Nashville Fury

When you’re a female sports reporter, you have to work twice as hard. Prove your worth. Show people that you belong in the room. The pressroom. Not the bedroom. Oops. And there’s my first mistake. In my defense, resisting Hunter McAvoy is easier said than done. Professional football insiders call him the hottest up-and-coming coach in the league. Gossip columns rate him as the sexiest coach in pro sports. But only I know that when he kisses you, you feel it in every cell in your body.

Since I was a little girl, I've known the fairy tale I've wanted to live. Grow up. Fall in love. Get married to a man who will dance with me in the kitchen and kiss me for no reason. Have a big family and live happily ever after. There's just one problem—men suck. What's a southern girl have to do to find her future husband? It's certainly not on the dating apps, so I do something out of my comfort zone—I ask my step sister to set me up. And what does she deliver? A six-foot-two, sexy as sin football coach who has a fear of commitment. Great. The definition of my Prince Charming.

Ever since high school, I've always been one to follow the rules. Get good grades. Obey my parents. Don’t fall for the bad boy quarterback. What can I say? He had bright blue eyes and a smile that could light up a room. And while everyone saw him as the future pro football star, I just saw him as Bryce. He was my first love. My first kiss. And the first one to break my heart. But that's in the past. I've moved on. It was young love between two kids who didn't know how the world worked. Now we're both grown up. I'm happy with my quiet life in our small town.

I've never been one who thought she needed a man by her side. I'm a strong independent woman who likes to give a middle finger to the patriarchy, you know? But whenever I do find myself in a bind—a bad date, an arrest, you know, normal things—Cole Campbell is always there. He's my knight in shining football pads. And so when I need a place to stay, my brother’s best friend is there with a key in his hand.