4.5 Stars for this contemporary romance. 
 Leila and Jackson both have secrets. They are both haunted by families that have serious dysfunction--in Leila's case she's the "other" child. The one her congressman father only sees as a commodity to barter for political power. For Jackson, he's well, on the outs with his half-brother who runs their late father's company. At any moment, however, he might be needed to correct his brother's missteps. 
 Jackson's a well-respected football analyst with a fledgling sports network and he's earned the respect of many teams' management. He's wondering why the newly-hired sidelines reporter, Leila, is allowing their producer to speak down to her, as if she doesn't know anything about football. Jackson sees immediately that Leila's putting on an act--but why? 
 Thing is, Leila's a football guru. And a well-educated woman. Sports reporting is her dream job, the one she pursued when her beloved Gram died. Jackson's drawn to her--because he sees her intellect, and that's even sexier than her pleasingly-plump frame. Over the course of their time in the office each sees the little kindnesses the other extends to the rest of the staff. Leila's a big hit with the management, well, until her SOB of an ex reveals some of Leila's secrets involving sports gaming and gambling websites. It's all a wash, however, and she win's Jackson's trust completely. 
 Just when we think it's going to go completely right we get a squib kick to the guts. I don't want to give things away, but I'll say that Jackson's big bro is at the root of the problem, and he steadily endeavors to make things worse. There are some harrowing bits here, I won't lie about it. While Leila and Jackson pull through, they aren't quite together...for a bit. I so loved how each of them made sacrifices for the other, both assuming they'd never be a couple again. It was charming in an O. Henry Gift of the Magi sort of way. Expect an HEA, and a football fantasy come true. 
 There isn't a lot of conflict here--between Leila and Jackson. They have a mutual respect and grow to care for each other long before this gets physical. The conflict all comes from outside--mostly resulting from one or the other's family. this is the first book in a series, and it's likely the next one will feature one of Jackson's best friends.