Game of Love Synopsis:
Game of Love is
set in the high-stakes world of professional tennis where fortune and
fame can be decided by a single point.
Gemma
Lennon has spent nearly all of her 21 years focused on one thing:
Winning a Grand Slam. After a disastrous and very public scandal and subsequent
loss at the Australian Open, Gemma is now laser-focused on winning the French
Open. Nothing and no one will derail her shot at winning - until a heated
chance encounter with brilliant and sexy Andre Reyes threatens to throw her off
her game.
Breaking
her own rules, Gemma begins a whirlwind romance with Andre who shows her that love and
a life off the court might be the real prize. With him, she learns to trust and love…
at precisely the worst time in her career. The pressure from her home country,
fans, and even the Prime Minister to be the first British woman to win in
nearly four decades weighs heavily.
As
Wimbledon begins, fabricated and sensationalized news about them spreads,
fueling the paparazzi, and hurting her performance. Now, she must reconsider
everything, because in the high-stakes game of love, anyone can
be the enemy within… even lovers and even friends.
CHAPTER TWO (Excerpt)
“Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars
for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.”
~Marilyn
Monroe
The
locker room facilities at Roland Garros were reminiscent of an exclusive spa.
Considerably different from the days when she’d changed in a car or public
restroom. The lighting was warm, the wood-inlaid locker doors built by
craftsmen, and the aroma of oils and designer shampoos accented the air. Now,
in the latter rounds of the tournament, the locker room was mostly empty,
desolate, providing Gemma with the quiet she needed.
She turned
her attention to the senior trainer, meticulously preparing Gemma’s feet―or
what was left of them. She padded the callouses, wrapped her jammed toe, then
applied tape until her feet felt as indestructible as rhino skin. No
blinged-out pink nails here. What
would Glamour or Cosmo think?
As soon as
the trainer finished, she cleaned up her supplies and walked away without a
word. Gemma appreciated professionals who understood when to stay and when to
leave.
Gemma
slipped on her lucky socks then opened her bag. She removed all five racquets
and squeezed their handles. We’re in this together,
she told each one. She carefully returned them to the bag then drank the first
of three water bottles fortified with electrolytes. She ate one banana and kept
the second one for later during the match.
She noticed
Paulina, her opponent, stretching and talking to her reflection in the mirror.
The loneliest sport in the world. No one to pass to, no one to speak to during
the match. Athletes learned very quickly that they started alone and by the
end, even if they won, they stood alone.
A few
minutes later, the French Open match official entered. “We are ready,” he said.
Gemma rose,
hoisting her bags over her shoulder and exchanged a greeting with Paulina. They
were friendly off-court, but war would soon be waged on the court, and the
psychological match had begun. No awards were given for congeniality in tennis.
From this point, win or go home.
Gemma knew
everything about Paulina. She had studied hundreds of hours of footage. She
knew what to expect from her serves, her returns, and her volleys. Gemma would
exploit Paulina’s single-handed backhand and sub-par second serve. No longer
would she leave anything to chance or luck―or talent. Today
she would be in control of her destiny.
They
followed the official through the long corridor toward center court. The faces
of past champions adorned the walls on either side. Would she be on these walls
one day?
Gemma
slowed, giving Paulina the lead by a few paces.
When
Paulina’s name was announced, she walked onto the court to a cheering crowd.
Then Gemma’s name was announced, and the cheers transformed into thunderous
roars. Paulina flinched. Gemma could practically read the woman’s mind. In that
moment, both the home field and mental advantage transferred to Gemma. The
first, albeit unrecorded, point of the day was hers.
Gemma
stepped out, and the noise doubled, then tripled. The loose red clay on the
field rattled. She had her share of critics, but she also inspired legions of
fans. Fans who had remained loyal through all her failures. Fans who were her
last remaining source of fuel.
She turned
slightly to take in the complete view of center court, absorbing the waves of
support. All successful athletes were coached to shut out the crowd. But she
couldn’t, wouldn’t. What she couldn’t get from her failed relationships she
would get from the game. She searched their faces and smiles, longing for their
energy. Unlike anywhere else, inside the stadium she felt loved.
Gemma’s jaw
muscles tightened, her throat went dry, her ears rang, and her eyes stung.
Streaming through her veins was what she thought of as combustible adrenaline.
Game time.
Ara
Grigorian Bio:
He
received an engineering degree from California State University Northridge and
earned his MBA from the University ofSouthern California. Today, he is a
technology executive in the entertainment industry. True to the Hollywood life,
Ara wrote for a children’s television pilot that could have made him rich (but
didn’t) and nearly sold a video game to a major publisher (who closed
shop days later).
But
something was amiss until his wife read him the riot act. “Will you stop
talking about wanting to be a writer and just do it?” So with her support (and
mandate), and their two boys serving as his muse, he wrote stories.
Fascinated
by the human species, Ara writes about choices, relationships, and second
chances. Always a sucker for a hopeful ending, he writes contemporary romance
stories. He is an alumnus of both the Santa Barbara Writers
Conference and Southern California Writers’ Conference (where he also serves as
a workshop leader). Ara is an active member of the Romance Writers of America
and its Los Angeles chapter.
Ara
is represented by Stacey Donaghy.
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