Love doesn’t follow the rules—especially when it shows up later than planned.

Conner Doreland, the driven head coach of UCC’s women’s soccer program, is on the brink of a career-defining season when one unexpected meeting changes everything. On dorm move-in day, he meets Carrie Vokler—the confident, captivating mother of his star freshman striker—and the spark between them is instant and undeniable.

Carrie is a successful entrepreneur and widow who has spent the last three years rebuilding her life on her own terms. Conner is younger, ambitious, and dangerously perceptive, seeing through the walls she worked hard to build. Their attraction is complicated by professional boundaries, family obligations, and the very real risk of crossing a line neither of them can afford to cross.

As chemistry deepens and stakes rise, Conner and Carrie must decide whether protecting everything they’ve built matters more than the possibility of something extraordinary.

The Assist is a spicy, heart-forward sports romance about second chances, midlife reinvention, and the courage it takes to choose joy when love refuses to stay on the sidelines.

Perfect for readers who love forbidden romance, reverse age-gap dynamics, and emotionally rich love stories that prove it’s never too late to fall hard.