Games of Love
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance Standalone
Tropes: Football with a twist, Overheard heartbreak, Labrador energy hero, Friends to Lovers, Vacation romance, OM drama,
Ex-teammate + Ex-fiancée hookup (and it’s GLORIOUS)
Synopsis
There are more views about her engagement ending than her ex’s season opener!
One overheard conversation during her engagement party shattered Maya Cox’s life in seconds. “She’s not that pretty, but she sure is loyal.” But it’s what her pro-football playing fiancé said next that completely humiliated her. Then the world got a hold of a video taken of her heartbreak, causing the situation to go viral in a matter of days.
Needing to escape, Maya packs her bag and telephoto lens before heading out of the country for work. After she returns months later, she decides to take a small vacation at a vineyard in Italy.
There’s just one hitch.
When she arrives, Maya comes face to face with Troy Walsh—former kicker for the Oklahoma Lightning and her ex’s former teammate. He’s also a man she considered a friend before hashtags like #EngagementGate started trending.
Troy is nothing but kind, steady, and loyal giving her the space she needs to become herself again. But the longer they spend together, his good looks, easy manner, and genuine heart make it impossible to resist advancing the forward line of their relationship from friends to something more.
Much more.
The more time they spend together, the more sparks fly. Troy encourages the woman Maya is—her fire, her fight, her fierce will to reclaim herself. But when her ex tries to reach out, will Maya forgive his cruel words or allow this former kicker to restart her heart?
You'll love Kickstart My Heart if you Football, Overheard, He falls first & harder, OM Drama, Labrador Hero, Holiday romance!
Tropes
- Contemporary Romance
- Sports
- Holiday
- Workplace
- Betrayal
- Friends-to-Lovers
- Football…with a twist
- Overheard
- OM Drama
- Labrador Hero
- Vacation Romance
- Ex-Teammate+Ex-Fiancée hookup
- Hero Protects Heroine
- TikTok titillation
Personal Comfort Warning
- Body/Image shaming
- Cheating/exposure of infidelity (off page
- Controlling ex-partner
- Emesis
- Emotional trauma
- Engagement ending
- Infidelity (off page)
- Loss of personal autonomy
- Physical Injuries
- Sexual content
- Surgery (off page)
Synopsis
His downfall began long before the injury that took him off the ice.
One catastrophic hit during a nationally televised hockey game ends Brennan McCallister’s career. His freedom on the ice, his fame, his identity—gone in seconds. Reeling from the career-ending blow and the crushing media attention that follows, Brennan escapes to a secluded cabin he bought, desperate to find his new normal.
He never expects to find Amy Delgadina there—or realize that seeing her after all these years will shock him worse than the hit that ended everything.
She was once the queen of his heart before an explicit photo of her flooded the internet and shattered the future they planned. Brennan believed the rumors instead of believing in her. He walked away to protect his shot at the pros—and broke her in the process.
Now? He’s moved to her town.
What Brennan doesn’t know is that the photo was taken without her consent—and Amy has the proof.
Amy isn’t the same girl he left behind. This compact ball of fury is one of the youngest and most respected STEM teachers in Oklahoma—a woman who rebuilt her life after erasing her digital shadow. Running into Brennan again feels like reopening a wound she fought hard to close.
Except, the chemistry between them is impossible to ignore.
Amy’s determined to protect the life she fought for. Brennan is determined to uncover the truth he walked away from all those years ago. Yet, every time they clash—emotionally or physically—the pull between them is harder to deny.
But when the source of the photo steps back into their lives, will Brennan choke under pressure or will he win the only game that matters—love?
Tropes
- Hockey romance
- Small town romance
- Second Chance romance
- Lovers to enemies to lovers
- She falls first/He falls harder
- Social media scandal/reputation ruin
- Medical injury
- Betrayal/Grovel
- Hidden truth revealed/Uncovered
- STEM Teacher
Personal Comfort Warning
- Chronic Illness/Pain
- Cyberbullying/Cyber Crimes
- Emotional trauma
- Hospitalization
- Medical Treatment & Procedures
- Physical Injuries
- Profanity
- Body/Image shaming
- Sexual content