Liza Sutherland had a huge crush on Cole Collins when they were teenagers.  Now he’s a professional baseball player and, thanks to her mother, Liza has won a date with him from a charity auction.  When his agent offers her $500,000 for charity to date Cole, but not fall for him, she reluctantly takes the deal.  After all, she’s still grieving for her fiancé, who died in the line of duty as a Secret Service agent, and she’s definitely not looking to get involved with a womanizer like Cole.  Up for a new contract, Cole’s reputation has taken a bit of a beating with the National’s front office.  His late nights and wild parties don’t set well with the family oriented ball club.  Then his agent suggests using the date with Liza as the chance to improve his rep with a fake relationship with a good girl.  But Cole didn’t plan on Liza being so attractive.  As they spend time together, their feelings start to deepen and they might get more than they bargained for.

I love a good sports romance.  There is just something so appealing about a hottie on the ball field or the race track or the ice … heck, anywhere that he’s buff and sweaty.  The Practice Proposal lives up to my expectations.  Cole is hunky but he’s also troubled and sweet and amusing.  His steadily developing relationship with Liza is fun to watch and, although you know their secrets will come out at the end, they are handled well and are not as big a deal as they could have been.  Although I got a little confused by some of the timing, as it isn’t really that clear on how many, or even if, days pass.  And there are some issues with Cole’s father where the resolution isn’t fully explained.  But most of the book is spent, satisfyingly, on Cole and Liza getting to know each other again and learning to love.  Well, and some fun baseball thrown in to keep things hopping.

The Practice Proposal is a delightful way to get into the baseball spirit, with a little love, a little humor and a lot of fun.