Match Pointe
The elite worlds of ballet and tennis collide in this scintillating exploration of the relationship between a dancer and her no.1 tennis player 'master'.Eloise has only ever had one passion - the ballet. But all of that is about to change . . .When injury ends Eloise’s glittering career as a prima ballerina, she is devastated. Lost and alone, and in exile from the only world she has ever known, Eloise can feel her reason for living slipping away.Then she meets an enigmatic billionaire, ‘Caesar’ King, who offers her the chance to dance again. His proposal seems to offer all she has ever dreamed of - a captivated audience and an outlet for her passion. But when she becomes embroiled in a darkly intoxicating relationship with the charismatic and commanding tennis champion, Stephen Nordstorm, all of her boundaries come crashing down.Eloise is plunged into a world that is both strange and familiar; one of elite competition, where power and winning mean everything. But the price she must pay is a high one. In this glamorous world of top athletes and extreme competition, Eloise is about to become the ultimate prize . . .
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Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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First published in Great Britain by Harper 2015
Copyright © Indigo Bloome 2015
Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015
Indigo Bloome asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780007597574
Ebook Edition © January 2015 ISBN: 9780007597581
Version: 2014-12-06
For all those who read the Avalon Trilogy,my most sincere thanks.This one’s for you!xo
Contents
Antony ‘Caesar’ King was one of the wealthiest men in the United Kingdom. Casino and hotel management were his business staples, but he was equally notorious for his ruthless dealings in property investments and high-end gambling. The crowning glory of his business empire – on which he spent a disproportionate amount of his limited time – was the firm he had built from scratch: The Edge. It was the world’s leading sports agency, responsible for managing the global careers of the most influential and brand-conscious athletes. Caesar had a natural instinct for identifying emerging talent, and the financial resources to back those he happened to tap on the shoulder.
Athletes knew that if The Edge represented them, they were on the path to greatness. To say ‘No’ to Caesar was akin to kissing your sports career goodbye and fading into oblivion. Not only was the business highly lucrative, but it also ensured Caesar was the pre-eminent ‘mover and shaker’ in the industry. At elite sports venues the world over he was immediately recognisable for his flamboyant dress sense, and he had the personality to match. Whether people loved him or hated him, such was his magnetism that they were drawn to him like moths to a flame. Power and superiority emanated from every gesture he made and the tone of every word he spoke. And rest assured that he relished the authority he wielded and the attention he attracted. Indeed, he depended on it for his continued success.
* * *
His father, Antonio ‘Tony’ King, was a self-made man. From humble beginnings in Italy, Tony had emigrated to America after the war. He had hocked his few valuables for several hands of blackjack, and won enough to kick-start his life in the new world. He was a conscientious gambler, willing to bet on high-risk ventures. And against all odds, he won significantly more than he ever lost.
Antony junior’s middle name was a direct tribute to an exceptionally lucky night at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. During a few raucous rounds of poker, Tony was challenged to risk all of his winnings on the roulette table.
With all the careless arrogance of a man who had nothing to lose, he barely glanced at the spinning wheel, where the numbers and colours swirled towards the potential gain or loss of such a huge sum. Instead, the beauty of a tall young blonde a few feet away captured his eye. With a sly wink he beckoned her close, whispering in her ear that she was his good luck charm. It was only when she returned his smile that he let his eyes focus on the tiny silver ball slowing towards black thirteen as if it were magnetically attracted to the number.
The ball fell into place, and the crowd who had gathered around the table erupted into applause as Tony walked away $1 million richer. He graciously accepted the envious congratulations of those around him, and the gratis upgrade to the Emperor’s Suite proffered by hotel management. Needless to say, he wasted no time in bedding the stunning babe, who had more than happily accompanied him and his newly acquired funds to the suite.
At first Tony was shocked by the news of her pregnancy, but given that the conception had occurred on the luckiest night of his life, it seemed fate was sending him a definite sign. The woman had no interest in becoming a mother at the peak of her youth and beauty, so he made her an offer any young student with a substantial college debt would find difficult to refuse. A healthy, strong baby boy was delivered into the world, and once the obligatory paternity tests were completed, the biological mother willingly accepted the bonus money they had agreed on, granting Tony full custody of his only son and disappearing from their lives forever.
