The Hotshot (The Dugout 1) by Piper Rayne

A warm, funny, big-hearted romance where “temporary” turns into family faster than anyone’s ready for. The Hotshot follows a labor-and-delivery nurse suddenly raising her cousin’s three kids—and the pro baseball player who steps in with a fake-dating plan that starts to feel dangerously real.

One minute, she’s a single labor & delivery nurse living a quiet life. The next, she’s juggling guardianship hearings, kid meltdowns, and homework that feels like it requires a math degree—because she’s now raising her cousin’s three kids.

Enter Hayes Carlisle: her best friend’s older brother, the Chicago Colts’ newest catcher, and the man she once kissed and immediately pretended didn’t happen. When the custody battle she’s been dreading becomes real, Hayes swoops in with a wild idea: a fake relationship. He claims it’ll help polish his image and show the court she isn’t taking on an instant family alone.

It’s a terrible idea… except Hayes still knows how to make her laugh. He looks at her like that kiss mattered. And the kids—who didn’t ask for any of this—start asking him to read bedtime stories.