Warmed Up by her Retired All-Star
(2026)(A book in the Curvy Wives of Willowbrook Ridge series)
A novel by Julia Stone
When a grumpy football star meets the woman of his dreams, leaving becomes impossible.
Emily:
Everyone knows who Malcolm O'Hara is.
Former Montana Ironhorns defensive lineman. Football legend. The man whose face used to cover billboards and sports magazines.
Me? I'm just the woman who cleans his cabin at Shady Pines Lodge.
I've spent months admiring him from afar, sneaking glances whenever he walks past with that permanent scowl and broad shoulders that make my heart race.
A man like him would never notice someone like me.
Except lately, he's been looking right back.
Now the grumpy retired football star keeps finding reasons to be wherever I am, and every heated glance leaves me wondering if my hopeless crush might not be so hopeless after all.
Malcolm:
I came to Shady Pines Lodge because I wanted to be left alone.
No reporters. No fans. No pity. Just peace and quiet while I figured out what to do with the rest of my life.
Then Emily walked into my life.
One look at the young, shy cleaner with pink cheeks and soft curves, and suddenly being alone wasn't what I wanted anymore.
Now I find myself looking for excuses to see her. Anything that puts her in front of me for a few more minutes.
She looks at me like I’m still the man everyone used to cheer for.
I look at her and see the woman I want waiting for me at the end of every day. The woman I want in my arms, in my bed, and in my life.
I came to this lodge hoping to escape my future. Instead, it stumbled into my arms, and now I don’t want to let go.
Genre: Romance
Emily:
Everyone knows who Malcolm O'Hara is.
Former Montana Ironhorns defensive lineman. Football legend. The man whose face used to cover billboards and sports magazines.
Me? I'm just the woman who cleans his cabin at Shady Pines Lodge.
I've spent months admiring him from afar, sneaking glances whenever he walks past with that permanent scowl and broad shoulders that make my heart race.
A man like him would never notice someone like me.
Except lately, he's been looking right back.
Now the grumpy retired football star keeps finding reasons to be wherever I am, and every heated glance leaves me wondering if my hopeless crush might not be so hopeless after all.
Malcolm:
I came to Shady Pines Lodge because I wanted to be left alone.
No reporters. No fans. No pity. Just peace and quiet while I figured out what to do with the rest of my life.
Then Emily walked into my life.
One look at the young, shy cleaner with pink cheeks and soft curves, and suddenly being alone wasn't what I wanted anymore.
Now I find myself looking for excuses to see her. Anything that puts her in front of me for a few more minutes.
She looks at me like I’m still the man everyone used to cheer for.
I look at her and see the woman I want waiting for me at the end of every day. The woman I want in my arms, in my bed, and in my life.
I came to this lodge hoping to escape my future. Instead, it stumbled into my arms, and now I don’t want to let go.
Genre: Romance