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A longtime good girl and unapologetic bad boy score the love of their life when they least expect to in this swoony, slow-burn sports romance. Ziggy Bergman is tired of being underestimated. Sure, she’s the youngest player on the National Soccer team and the baby of the family, but that doesn’t mean she still deserves to be treated like a kid. It’s time for her angelic image to get a makeover. What better way to do that than hanging out with trouble incarnate and her brother’s best friend, Sebastian Gauthier? Sebastian has hit rock bottom. His hockey career and sponsorships are in jeopardy of ending if something doesn’t give. Seb’s not willing to actually change his destructive ways, but he’s happy to pretend he’s a reformed reprobate by faking a friendship for publicity with sweet, shy Ziggy Bergman. When faking starts to feel real, Ziggy and Seb discover an unexpected friendship they’re happy to hold on to. At least, until their once-fake friendship becomes the most loving, empowering relationship they’ve ever known, and the end goal—for both of them—changes.
A longtime good girl and unapologetic bad boy score the love of their life when they least expect to in this swoony, slow-burn sports romance. Ziggy Bergman is tired of being underestimated. Sure, she’s the youngest player on the National Soccer team and the baby of the family, but that doesn’t mean she still deserves to be treated like a kid. It’s time for her angelic image to get a makeover. What better way to do that than hanging out with trouble incarnate and her brother’s best friend, Sebastian Gauthier? Sebastian has hit rock bottom. His hockey career and sponsorships are in jeopardy of ending if something doesn’t give. Seb’s not willing to actually change his destructive ways, but he’s happy to pretend he’s a reformed reprobate by faking a friendship for publicity with sweet, shy Ziggy Bergman. When faking starts to feel real, Ziggy and Seb discover an unexpected friendship they’re happy to hold on to. At least, until their once-fake friendship becomes the most loving, empowering relationship they’ve ever known, and the end goal—for both of them—changes.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
From the cover
One
Ziggy
Playlist: "Shame," Elle King
This just might be the perfect day. Except for one small thing: my underwear.
Standing beside my siblings, I smile for another wedding photo and try to focus on how magical this day has been instead of how far my panties are riding up my butt. I think about this gorgeous beachfront wedding that just went off without a hitch for my brother Ren and his now wife, Frankie, who's been like a sister to me for years. I think about the glorious tangerine sun glowing on the horizon, the luscious sea breeze that's kept me cool this afternoon, despite the heat weaving through our whole chaotic Bergman brood-my parents, six siblings, their partners, and my niece and nephew.
The camera clicks as my little gratitude exercise comes to a close, unfortunately leaving me no less aware of the wedgie from hell. I wiggle my butt to try to dislodge it and force my grimace into a smile as the photographer calls for one more take.
"Okay," Frankie says after the next click of the camera, brushing back a lock of dark hair from her face. "That's enough memory making. This bride needs a seat, five minutes of quiet, and a very large glass of red wine."
"Coming right up," the wedding planner says, jumping into action.
The tight photographer-staged ball of our family dissolves into easy mingling-quick laughter and steady conversation. Before someone can rope me into it, I scamper away across the sand, sandals hooked on my fingers, making a beeline for the elegant venue that boasts grand doors opened wide to the sights and sounds of the beach, the dwindling light mingling with ivory candles and floral centerpieces.
Trying to be circumspect, I follow the edge of the room, racking my memory for the nearest bathroom, though, at this point, I will take a closet, nook, the first private space available, to lose these horrible panties, because I'm about to crawl out of my skin.
Not everyone gets this upset about their underwear riding up their butt; however, I'm autistic, and I have a lot of sensory issues. Itchy seams, fabric bunched where it shouldn't be, send me spiraling if I don't address the issue promptly. I need to find somewhere to deal with my sensory misery immediately.
As I finally locate the restroom and stumble into the lounge area-an art deco ode to shell-pink velvet and bronze accents-I come to an abrupt stop, encountering the one thing that could distract me from the underwear from hell:
People talking about me.
"Don't get me wrong, Ziggy's sweet. She really is." I can't see her, but I recognize that voice. It's Bridget, one of our just-retired midfielders from the National Team, whose spot I filled on our starting lineup. "She's just so-"
"Young," offers a voice I recognize, too. Martina, another recently retired player and former starting defender.
"Exactly," Bridget says. "Frankly, I was surprised she made the roster at all. When Mal asked what I thought about her place on the team, I told him, she's talented, but she doesn't have the confidence, the . . . poise for a starting position, for the exposure and pressure that puts on you."
"She really doesn't," Martina agrees. "I mean, as soon as the camera's pointed her way, she goes silent and her face turns as red as her hair."
My hand goes to my hair. And my cheeks turn hot. My vision is starting to get blurry.
"Well, soon enough, Mal will see what a mistake he made."
Twin tears spill down my cheeks. My hands are fists, shaking as anger boils up inside me.
What Bridget and Martina said is so unfair. But it's also not unprecedented. I'm painfully familiar with this...
Reviews-
September 18, 2023 Liese’s standalone sixth Bergman Brothers contemporary (following Everything for You) offers bighearted wish fulfillment. Ziggy Bergman loves her overly protective family as much as they love her, but at 22, spending family dinners at the kids’ table is getting old. She’s wants to prove that she’s more than just the baby sister whose autism and shyness are liabilities in her pro soccer career. She’s a grown woman and she wants to be treated like one. Enter Sebastian “Seb” Gauthier, notorious bad-boy hockey player, handsome heartbreaker, and her brother Ren’s best friend. Seb, who has celiac disease, is not interested in playing nice for the public—until one too many PR disasters puts his career at risk. Ziggy thinks she has the answer: they’ll fake a friendship for the press, thereby improving Seb’s image and giving Ziggy some much needed edge. They enter into the arrangement believing themselves to be polar opposites, but there’s more to both of them than either expected and fake friendship (with benefits) could well turn into real love. Liese ably balances sincerity, humor, and heat, and her sensitive focus on neurodivergent and chronically ill characters only adds to the story’s heart. Longtime fans and new readers alike will feel welcomed to the family.
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Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
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