Being the face of a franchise should feel like a dream. Instead, it’s a countdown. Oliver James finally earned his spot as the Rampage’s starting running back, but hiding a heart condition isn’t exactly a sustainable game plan. The pressure, the secrets, and the constant fear—it’s all one hit away from disaster. Enter Dr. Sloane Mercer. The team’s new mental performance coach—brilliant, confident, and absolutely untouchable. She’s here to keep players steady, not fall for one of them. Especially not him. Their chemistry is instant. Their connection? Impossible to ignore. But in a world where control means everything, letting someone in could cost them both the careers they’ve worked their whole lives for. He’s not supposed to need her. She’s not supposed to want him. And if either of them slip, the fallout won’t just break the rules—it could break them both.

Noah Abbott is the Rampage’s unbreakable wall—big, quiet, protective. The man who keeps his team safe. He’s also the man who never got over Emily Sanders—his college almost, his late-night laughter, the girl he wanted but never claimed. When they reconnect at a Central State alumni event, the attraction is immediate. Familiar. Explosive. For the first time in years, Noah thinks he might get a second chance. Then his sister dies and her will makes Noah guardian of her five-year-old son. Now Noah is fighting on every front—grief, a custody battle, and a little boy who needs him more than the spotlight ever did. Emily refuses to walk away, especially when her design business lands a contract with the Rampage and forces them into close quarters. He’s built to take hits. He’s not built to ask for help. But Emily is all in…even when his walls are up, even when the court dates pile up, even when love feels like one more risk he can’t afford. Because this time, Noah isn’t playing to win. He’s playing to keep his family. And Em? She’s fighting to finally be chosen. Side Lined is a standalone romance with unrequited love, friends to lovers, second chance, roommates, work place romance.