Contemporary series, second runner up, Washington Romance Writers' Marlene Contest (2016)
How can two people burned in the past learn to trust each other?
Sydney Barton had a good life with a nice apartment and a great job. Then she went to work one day and found out her boss had embezzled millions of dollars from his clients, leaving her with no career and no future. Sydney never saw it coming and realizes there's no way she will ever trust anyone again, professionally or personally.
Then Andy Mitchell showed up at her door.
Andy enjoyed his job as the trainer for the Detroit Pirates for the most part, except for mornings like the one when the team's rookie sensation collapsed in the locker room with a rebellious appendix. With Ryan McCloud on the injured reserved list, it's up to Andy to get started on a recovery plan.
If Andy had just remembered the keys to Ryan's apartment, he would've never knocked on the door of the rookie's neighbor, Sydney. But now that he has, can Sydney and Andy put their trust in one another when it's so hard for each of them to remember what that means?