Gideon Valsecchi's fantasy life is so close he can touch it, and Elijah Tucker is a big part of the dream, but it's one thing to want it all, it's another to be man enough to live it. HARD KNOCKS Gideon Valsecchi had done the impossible when he busted out of the grueling poverty and pre-ordained existence his life had been on the South Side of Chicago. His free ride at college is the stepping stone to a career with a professional soccer team. And when his dream comes true it's not what he expects-sacrifice shouldn't taste this bitter, especially when the love of his life is what he's missing and can't seem to hold on to. Elijah Tucker wants to give Gideon Valsecchi the world on a silver platter. And he has the means to do it. But Eli is learning the truth of the maxim that the way you hold onto the thing you want most is to let it go. And while his heart breaks into a thousand pieces, he doesn't come apart even when the worst happens. Because, even as cliché as it sounds...true love does find a way.