The Early Shelf

Romance

Going for the Keeper

by Astrid Billings

About the book

A neighbors to friends to lovers slow burn sports romance

Synopsis

When Max Schultz arrives in Louisville to join Bluegrass Union, he’s prepared for anything the pitch can throw at him—new teammates, a new league, a city that feels nothing like home. What he isn’t prepared for is the woman who lives next door. Tessa Everett likes her life predictable. She loves her job, her routines, and her quiet neighborhood. Then a world-class goalkeeper with a thick German accent and an unsettling habit of showing up exactly when she needs help moves in beside her—and suddenly, her carefully ordered life has a new center of gravity. What starts as borrowed tools, shared meals, and easy conversation turns into a friendship neither of them expected. For Max, Tessa becomes his anchor in an unfamiliar place. For Tessa, Max is safety, laughter, and the slow realization that the best things in life sometimes arrive without warning. But friendships are easier to protect than hearts. As Max settles into his new team and the demands of professional football intensify, both he and Tessa begin to feel the pull of something deeper—something that could change everything. Crossing that line means risking the one relationship that makes Louisville feel like home. Going for the Keeper is a warm, slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance about new beginnings, found family, and discovering that sometimes the greatest risk isn’t going for the win—it’s admitting what your heart has known all along.