Series: Chasing Victory
Publication date: February 12th, 2026
Synopsis:
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 standing 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
TW: mild hazing, alcohol abuse, domestic abuse; mentions of combat scars.
Available at:
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The skin of my arm sang where he touched me. Even though I'd known he'd be here and tried to prepare myself, as soon as I saw him again, the world stopped. Gravity shifted, pulling at my limbs even as a whirling tempest brewed inside.
And I'm decidedly not over him. I mentally groaned at the unfairness of it all.
For months, I'd been perfecting the art of not-thinking about Maddox McBride. It started with not-thinking about how we met, our mouths reckless, my hands clinging to his shoulders, the feel of his arms around my waist... Or how everything inside my flesh moved without prior consent of my brain.
It was a bit harder to not-think about how he'd played volunteer security detail, watching over me as I packed my stuff to move from the sorority house. Then, he helped me move into Kanami's off-campus apartment.
I took a deep breath and folded my leg to continue my stretch.
But I most certainly never thought about--anymore, anyway--how safe I felt when he'd stay over, as the height of Ash's "coping mechanisms" became some mix of drinking and stalking.
Because just when I'd thought maybe, just maybe, everything happened for a reason--and my "reason" was Maddox McBride, he chose to push me away. But not before we crossed a few "just friends" boundaries, and almost...
My skin flushed hot as a cold, sick, churning hollowed out my stomach.
No, I definitely never think about how it felt to have his rock-solid, sweat-slicked body pressed against mine. His breath hot against my ear, groaning my name as his fingers teased my aching core to, ahem, certain orgasmic heights.
I couldn't think about it because it led to remembering how he left me that night--wanton and needy, so desperate to be his.
"Maddox..."
God, I was such an idiot. And so I made sure to not think about his apologies and how he rushed away from my apartment. And out of my life.
I rose to my feet, effecting a lunge to stretch my calves.
As months passed, clarity eventually settled in. The only thing that made any sense was that he'd just been taking pity on me. Poor, stupid, deluded Briella, practically a textbook damsel in distress. So humiliating.
But, still, his rejection felt so much worse than breaking up with Ash. Wrong. Like a Band-Aid over a wound that needed stitches to heal.
When I wasn't as good at not-thinking about Maddox, I'd considered reaching out, thanking him for his help, his friendship, at a time when I needed it--even if it had only been motivated out of pity. I could let him know I was fine now. Wish him well. Like a mature, responsible adult who was completely over him could do.
Which was me... definitely.
Or it was. Yesterday.
Today? Maybe not. Because seeing him again, all I could think of was how familiar he smelled. How he wore just the right amount of scruff on his jaw. How the scowl above those blue-grey eyes lent him an edgy, dangerous appeal.
And this was exactly why I'd avoided anything to do with the football team, once the rumor mill had decided I'd "broken up with Ash over Mick."
Apparently, it was OK for Ash to have an entire sorority wing of extras. I was just supposed to accept it as the price of being the quarterback's girlfriend.
Yeah, no.
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J. ROSE BLACK weaves stories about redemption and the transformational power of love - with a few side-helpings of snark. Now an award-winning and Amazon Top 300 chart-topping author, Rose writes about broody alpha males and plucky, no-nonsense women ready to fight for what they believe in. Her novels have been praised for their realistic mental health representations, with narratives offering a unique balance of romance, humor and tougher, real-world issues.
When Rose isn't deeply immersed in her latest manuscript, she's working in cyber security and thwarting the next generation of internet bad boys. Out of the office, she's #Shipping with friends over her favorite, swoon-worthy couples, heading to the gym to battle the great evil that is Unmovable Baby Weight, or complaining about her husband's addiction to 3D printing. Also: nagging her children to eat something other than cheese.
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