joining a series in the middle but luckily this time it wasn’t a problem.)

The Billion Dollar Player is a short and fast read, perfect for those looking for a sports romance but who don’t have a lot of time.  This is definitely one of those stories where you want to smack the characters up the side of the head a couple of times and tell them that they need to talk to one another.  Jase worries a couple of times that Avery isn’t as good as she seems – that she’s into him for his money or fame instead of him as a person.  And Avery is afraid that Jase is ashamed of being seen with a poor, clumsy waitress instead of the Barbie lookalikes that he usually associates with. 

While Jase starts to value Avery for who she really is, she still has her doubts on why he would want to be with someone like her.  I can see where some would find it annoying but I thought it worked well.  You can see the drama coming a mile away but I think that Baxter does a good job in setting it up and giving her readers the HEA that Jase & Avery deserve. 

With her entertaining and fluid writing style, I’ll be keeping my eye out for more from Mandy Baxter.  And I’m definitely reading the rest of the Billionaire’s Club books – stories about Jase’s two brothers – fame and fortune, mixed with their troubled backgrounds, could lend to enjoyable difficulties on their path to happiness.