The Hot Shot
(2026)(The third book in the Smash Point Social Club series)
A novel by Cynthia Gunderson
His son chose her first.
She should’ve known she was playing with fire.
Rachel never teaches outside of her pickleball club, but when a determined eight-year-old walks in wanting lessons, she makes a mistake. His dad, Jake, won’t commit to their schedule, plus the fitness app she works for is desperate for competitive content.
Now she’s teaching pickleball at a firehouse court, getting way too attached to this kid, and being dragged into late-night poker games with Jake and the rest of his crew.
The worst part? She’s starting to like it. She'''s starting to like him.
But Rachel doesn’t play games she can’t win. Unlike Jake, she doesn’t take risks with her life or her heart, and when she finds out the truth about Jake’s last three years? About why he became a firefighter and why he battles for his son?
She wants to high-tail it out of there.
But she still has a month of lessons, and the longer she stays, the harder it is to remember that this is only supposed to be a temporary deal…
This is a clean romantic comedy featuring:
She should’ve known she was playing with fire.
Rachel never teaches outside of her pickleball club, but when a determined eight-year-old walks in wanting lessons, she makes a mistake. His dad, Jake, won’t commit to their schedule, plus the fitness app she works for is desperate for competitive content.
Now she’s teaching pickleball at a firehouse court, getting way too attached to this kid, and being dragged into late-night poker games with Jake and the rest of his crew.
The worst part? She’s starting to like it. She'''s starting to like him.
But Rachel doesn’t play games she can’t win. Unlike Jake, she doesn’t take risks with her life or her heart, and when she finds out the truth about Jake’s last three years? About why he became a firefighter and why he battles for his son?
She wants to high-tail it out of there.
But she still has a month of lessons, and the longer she stays, the harder it is to remember that this is only supposed to be a temporary deal…
This is a clean romantic comedy featuring:
- Grumpy firefighter single dad
Sunshine pickleball instructor
Found Family
Kid matchmaker
Genre: Romance
Used availability for Cynthia Gunderson's The Hot Shot