The Crawford Family Playbook

After my divorce, I swore off dating. No commitments, no complications—just a clean, quiet life. So when I’m assigned to fix Kaden Crawford—the grumpy hockey star with a reputation as the league’s biggest PR disaster—I’m determined to keep things strictly professional. But Kaden has a knack for creating chaos. The solution? Staging a fake relationship to save his reputation.

Second Quarter Comeback is a swoony, hilarious second-chance romance featuring a sarcastic doctor—who’s a cooter coach—a cocky quarterback, and a past that refuses to stay in the locker room.

I’ve spent years building a life I could pack in a carry-on. No ties, no mess, no exes lingering like bad draft picks. Just me, my camera, and a healthy fear of anything resembling emotional stability. Enter Leif Crawford. NHL goalie. Human brick wall. Best friend since high school. He’s the guy who always shows up, even when I don’t ask (especially when I don’t ask).

I was just trying to move into my fixer-upper in peace. Then his dog broke into my kitchen. And that’s when Lucian Crawford—best football running back, professional menace, and the man who jogs shirtless like it’s his job (it might be)—stumbled into my life. Now we’re sharing a fence, co-parenting his rebellious Vizsla, and exchanging wildly inappropriate texts that could definitely get me fired if I weren’t self-employed.

Jason is my brother’s best friend. Also known as: completely off-limits, wildly inappropriate, and the reason I have trust issues with charming men who smirk for a living. He’s a hockey star with a busted knee and an ego to match. I’m a retired Olympian turned physical therapist with zero patience for cocky athletes—especially the ones I used to fantasize about in my twenties before he ghosted me with a wink and a margarita. Now? He’s injured. He needs help. And guess who got volun-told to fix him? That’s right. Me. Trapped in close quarters. With him.