Excerpt from LUCKY 22 by Ashley Eckstein and Samantha Chase:
“I can’t believe you finally broke up with Jim. Yay, you!” she says, raising her glass of water to me. I raise mine right back.
“Thanks. It was time. We could have kept going, but…” I shrug. “It just wasn’t there. We went to a baseball game, and when he took me home, I knew it was time.”
“Wait, you went to a baseball game? I thought sports weren’t really your thing.”
I shrug. “I mean, I enjoy going to games. I just don’t follow sports. Jim had some complimentary tickets from work for the Magic game, and a bunch of us went.”
I take a sip of my water, thinking about that night. I glance at Whitney, and before I can stop myself, I blurt out the whole eye-contact thing with Christian Lucas.
“I know it’s crazy, but it felt really intense,” I tell her.
“Like it was an important moment. And his number is twenty-two! Don’t you think that’s crazy? What are the odds that he’s the one I made eye contact with?”
“Were you trying to make eye contact with him?” she says with a suspicious laugh.
“What? NO!” I huff. “It just felt…it seemed like…” Another huff.
“Use your words, Ella,” she teases.”
“I don’t know how to explain it. It was like there was a force pulling us to look at each other. And then it felt like no one else was in the stadium but us.”
She takes another sip of her water. “Do you want to meet him?”
“Who?”
“Christian Lucas. Isn’t that who we’re talking about?”
“Yes, but…why would you ask me that?”
“Because my husband, Ryan, knows him…well, kinda.” She pauses. “Ryan played baseball with him in college. Small world, right? They’ve since lost touch, but Ryan loves to watch him play. Since Christian signed with the Magic, Ryan and I have been going to games a lot—or we watch them on TV. I was probably at the same game you were.”
“Wow, what a small world! I’m guessing we never talked about it because you knew I wasn’t exactly into sports,” I reason.
Wait, am I suddenly into sports now?
An excerpt from LUCKY 22 by Ashley Eckstein and Samantha Chase
Copyright 2026 Ashley Eckstein and Samantha Chase
Published by Blue Box Press, an imprint of Evil Eye Concepts,Incorporated. All rights reserved.
LUCKY 22 by Samantha Chase, Ashley Eckstein
Twenty-two was just a lucky number.
Until it wasn’t.
Ella Rose Holt believes in magic. Not always the fairy-tale kind, but the quiet kind that shows up when you least expect it. On the brink of her golden birthday, chasing acting dreams in Los Angeles, Ella’s life feels full of possibility…and just a little unfinished.
Christian Lucas has built his world on discipline, dedication, and the game he loves. As a professional baseball player, his life is carefully scheduled, a bit guarded, and rarely spontaneous.
When a chance encounter, a lucky number, and a not-so-blind blind date bring them together, neither is prepared for the connection that follows.
What starts as an unexpected meeting quickly becomes something deeper—an easy friendship, a steady trust, and a romance that grows quietly but undeniably. As their worlds collide under bright stadium lights and red-carpet flashes, Ella and Christian must decide whether love has a place in lives already full of ambition, sacrifice, and dreams in motion.
Because sometimes, the most extraordinary love stories aren’t loud or dramatic.
They’re built on faith.
On timing.
On believing that when the moment comes, you’ll be brave enough to say yes.
And a little bit of luck.
Romance Sports [ Blue Box Press, On Sale: September 8, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781968707996 / eISBN: 9781968707989 ]
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About Samantha Chase
New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40’s to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.
Shaughnessy Brothers | The Protectors | Life, Love & Babies | Montgomery Brothers | Band on the Run | Preston’s Mill | Silver Bell Falls | Magnolia Sound
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About Ashley Eckstein
Ashley Eckstein is an actress, author, entrepreneur, executive producer, fashion designer, inspirational speaker, mental health advocate, podcaster, and a dynamic force in the entertainment and fandom worlds. Best known as the voice of the iconic Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars—a character she originated in 2008—she also revolutionized fandom culture in 2010 when she founded Her Universe, a trailblazing fashion and lifestyle brand. Ashley’s designs can currently be found at Disney parks and stores around the world.
A leading authority and tastemaker in fandom, Ashley has been featured on CNN, Forbes, Fortune, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, among many others. She was honored by Good Housekeeping as one of its “25 Awesome Women,” invited to speak at Fortunemagazine’s Next Gen Most Powerful Women Summit, and named one of CNET’s “Women Who Inspire.” Ashley also serves on the national advisory council for the Kids Mental Health Foundation.
She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, former Major League Baseball player and World Series MVP, David Eckstein. Together, they love traveling the world in search of the best pizza.
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