Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:11:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 http://www.wownovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com 32 32 Reckless With the Rookie (Love on the Line #6) Read Online Brenda Rothert http://www.wownovels.com/reckless-with-the-rookie-love-on-the-line-6-read-online-brenda-rothert Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:11:11 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/reckless-with-the-rookie-love-on-the-line-6-read-online-brenda-rothert Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Brenda Rothert Series: Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert
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Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)

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I already know more about Magnus Lundgren than I should. Thirty-one. Swedish. Bought his mother a house. Still uses a flip phone. It’s all on my spreadsheet, which I started to help my sister land a pro hockey player.
But then she got engaged to the team’s coach, and suddenly the man who was row one, column A of my spreadsheet is standing in my living room. He doesn’t flirt or chase, but he shows up every time I need him and sometimes for no reason at all. He lets my five-year-old drag him to the floor to play cars and helps me study for nursing school exams. There’s just one thing he won’t do, and that’s get attached to anyone or anything he can’t pack into a suitcase.
He’s made an art form out of keeping people at arm’s length. I’m freakishly good at keeping men out of my life entirely, because men who can find a reason to leave always do.
Nothing that feels this good lasts. Both of us know that. But no matter what chaos is surrounding me and my boys, Magnus keeps showing up. And I’m starting to see that the most dangerous thing he’s done isn’t making me worry he’ll leave, but making me believe he might be the one who stays

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

1

Blair

* * *

My sister steps out of the fitting room looking like she’s modeling the wedding dress she’s wearing for a magazine shoot. Again.

“Another ten, right?” Suki says, looking at me.

“Like it was designed just for her.”

“Your boobs are ... magical.” Mara stares at Jules’s chest like a man with unlimited audacity.

Jules smiles at her. “Thank you. But you guys, I need critical opinions, too.”

The three of us study the sleeveless ivory gown, which has pink flowers embroidered on the bottom. Suki and Mara are newish friends Jules met through her job with the Cleveland Crush, which is also how she met her fiancé Noel, who coaches the pro hockey team. They quickly brought me into their group and it feels like we’ve all been friends forever.

“Well, it does draw attention to your shoulders.”

I flick my gaze to Lorraine, our fiftysomething stylist at the upscale wedding boutique. She’s looking at Jules over the rim of her glasses on a chain, and she seriously just said that.

“Her shoulders are beautiful,” I snap. “And she wasn’t asking you.”

My sister’s smile fades as she looks at her reflection in the floor-length mirrors surrounding the pedestal she’s standing on. Lorraine walks over to the pedestal, her attention focused on Jules.

“An empire cut would help disguise your tummy,” she says, her tone gentle.

My brows hit my hairline. “She’s a style influencer and you look like you’ve been haunting a creepy mansion for the last two hundred years.”

Jules turns to look at me. “Blair.”

“No, she’s right,” Mara says. “Nothing on your body needs to be disguised.”

“I apologize,” Lorraine says.

“Well, Lorraine,” Suki says. “This is the first store we’ve been to, but we have others in mind, too.”

Lorraine winces. Inwardly, I’m celebrating harder than a shirtless guy chugging beers at a snowy football game. Suki and Mara are protective of Jules, just like I am. Just because she radiates joy and confidence, that doesn’t mean shitty comments don’t hurt her.

“Is Jana here today?” Suki asks Lorraine.

“No, but I assure you, I c⁠—”

What little color our sales associate had in her face is gone now. Suki looks at Jules, who looks down before raising her chin and squaring her shoulders.

“I think we’re done here, Lorraine,” she says. “If I decide to come back, I’ll work directly with Jana.”

Lorraine pastes on a smile. “As the owner, Jana doesn’t usually handle fittings.”

“That’s too bad.” Jules gathers the dress’s skirt so she can step down from the pedestal. “The boutique is a major sponsor of the Crush. I wanted to support her with my business.”

“The ... Crush?” Lorraine looks like she may be sick.

“The Cleveland Crush? Pro hockey team? I’m the social media manager. That’s how I met Jana.”

“Really?” Suki furrows her brow. “I figured you knew her through Noel.”

“Noel Turner.” Mara gives Lorraine a fake smile. “He’s the head coach of the Crush.”

I stand from my seat. “That man is crazy in love with my sister. The last thing he would want is for any part of her to be disguised on her wedding day.”

Lorraine gives Jules a pleading look. “I’m so sorry.”

Suki and Mara both stand, too. Mara gives me a genuine smile. “I, for one, am relieved I won’t have to try on bridesmaid dresses after all that queso with a side of tacos.”

“Same,” I say. “And now we have enough time to try the cupcakes at that new bakery.”

“I’ll get dressed,” Jules says.

Lorraine leaves the room. I glare at her back, and then at the door she left out of.

“Aw.” Suki smiles softly at her phone screen, then turns it so we can see. “Look at these two.”

Lainey, who is married to Bash, one of the Crush players, sent a selfie she took of her and Talia, one of the team’s trainers. They’re both reclined in chairs, dressed in fluffy white robes. Both women have a pale-green clay mask on their face.

“Lucky bitches,” Mara says.

The team had four off days in a row, and Lainey and Talia are spending three days at a spa in Sedona, Arizona. Mara, who is seven months pregnant, is saving all her days off for maternity leave.

“Oh my gosh,” Suki says, looking at her phone again.

She turns the screen again, showing us a video of people skating at an ice rink. After a few seconds, I realize it’s her husband, Carter, Mara’s husband Leo, and Magnus and Isaac, who are all teammates. They offered to let my two sons hang out with them today while we shop. Carter’s girls are there, too, his youngest daughter in his arms.

Noel is there, too, and he’s showing my seven-year-old, Eli, something to do with skating. My heart swells at the same time my stomach churns.

My boys don’t remember much about their dad, who left a long time ago. I don’t allow men around them because I don’t want them getting attached. But Noel is marrying Jules, so he’s family. My sons adore him, but seeing Eli with Noel reminds me of kids with great dads, which my boys deserve but will never have.

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Crushing on the Coach (Love on the Line #5) Read Online Brenda Rothert http://www.wownovels.com/crushing-on-the-coach-love-on-the-line-5-read-online-brenda-rothert Fri, 03 Apr 2026 23:14:37 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/crushing-on-the-coach-love-on-the-line-5-read-online-brenda-rothert Genre: Alpha Male, Erotic, Forbidden, Sports Authors: Brenda Rothert Series: Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert
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Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)

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As a curvy style influencer with half a million followers, I'm used to commanding attention. But Noel Turner—head coach of the Cleveland Crush and the most distractingly hot man I've ever met—won't even look at me.
At forty-seven, twice-divorced, and allergic to complications, he's made it I'm off-limits. When I'm hired as the team's social media coordinator, his icy stare and clipped commands tell me everything I need to know. He thinks I'm a distraction. A liability. Someone who'll disrupt his carefully controlled world.
He's not wrong.
Because every time he brushes past me in the hallway, every time his jaw tightens when I'm laughing with his players, I want him more. I've built a career on confidence and knowing what I want—and I want him to lose that iron control. Just once.
When a travel mishap forces us to share a hotel room, the truth comes Noel has been fighting this pull between us just as hard as I have. One bed. One night. And suddenly every wall he's built comes crashing down.
Falling for him is one thing. Being the woman who costs him everything? That's another. When our secret gets out and he's forced to choose between his team and me, I'll discover if I'm worth the risk—or if I'm just another mistake he'll regret

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER ONE

Noel

Killing dreams is the worst part of this job. I’ve got nine guys battling for three roster spots, which means six hard conversations soon.

I always get the hard ones out of the way first. And even though I remind them to keep working and earn another call-up, there are sometimes tears. Men I’ve come to know and respect walk into my office with their stomachs in knots, their futures hanging in the balance, and they sometimes walk out trying to compose themselves.

Nick Simmons, for example. He’s on the locker room bench now, his head down and his elbows on his knees, and if it was just a matter of attitude and work ethic, he’d be the first guy I keep. He puts in his all every day, and he takes direction well. Respectful of the veteran players. Works his ass off in the workout room while others are talking and laughing. I saw his awestruck look when we walked into this locker room for our first preseason game, and it’s a no-frills visiting team locker room.

He won’t make the cut, though. It’s his skating. He’s good, but not great. And even though he does everything he can to compensate for it, it’s not enough to keep him here. I want him to have a taste of the big league though. Give him motivation to dig deep and keep grinding.

I scan the locker room, my brows dropping when I see our starting goaltender, Isaac Moss, holding up his phone like he’s taking a selfie. He’s actually taking a video. Our team captain, Carter Stanton, is standing next to him and they’re both grinning. Isaac seems to be interviewing Carter.

“Feeling good, Cap?”

“Feeling outstanding. We put in the work in the offseason, and now it’s time to get back out there.”

“You got any picks for MVP tonight? And don’t say me. You’re always heaping me with praise, it’s just a lot, you know? Give someone else a chance.”

I exhale through my nose, Moss’s energy grating on my nerves. He’s still got two years left in his contract and he’s one of the top tenders in the league, so he knows his roster spot is safe. It’s easy to laugh and joke when that’s the case. Some of the players in this locker room are fighting for their dreams.

Stanton gives Moss a quick side-eye. “I’d say Lundgren. Guy’s a warrior and he’s proven he’s still got it. He’s great at anticipating and intercepting. It’s fun to watch him play.”

Magnus Lundgren will get one of our roster spots, and Stanton knows it. He’s a thirty-one-year-old veteran player who hit some bumps rehabbing from a shoulder injury and got cut by his former team. He’s back at a hundred percent and he fits in well with our team. I’m looking forward to telling him he made our roster.

“Hey, fellas,” I call out as I walk over to them. “Making some TikToks for the Gram?”

Isaac has already stopped filming, and he grins at me. “You’re not that old, Coach. TikTok and the Gram are two different things.”

I cross my arms, about to put my foot in his ass, when Stanton intervenes. “The new PR girl asked us to make short videos when we’re on the road. It’s for the team’s socials.”

Aggravation rises in my chest. “How about we worry about the socials after the game, boys?”

“Yes, Coach,” Isaac says, setting the phone on a bench.

“Leo’s on his period!” someone yells from the other side of the room. “Anyone have a heating pad for his cramps?”

I turn and glare at Anson Hunt, who’s grinning like he’s the first one to tell that joke. Some of my players are younger than my oldest two daughters, and it shows.

Lucien Beaumont flicks a glare at me and puts a hand on Hunt’s shoulder, saying, “Hey, man, let’s stretch.”

Beaumont is dating my daughter, Talia, one of our team trainers. I spent time with them over the summer, including a two-week family trip to the South of France, and his devotion to Talia was obvious. Initially, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of them being together, but I’m warming to it.

One thing I’ll give Beaumont—he has more situational awareness than some of his teammates. He knows this game is important, even if it’s preseason. We made it to the playoffs and then choked last year. I expect everyone to step it up this season.

We’re playing my son-in-law’s team tonight, and I’d love to smoke them. Kyle Macintire is at the top of my shit list, which is saying something since I have two ex-wives who both cheated on me.

I walk into the weight room, where the row of eight bikes is full of players warming up. I approach Levi Johnson, one of our third-line forwards. He has a troubled expression.

“You good?” I ask him.

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A Deal with the Defender (Love on the Line #4) Read Online Brenda Rothert http://www.wownovels.com/a-deal-with-the-defender-love-on-the-line-4-read-online-brenda-rothert Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:41:17 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/a-deal-with-the-defender-love-on-the-line-4-read-online-brenda-rothert Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Brenda Rothert Series: Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert
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Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 53034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)

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My ex didn't believe in marriage—until he cheated with my sister and put a ring on her finger three months later.
Their wedding is in seven weeks and I refuse to be the pathetic, heartbroken ex everyone pities. I need a date. Not just any date—I need someone who'll make my ex's jaw hit the floor and prove I've moved on to something better.
My perfect solution is Lucien pro hockey's biggest flirt, my ex's fiercest rival, and the last man I should be anywhere near. He's arrogant, infuriating, and has a smile that should be illegal. He's also got his own reasons for wanting revenge on my ex.
The plan is fake a whirlwind romance. Make it look so real, no one questions it.
The problem? The heat between us isn't fake. Every touch that's supposed to be for show sets me on fire. Every whispered promise in front of the cameras makes me forget we're pretending. And when he looks at me like I'm the only woman in the room, I almost believe it myself.
But Lucien's off-limits for one very big my father is his coach. One wrong move, and we both lose everything.
The closer we get to the wedding, the harder it is to remember where the act ends and the truth begins.

_____________

Pro Hockey Romance
Forced Proximity
Opposites Attract
Fake Dating
Found Family
Reverse Grumpy Sunshine
Forbidden Romance

_____________

A Deal With the Defender is the fourth book in the Love on the Line all books are interconnected standalones about a team of professional hockey players and the women they fall hard for. The books don’t need to be read in order, but future characters appear in each book

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Talia

* * *

“Want another one?”

The bartender looks at me expectantly, his gaze moving from my empty glass to my face.

I’d love another whiskey sour, followed by three more. Drinking until I flop face-first on the bar sounds fantastic. But I can’t, because not spiraling into alcoholism is the one and only thing I’ve managed to succeed at in the past five months.

“Just some water, please.”

He nods and walks away, leaving me to play Tetris on my phone in peace. Today has been hard, and the last thing I need is some stranger trying to strike up a conversation before my dad gets here.

Moving in with my dad at age twenty-five. I definitely didn’t have that on my bingo card six months ago. It felt better than I thought it would to sell every piece of furniture I had at my San Francisco apartment, pack up my clothes, and drive to Cleveland.

I never have to look at the leather recliner Kyle used to sit in. Or my bed, where he’d sleep over after we watched Survivor and had perfunctory sex.

And best of all, I’ll never again step foot in the kitchen where he proposed while I was making his favorite dinner—meat loaf and mashed potatoes. Fuck meat loaf. But not mashed potatoes, because they’re delicious.

It was an underwhelming proposal, but did I care? I actually convinced myself it was romantic that my douchebag ex got down on one knee while I was knuckle-deep in two pounds of raw meat, eggs and breadcrumbs. In the video I deleted five months ago, he asked me to turn around, and when I did, both messy hands in the air, he asked me to marry him.

And stupidly, I said yes. If I could go back in time, I’d punch him in the face instead.

“Holy shit, they’re here!” the woman sitting on the barstool next to mine gushes. “I told you they hang out here. How do my boobs look?”

“Amazing. But why are they all wearing suits?” one of her friends asks.

The woman beside me responds. “That’s what they always wear after games. Oh my god, oh my god, I have no chill.”

Games? I narrow my eyes in a glare at my phone screen. It’s just my luck that a bunch of pro hockey players would come into the place my dad wanted to meet up with me.

Maybe they play another sport. Any other sport.

“Who’s the one with the red tie?” someone asks. “Because he can tie my hands up with that any day of the week.”

“That’s Carter Stanton,” the woman next to me says. “He’s married.”

“Ugh. Of course.”

I glance up, irritation coursing through my veins. It’s definitely a group of hockey players. Carter is the captain of the Cleveland Crush, and they had a home game tonight.

If I was feeling nice, I’d warn the woman next to me about the perils of being a puck bunny. Hockey players are users. They change women more often than they change underwear. And screwing them isn’t the status symbol puck bunnies think it is.

I’m not feeling nice, though. My vibe has been the same since September—bitter, pissed off and stabby. I haven’t talked to anyone but my therapist, my parents, and Sergio, the delivery driver who brought groceries to my apartment. The Chinese and pizza places I ordered from had the decency to leave my food outside the door so I didn’t have to talk to them. But Sergio insisted on coming inside to help me unload the groceries. He was the only witness to my steady weight gain, watching the progression from pants with waistbands to stretchy sweatpants.

I’d been living on junk food, only moving from my couch when I absolutely had to. That is, until I ran out of money a few weeks ago.

Dad to the rescue. I would have moved into a homeless shelter before living with my mom. And while my father can be brash and impatient at his job, he’s always had a soft spot for his three daughters.

I promise you this will all make sense one day, Talia. You’ll look back and know Kyle did you a favor.

I crumbled when he said those words to me after the breakup. Then I went for a rage run to a park, where I screamed as loudly as I could until my throat hurt.

Twenty-pounds-lighter Talia was a runner. I ran to manage my moods and my weight, because a love of junk food isn’t a new thing for me.

I don’t care anymore, though. My weight? Fuck it. Mood? Fuck that, too. When my therapist told me I’m depressed, I just shook my head, because yeah, obviously.

“Which one is that?” the woman next to me whisper-hisses to her friends. “He’s looking at his phone so I can’t see his—” She inhales sharply. “It’s Lucien Beaumont. Hot, massive bulge and single. Jackpot.”

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Getting the Grinder (Love on the Line #3) Read Online Brenda Rothert http://www.wownovels.com/getting-the-grinder-love-on-the-line-3-read-online-brenda-rothert Sun, 12 Oct 2025 20:52:19 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/getting-the-grinder-love-on-the-line-3-read-online-brenda-rothert Genre: Alpha Male, Sports Authors: Brenda Rothert Series: Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert
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Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 54091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)

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Leo Abbott is screwed. His new teammate won't stop trying to set him up with his twin sister—who unfortunately inherited the family unibrow. Desperate to avoid the world's most awkward dinner date, Leo lies about having a girlfriend. Too bad the name he blurts out in a panic is a woman who absolutely despises him.
Mara Torres has zero interest in doing Leo any favors, especially after he proved what a Neanderthal he is. But the chance to make the cocky hockey player squirm? That she can get behind.
Their fake relationship starts as pure revenge, but somewhere between heated arguments and sizzling tension, the line between hate and want gets dangerously blurred. Now they're facing their biggest challenge yet—what happens when enemies become lovers?

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Leo

* * *

“All I’m saying is it would’ve been nice to know the only titties I’d see at this bachelor party are Isaac’s,” my teammate Lucien says as he cracks open a can of beer.

Isaac grins at us from the kitchen of the sprawling Breckenridge cabin we rented for Bash’s last hurrah as a single dude. The main level of the cabin is wide open, the mountain view through the wall of windows in the main living area obstructed this afternoon by a blizzard.

“Wanna motorboat ’em?” Isaac, wearing only a pair of shorts, puckers his lips and circles his nipples with the pads of his index fingers.

“Pass,” Lucien mutters.

Some of the guys have been sitting in the hot tub. When Carter walks into the living area, his hair is damp and a cigar is tucked behind one of his ears. “It’s poker time, boys. I’ll accept IOUs.”

He cleaned all of us out last night, wisely drinking water while the rest of us got loaded. I’m nursing a hell of a hangover today and only drinking water. We have a rare eight-day break in December, and we’re spending the first three nights of it on this getaway. After we fly back home the day after tomorrow, I’m pig sitting Carter’s family pet, Darling, while he and his wife, Suki, take their girls to Fiji for the rest of the break.

“Let’s do whatever Bash wants,” Andrei, another of my teammates, says. “It’s his bachelor party.”

“It’s not like there are many options,” Carter says gruffly. “We’re trapped here because of the storm.”

Bash comes into the room, a beer in hand. “The plan was to stay here anyway. I don’t want to go barhopping. I just want time with you guys.”

I still can’t believe Bash is getting married in June. With our schedules, this was the best time for a bachelor party. His fiancée, Lainey, is having a low-key get-together with her friends at their house. They’re probably baking or something. She didn’t want to get shit-faced in Vegas or anything like that.

“Are we gonna get snowed in?” our newest teammate, Anson, asks from the kitchen. “It’s not letting up out there.”

“Our rentals have four-wheel drive,” Bash says. “We’ll be fine.”

“I’m not missing Fiji,” Carter says. “I’ll walk to the airport if I have to.”

Anson comes into the living area and sits down on the big leather sectional, where I’m sitting with Lucien. He looks at me and grins.

“My sister hearted all the pics I sent of you. I’m sure they’re all in her spank bank now.”

I smile weakly because fuck is it awkward when he tells me his twin sister has a thing for me. He took pictures of me in the hot tub last night and said he was going to send them to her. Even though lots of people have seen me shirtless, both in person and online, it felt weird.

“Ugh.” Isaac cringes. “I don’t want to know who does it for my sister.”

“Addison’s been going on about Leo Abbott for years,” Anson says. “She about had a coronary when I told her I was getting traded to Cleveland.”

Carter catches my wide-eyed look of discomfort and tries to pivot the conversation.

“Who’s in for poker?” he asks. “I’ve got more cigars and a bottle of Macallan.”

“I’m fucking hungry,” Andrei says. “Can we make something to eat first?”

“Hey Leo, have I told you what a great cook Addison is?”

Anson’s question makes me tense up. He’s my teammate and I don’t want to offend him, but he’s a hairy motherfucker with massive shoulders and a unibrow, and unfortunately, his sister looks exactly like him.

Not that it even matters. I’d never date a teammate’s sister, because it would create problems.

“I’m not looking for anyone to cook for me,” I say, shrugging. “No offense to anyone who wants to settle down, but I’m not there yet.”

“Wait ’til you try Addison’s meatballs. You’ll break out a ring.”

“I thought she wanted to try his meatballs,” Bash quips.

I flash a murderous glare at him. He and Carter are my closest friends; they know how uncomfortable I am about Anson’s attempts to set me up with his sister.

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Wanting the Winger (Love on the Line #2) Read Online Brenda Rothert http://www.wownovels.com/wanting-the-winger-love-on-the-line-2-read-online-brenda-rothert Wed, 09 Jul 2025 19:15:19 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/wanting-the-winger-love-on-the-line-2-read-online-brenda-rothert Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Brenda Rothert Series: Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert
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Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 52975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >54

Sebastian Stone has a wedding to stop. His best friend’s sister is planning to make an epic mistake in six months, but no one else seems to get it.

So when Lainey Morris needs a place to stay in Cleveland for a four-month long research project, Bash offers her his house. As a pro hockey player, he’s on the road a lot, but when he’s home, he makes his case against her marrying Shane—or anyone else.

She’s stubborn and often has her head in a book, but Lainey is also beautiful, funny and sweet. Plenty of men would like to lock her down, but she needs to focus on herself. Take her time. Wait until she’s at least thirty.

Bash plans to use logic and reason to persuade Lainey to stay single, but everything falls apart when he finally figures out the he’s in love with her. But is it too late to hope she might feel the same?

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Bash

* * *

“Damn, bro. The resemblance between you and your son is uncanny.”

My teammate Carter cuts a glare at me. “Stop calling Darling my son.”

I can’t help smirking as I check out the photo he just showed me after we finished a six-mile run. Even though it’s August, his wife Suki already had family photos done for their holiday cards this year, and they include the family pet, a pig named Darling.

“The girls call him their brother and Suki calls him her son. Why you gotta be so cold?”

“He’s a two-hundred-and-eighty-two-pound pig and he ate one of my hockey sticks the other day. He’s lucky I even let him live in the house.”

Our teammate Leo shoves his shoulder. “I know you’re not fat-shaming my nephew. I’ll fucking fight you.”

Carter shrugs and pulls off his sweat-soaked T-shirt. “You’re both uninvited from fondue night.”

“The fuck we are,” I say. “Let me ask your boss about that.”

Harry, one of Suki’s best friends, is a chef. Once a month, he helps Suki host a fondue party for their family and close friends. It always has a huge spread of perfectly seasoned and cooked steak, chicken, vegetables and potatoes for the cheese fondue and assorted fruits and sweets for the chocolate fondue. It’s my favorite meal of every month.

“Remind my boss who really wears the pants in our relationship,” Carter says lightly. “I’m the man and I make the rules.”

I scoff and reach for my phone. “I’ll let her know.”

He frowns. “No, don’t.”

“That’s what I thought.” I glance at my phone screen, finding messages waiting.

One is from Jana, who delivers my groceries.

Jana: They didn’t have broccolini but they had broccoli so I got that. And they didn’t have Junior Mints so I got mint M&Ms.

I roll my eyes and thumbs-up her message. It’s fine on the broccoli, but not the candy. I’ll have to stop on my way home later to find Junior Mints for my new roommate.

She’s the one who sent the other message waiting for me.

Lainey: Running late. Can’t fit everything in my car so I’m unpacking and trying again. It’s not as fun as Tetris.

My jaw tenses. Why the fuck isn’t Shane, her fiancé, packing his car up with her shit and driving her here?

Because he’s a piece of shit. I already knew that, but I seem to be the only one. Lainey was cozied up to his side during their engagement party two months ago in Columbus, my hometown. And her brother Eric, who’s been one of my best friends since we were kids, thinks Shane’s good enough for his sister.

Not even close. When Lainey, who recently finished her master’s degree in microbiology, got a chance to do a semester-long research project with a professor at Cleveland State University, I told her she was staying with me. The house I bought after signing with the Cleveland Comets three years ago has five bedrooms, so I have plenty of room for her.

And this will give me a chance to convince her to dump Shane’s ass. She’s only twenty-four—way too young to be getting married.

If her own brother won’t talk some sense into her, I will. I’ve known her since she was a kindergartener with bright-red pigtails, and I’m not letting her make the biggest mistake of her life. I don’t have to report to training camp for another month, so I’ve got lots of free time.

Carter pats my belly. “You’re looking better than you were before last season started, Fatman.”

“I look fucking great, douchebag. And I did last year, too.”

That’s not entirely true. I have a distinctive voice—it’s deep and gravelly. Since high school, people have gotten a kick out of asking me to say, “I’m Batman” because I’ve got the voice for it. Knowing that, when I picked up fifteen pounds in the last offseason from slacking on my workouts and hiring an Italian chef, they hung up pictures of a heavyset cartoon Batman all over the locker room. And not just our locker room—visiting ones, too. Every time I walked into a room, they’d say, “I’m Fatman.”

So I lost the weight and the joke died—mostly. I didn’t drop the pounds for those fuckers, though, but because I was so much slower. I can’t let myself get out of shape again. Me, Leo and Carter have been running five days a week and lifting with our team trainers this offseason.

“Those are abs, by the way,” I tell Carter. “You probably don’t remember having those since you’re a lazy married guy now.”

A wrinkle forms between his brows as he looks down at his stomach. “I still have abs.”

“Those are called flabs.”

I take off my T-shirt, pointing at my own well-defined eight-pack. I’ve been on a high-protein Mediterranean diet for ten months now, and I’m in better shape than ever. The Fatman shit was a wake-up call. I have to stay in great shape, or I’m risking my career.

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Falling for the Forward (Love on the Line #1) Read Online Brenda Rothert http://www.wownovels.com/falling-for-the-forward-love-on-the-line-1-read-online-brenda-rothert Wed, 12 Feb 2025 07:22:18 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/falling-for-the-forward-love-on-the-line-1-read-online-brenda-rothert Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Sports Authors: Brenda Rothert Series: Love on the Line Series by Brenda Rothert
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Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 53238 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 266(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)

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Suki Brennan is broke. After she co-signed several hefty loans for her ex’s business, he fled the country and left her working two jobs to pay his bills.

So when her new boss, a sulky pro hockey player who recently became the guardian of his three nieces, proposes a deal to help him secure permanent custody of the girls, she agrees.

If Suki fake marries Carter Stanton for one year, and pretends to be his doting wife, she’ll get half a million dollars and a clean divorce at the end. Not only will the money pay off all her debts, she’ll be able to help the girls she already adores settle fully into their new lives.

It’s a foolproof plan. At least, it seems like it. As Suki grows closer to Carter and his nieces, though, her feelings for them become very real. But does her brooding boss feel the same?

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER ONE

Suki

I open my apartment door, groaning when I see a massive box addressed to “Naughty by Nature” sitting on the ground. After closing the door, I sigh and hang my head, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“More dildos?” my best friend Mara asks absently from the couch.

I sigh heavily and press my back to the door. “I just wanted a relaxing day off. I need to do laundry and I wanted to catch up on Survivor. Now we have to haul another superheavy box to the storage place and I’ll be thinking about how much I hate Tyler the entire time.”

“You do have impeccably bad taste in men.” She closes the law textbook she’s reading and takes off her glasses. “Let’s just get it done. We can pick up Starbies on the way home.”

I nod, knowing not even a vanilla bean Frap with extra caramel and whipped cream will lessen my urge to hunt down my ex-boyfriend. He left the country almost three months ago, ditching not only me but also his debts. That means I--the naive girlfriend who cosigned on a massive loan for his new adult toy business--lost my life savings and now have creditors after me.

Mara helps me drag the box into the apartment. When she pulls a box cutter out of her pocket, I pinch my brows together in a disgruntled look.

“Why waste time opening it? We know it’s yet another one of Tyler’s obnoxious organic sex toys that I’ll spend the rest of my life paying for.”

She shrugs. “We’re going to have to sell this stuff at some point to help get you out of debt. We need to know what we’ve got.”

I flop onto my favorite worn-out recliner, waiting for Mara’s one-woman comedy routine to start. She’s been my greatest ally since I split with Tyler, but sometimes I’m not in the mood to laugh about Naughty by Nature. Today is one of those days.

“Holy hell, that’s a lot of butt plugs!” She reaches into the box and pulls out a large neon-green plug.

“The Alien Invader,” I murmur. “The company told Tyler the materials were on back order and it would take a long time to fulfill it.”

She bursts out laughing. “The Alien Invader? I don’t care what it’s made of, no one wants their bunghole invaded.”

“I told him that.”

She’s still laughing. Mara even does the little snort thing she always does when she’s laughing so hard she’s about to pee.

“Did he seriously think people care whether their dildos and butt plus are nontoxic and BPA-free? It’s not something I’ve ever cared about.”

I don’t respond because we’ve had this conversation several times. I thought Tyler’s Stanford business degree meant he had good business sense. He sold me on his all-natural adult toy business over dinner at a tapas place one night, telling me it had the potential to make us seven figures a year within five years.

Us. That was what really did me in. I’m twenty-six, and when my boyfriend of more than three years started mentioning us and the future, I got heart eyes and lost all sense of reason.

What a fool I was. I can’t even bring myself to tell anyone but Mara about the financial grave I dug for myself. Not even my family knows. I’m working two jobs to keep up with the loan payments and not starve, and even though I’m broke as hell, I’ll keep doing it as long as I have to.

Anything to spare me the humiliation of admitting I didn’t just get dumped by a man I thought was in love with me. But I’m also going to be paying off his debts for the next twenty years while he’s probably wining and dining his next victim.

“So you’re still liking the new job?” Mara asks on the drive home from my rented storage bay, where we dumped off the box of Alien Invaders.

“I love it. The girls keep me so busy that ten hours a day feels like about three. And they’ve gotten used to me, I think.” I’m in my third week as a nanny for Carter Stanton, a pro hockey player for the Cleveland Crush. When I signed up at the nanny agency a month ago because I hated my boring office job, I never imagined I’d be hired the next week to take care of three little girls who lost their mother unexpectedly last month.

“Has your boss gotten any friendlier?”

I laugh because “friendly” isn’t a word I’d ever use to describe Carter. He’s gruff, relaying the essential information I’ll need every day before leaving for practice or a game with barely even a goodbye to the girls.

“No, but I don’t see much of him. I just leave when he gets home, like I do when the weekend nanny gets there.”

I usually waitress at a local sports bar on the weekends, but the bar is closed for the owner’s vacation, so I have a rare weekend off.

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