Top of Her Game, page 1
Kenzie Shaw is the most sought-after rookie in women’s major league soccer, but her life changes forever when she’s drafted in her home state of New Jersey. After all, it’s not every day you get a chance to play alongside your idol and the woman you’ve crushed on for years.
Sutton Flores has soccer in her blood. Her father raised her to play, her brothers pushed her even harder, and her coaches shaped her into a superstar athlete. Despite her success, Sutton never lost sight of what matters most—her family, friends, and the woman she’s dating—even if most of her relationships fizzle out as quickly as they start.
Kenzie and Sutton’s chemistry as teammates quickly escalates to undeniable attraction off the field, but when allegations of sexual harassment rock the team and their relationship, they must decide if they’re willing to sacrifice their dreams for love. Are they destined to last, or are they players in a game set to lose?
Praise for M. Ullrich
Love at Last Call
Love at Last Call is “a very well written slow-burn romance. Another great book by M. Ullrich.”—LezReviewBooks
“[I]f you enjoy opposites attract romances—especially ones set in bars—you’ll love this book! I’ll definitely be looking up the rest of the author’s work!”—Llama Reads Books
Love at Last Call is “exciting, addictive (I was up all night reading it) and still gave me all the major swoon moments I’ve come to love from this author. Can I give it more than five stars?”—Les Rêveur
“This book was like a well-crafted cocktail—not too sweet, not too bitter, and left me with a warm feeling in my body.”—Love in Panels
“Love at Last Call is M. Ullrich’s fifth full-length novel and it’s truly excellent. The writing is smooth and engaging, with perfect pacing and a plot that’s sure to please fans of contemporary romance. If you’re looking for a book to sink into, have some fun, and get away from it all, you’ll want to pick this one up.”—Lambda Literary
Against All Odds
“Against All Odds by Kris Bryant, Maggie Cummings, and M. Ullrich is an emotional and captivating story about being able to face a tragedy head-on and move on with your life, learning to appreciate the simple things we take for granted and finding love where you least expect it.”—The Lesbian Review
Time Will Tell
“I adored the romance in this. I got emotional at times and felt like they fit together very well. They really brought out the best in each other and they had a lot of chemistry. I really did care whether or not they were together in the end…It was a very enjoyable read and definitely one I’d recommend.”—Cats and Paperbacks
“Time Will Tell is not your run of the mill romance. I found it dark, intense, unexpected. It is also beautifully romantic and sexy and tells of a love that is for all time. I really enjoyed it.”—Kitty Kat’s Book Review Blog
“M. Ullrich just keeps knocking them out of the park and I think she’s currently the one to watch in lesbian romantic fiction.”—Les Rêveur
Fake It till You Make It
“M. Ullrich’s books have a uniqueness that we don’t always see in this particular genre. Her stories go a bit outside the box and they do it in the best possible way. Fake It till You Make It is no exception.”—The Romantic Reader Blog
“M. Ullrich’s Fake It till You Make It just clarifies why she is one of my favorite authors. The storyline was tight, the characters brought emotion and made me feel like I was living the story with them, and best of all, I had fun reading every word.”—Les Rêveur
Life in Death
“M. Ullrich sent me on a emotional roller coaster…But most of all I felt absolute joy knowing that in times of darkness you can still love the one you’re meant to be with. It was a story of hope, tragedy, and above all, love.”—Les Rêveur
Life in Death “is a well written book, the characters have depth and are complex, they become friends and you cannot help but hope that Marty and Suzanne can find a way back to each other. There aren’t many books that I know from one read that I will want to read time and time again, but this is one of them.”—Sapphic Reviews
Fortunate Sum
“M. Ullrich has written one book. That one book is Fortunate Sum. For this to be Ullrich’s first book, well, that is just stunning. Stunning in the fact that this book is so very good, it was a fantastic read.”—The Romantic Reader Blog
Top of Her Game
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Top of Her Game
© 2019 By M. Ullrich. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-501-1
This Electronic Original Is Published By
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: October 2019
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Jerry Wheeler and Ruth Sternglantz
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design By Tammy Seidick
By the Author
Fortunate Sum
Life in Death
Fake It till You Make It
Time Will Tell
Love at Last Call
Pretending in Paradise
Top of Her Game
Against All Odds
(with Kris Bryant and Maggie Cummings)
The Boss of Her: Office Romance Novellas
(with Julie Cannon and Aurora Rey)
Acknowledgments
I always start by thanking Radclyffe and Sandy because without them I wouldn’t be here and wouldn’t have had the opportunity to share my stories with you all. Everyone at Bold Strokes Books continues to help, support, and encourage in ways that amaze me. My editor, Jerry Wheeler, deserves all the praise in the world. He managed to take a manuscript with many lumps and bumps and walk me (a panicking mess) through smoothing it out. Jerry makes me a better writer with every book.
Thank you to my wonderful friends and found family. Some of you are fellow writers who listen when I need to gripe and give me a slap across the face (via text) when I start to panic. Some of you are not writers, but you still understand when I disappear for months at a time and celebrate with me when I finally get to see sunlight again. I love and cherish each and every one of you; you know who you are.
Maggie, thank you a million times for helping me see the blessing in disguise and getting me to write this book when I did. I love ya, Nush. *shopping cart emoji*
Quick shout-out to Sheila providing me with the word “merriment” when I needed it most. Dare I say that you could be this book’s MVP?
Heather, my love, I can never thank you enough. I am truly spoiled. You support me, you exhaust yourself and your creativity when you work on swag or my website, you help me work through my plots, and you’re beautiful to boot! I could’ve never gotten this far without you and your weekend breakfasts.
Women’s soccer is a beautiful sport filled with passion, finesse, and fierceness. Many of the players fight for equality and aren’t afraid to share their story in hopes of bettering the world. I wish I could shake each player’s hand and thank them for all they do, but since I can’t, I’ll say a thank you here. We can all learn from them and fight to make a change. World Champions, baby!
To every reader: thank you for your support, whether you’ve read every book of mine or this is your first. I appreciate every single one of you more than I could ever put into words on this page. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. (I’m looking at you, Tiffany. Maybe you’ll think it’s better than okay?)
For Heather,
You make my heart beat faster than a game that’s come down to penalty kicks.
Chapter One
People who could eat on a nervous stomach were Kenzie Shaw’s heroes. Jitters and anxiety killed her appetite. She was supposed to sit at a table of strangers, act like she belonged, and eat a meal like she enjoyed it. Impossible. Kenzie took a deep breath and pulled down the visor to check her appearance in the car’s mirror. A stack of receipts rained down on her lap. Kenzie tossed them onto the passenger seat and shook her head at her mother’s tendency to hoard. She flipped open the mirror and checked that her eye makeup was even, and her wavy red hair was under control. Kenzie frowned. One out of two wasn’t bad, she thought as she smoothed her palms over her long thick hair.
She got out of the car and made sure she locked it before walking toward the restaurant. Her first meeting with her new team was happening at Papa Vinnie’s, an Italian place. It wasn’t quite a chain, but more than a handful of these were scattered throughout the state. A brisk wind whipped through her puffy nylon jacket. February in New Jersey wasn’t much different than February in Pennsylvania, but Kenzie wasn’t going home to the safety of her childhood bedroom, or a cup of tea and pep talk from her father. Thankfully, Louis Shaw had already given Kenzie enough wise words to carry with her.
She rehearsed her greeting, but h
A man rushed around Kenzie and grabbed the door handle. “Excuse me,” he said, turning to her briefly. He did a double take. “Hey. Kenzie Shaw.”
Kenzie recognized him from the day of her draft. He looked a little different now, bundled up for cold weather and with a short beard. Her brain short-circuited. “Hi, I’m Kenzie Shaw.”
He eyed her strangely. “Yeah, I know.” He laughed as he pulled a thick glove off his hand. “Brett McEnroe. We met briefly during the trade, but that day was crazy. I’m not surprised you don’t remember me.”
Kenzie shook his hand and dreamed of time travel as a way to erase every embarrassing moment from her life. “Right—Brett. I’m sorry. I’m a little nervous to meet everyone.”
“Me, too. This is my first year as head coach, and I want everyone to feel comfortable. The team dinner was my idea, actually,” he said. “The moment I signed on, I wanted this team to feel like a family. There’s something to be said for teams that are close-knit.”
“I’m happy to formally meet you, Brett.” She let him open the door for her. “Everyone’s coming tonight?” She filed through the roster in her head, nineteen women she’d be playing, fighting, and practically living alongside for the next nine months. She knew a few of them, but most faces were new. One face stood out, much more vivid than the rest.
“Yes,” Brett said after greeting the hostess.
Kenzie’s heart skipped a beat.
“Oh, except Sutton Flores and Tara Best. They’re finishing up their national team duty today and will join us for fitness assessments and training tomorrow.”
Kenzie’s heart tripped over its next beat and sank.
Brett looked around the restaurant and back to Kenzie with a large smile. “Looks like we’re the first ones here.”
Kenzie had a knack for showing up early, but she really hated herself for it in situations like this. Waiting with Brett made her want to squirm, as did the awkward trickle of teammates coming in around her. Thirty-three minutes later, she was between Meredith and Erin, two defenders who had been with the Jersey Hurricanes for two seasons. They were eating their food with gusto.
“So, Kenzie, you graduated from Penn State last year. How does it feel to win a college championship?” Meredith appeared to be genuinely interested.
Kenzie considered her words carefully while she chewed a small mouthful of pasta. “Invigorating and exhausting,” she said with a laugh. “Trying to balance my focus between school and soccer wore me down. I took extra credits every semester so I could graduate in the winter instead of spring. I’m happy to finally be able to focus solely on soccer.”
“What did you go to school for?”
Kenzie wiped her mouth and looked around the table. No one else was listening to their conversation, which made her feel a little less under the microscope. “I majored in communications.” The silence that followed felt awkward, and she rushed to add, “I’m sure you all know how hard it is to balance everything.”
“I didn’t go to college,” Meredith said. “I joined the league right after high school.”
“Meredith is one of the few,” Erin said. She took a long sip of her soda. “Her, Chichima, and Isabella all skipped college to go pro. If you’ve ever watched one of our games, I’m sure you know. Commentators love dwelling on that fact.” Erin rolled her eyes.
Kenzie snickered. “I’ve definitely noticed that.”
Erin cleared her throat. “Meredith Langley is down, and the staff has run onto the field to check her for a concussion,” she said in her best commentator voice. “The league has really increased their concussion protocol, and did you know Langley didn’t go to college?”
Kenzie laughed louder.
Meredith sighed. “Every time.”
Brett stood up at the opposite end of the long table, holding his water glass. “Everyone,” he said. “Thank you all for indulging me and showing up tonight. I was honored to be your assistant coach last season, and I still can’t believe I get to be your head coach this season.”
Meredith leaned across Kenzie and said, “Because Tim got fired.”
Erin shushed her.
Kenzie’s curiosity was piqued, but she kept her focus on Brett.
“I want to go around the table and have everyone introduce themselves. We have seven new players this season, and I want them to feel welcome.”
Kenzie started shaking her head. She tried to shake away the memories of middle school and being the new kid in class.
“We’re missing two players, but they’ll be sure to introduce themselves during training tomorrow.”
“I can be Sutton,” someone close to Brett said. Kenzie craned her neck to see Taylor Barrell sitting with her hand up. She stood and cleared her throat. “Hey, I’m Sutton Flores, but everyone calls me Flo.”
Erin laughed. “No one calls her that.”
Taylor waved her off. “The only thing I’m better at than soccer is picking up women.”
Kenzie swallowed hard, and Erin’s laughter grew louder beside her.
Brett put his hand on Taylor’s shoulder and encouraged her to sit down. “Thank you, Taylor. Moving on. Kenzie, I saw you first tonight, so let’s start with you. Tell us about yourself.”
She rubbed her damp palms on her jeans and took a deep breath. Her voice shook the moment she started to speak. “I’m Kenzie Shaw, and I’m a Penn State graduate. I was raised in Pennsylvania, but I was born in New Jersey. Um, and I’m really excited to be here.”
Brett looked expectant for a moment before clapping his hands together. “Kenzie was also our first draft pick and crowned Penn State’s MVP after taking home the championship trophy last year.”
Kenzie’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. Everyone’s attention was on her, and she only hoped her display of modesty would overpower Brett’s unnecessary addition to her short biography. She wanted to be welcomed into the fold, not looked at as a braggart.
Lacey Sheridan leaned across the table and held out her glass for Kenzie to toast with. “I, for one, am very happy to have you back on my team.”
Kenzie tapped her glass to Lacey’s and smiled. “I must admit, I was happy to be drafted by a team with a few familiar faces.” She nodded to the two other women she had played a couple of seasons with. They had great chemistry on the field and got along well off the field, too. She and Chiara Bornemann even held the Penn State record for set piece connections. She smiled at Chiara down the table. “Chiara, think we can still connect like we used to?”
Chiara flashed a brilliant smile. “Me to you to goal. You can count on it.”
Kenzie remembered their friendship, and suddenly the idea of playing with so many new people wasn’t as frightening. She’d been the rookie before and had no trouble proving herself. She felt silly for her earlier nerves.
“Exactly how much history is between you two?” Erin said.
Kenzie jumped back slightly and looked away from Chiara. “We played together for two seasons. We have a very similar play style even though we’re in different positions.”
“And how many positions did you get her in?”
