Offside Rules

Sometimes the biggest romantic complications begin with an arrangement that seems perfectly practical. In Offside Rules, Baylor finds herself without a usable kitchen after a flood damages her home. Her unexpected solution comes from Wolf, a professional hockey player who happens to be her brother’s rival—and someone her family holds responsible for an injury that nearly ended her brother Beau’s career. Wolf offers Baylor the use of his kitchen, giving her somewhere to continue baking while her own space is repaired. At first, their agreement appears straightforward: she gets the facilities she needs, and he gets to help someone who has become part of his everyday life. But sharing space brings them closer than either may have anticipated. Small gestures begin to change the relationship. Wolf prepares breakfast, helps with Baylor’s delivery truck, and shows an interest that goes beyond her baking. Meanwhile, Baylor finds herself increasingly drawn to the man she was supposed to keep at a distance. Their arrangement has an expiration date, but feelings do not necessarily follow practical rules. The novel combines professional hockey romance with forced proximity, brother’s-rival tension, a baker heroine, and a developing relationship built through everyday acts of care. Readers can expect romantic chemistry, domestic moments, family complications, and the challenge of deciding what happens when a temporary agreement becomes emotionally important. Offside Rules is suited to adult readers who enjoy contemporary sports romance, hockey-player heroes, opposites in close quarters, and interconnected romance series. It is the seventh book in Kenna King’s The Rookie Hawkeyes series.