Callie Mitchell has spent the past year building walls around her heart—and her plus-size body. After a string of dating disasters that left her bruised and exhausted, she’s sworn off men entirely. Her life is her career, her friends, and absolutely no romance. She’s fine with that. Really.

Then Marcus Thompson walks into her charity gala.

Six-foot-four of former NFL player wrapped in a custom suit, Marcus has the kind of confidence that makes rooms go quiet. He’s a professional scout now, but he’s never stopped reading people—and he sees right through Callie’s walls. When he approaches her with an invitation to dinner, she’s sure it’s a mistake. Men who look like him don’t pursue women who look like her.

But Marcus isn’t playing games. He knows exactly what he wants, and what he wants is Callie—her sharp mind, her curves, her carefully guarded heart. All of her.

As the heat between them builds, Callie faces an impossible choice: stay safe behind her walls, or risk everything for a man who might actually mean it when he says she’s perfect exactly as she is.

I had a one-night stand with a gorgeous stranger, believing I’d never see him again. Except who did he turn out to be? Troy Winters, starting pitcher for the MLB and the hottest single dad to grace the planet.

What’s worse, he’s now my son’s new baseball coach.

In my defense, Troy and I had agreed to exchange fake names and occupations that fateful night in a seedy Colorado bar. One perfect night of no strings and a quick escape from my busy single mom life. . . Right?

Fast forward to a re-meet-cute that had me diving under a chair, an injury that sidelined him for a year, and now Troy is coaching my son’s team while he recovers.

His smoldering golden-hued gaze makes one thing clear: he’s not letting me disappear again.

But after a highly publicized divorce from a narcissistic pro-golfer, I’m done with the spotlight and athletes. No matter how cute their rear end looks in a uniform.

Yet Troy is relentless. Between his bond with my boy, his tenderness for his daughter, and our scorching chemistry, my walls are crumbling.

So I offer a compromise: a friends-with-benefits situation while he recovers. Once he returns to the MLB, we’ll go back to being just friends.

Simple enough, right?

Except, the more time I spend wrapped in his arms, the less simple everything becomes.

Now, with the MLB calling him back, I have a choice to make: stick to our deal and protect my heart or risk everything for the spotlight I’d vowed to avoid.

Second chances don’t usually come wrapped in shoulder pads on Valentine’s Day…

Ten months ago, All-American shortstop Briella Reddington fell hard for grumpy, battle-scarred quarterback Maddox “Mick” McBride.

And then he walked away—right when she was finally ready to let him in.

Now Ella’s done being vulnerable, done being blindsided, and definitely done with emotionally unavailable athletes. But losing a bet lands her at a Valentine’s charity flag-football event…face-to-face with the man who broke her heart.

Maddox never stopped wanting Ella—but teammates loyal to her golden-boy ex, a rival gunning for his spot, and a coach who made Ella the price of peace forced his hand. Choosing her once cost him everything. His season tanked, his starting job is on the line, and seeing Ella again is the one hit he isn’t prepared to take.

When a chaotic Valentine’s “cupid” pushes them together, sparks ignite, truths surface, and Maddox realizes he’s been fighting the wrong battles all year.

This time, he’s not walking away.

He’s fighting for the girl who was always worth the risk.

READ THIS IF YOU LIKE…
✅ Grumpy/protective hero
✅ Sunshine-with-boundaries heroine
✅ Second-chance romance
✅ College sports + rival athletes
✅ Forced proximity
✅ Emotional scars & healing arcs
✅ Charity-event chaos
✅ A hero who finally fights for his girl