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Ryan Prescott has just begun her career as a cheerleader for the Florida Flamettes, the high energy squad backing the hottest basketball team in the league, the Florida Flames. For the world watching, she’s a radiant performer living a dream. But behind the pom-poms and bright lights, Ryan’s life is tightly controlled and is cracking at the edges.
Adopted into a wealthy interracial family, Ryan’s life has always been about appearances. Her mother, a shrewd and calculating businesswoman, cares about little beyond the family’s financial stature. Her father, a coldly ambitious man obsessed with legacy and public image, is dead set on running for mayor. To ensure his campaign success, he strikes a deal with the current mayor and agrees that Ryan will marry his son, Michael. He’s clean-cut on the outside, and a mess behind closed doors.
Dancing is the only part of her life she owns. On the court, during halftime, when the music pulses and the crowd roars. She feels free. It’s the one place where her smile is real.
Enter Lennox King, the charismatic, fiercely talented point guard of the Florida Flames. He’s everything Michael isn’t. He’s grounded, magnetic, and respectful. The moment Lennox sees Ryan, he’s captivated, but not just by her beauty, but by the quiet sadness in her eyes, the fire beneath her surface. When he volunteers to be her dance partner for a memorable halftime show, sparks fly.
At first, Ryan tries to keep her distance. This routine is just another performance, she tells herself. But as practices stretch into late nights and stolen glances deepen into something more, Ryan is forced to face a terrifying truth. For the first time in her life, she wants more.
But wanting more means risking everything! Her family’s approval, her safety, her carefully polished world. And if anyone finds out, especially Michael, the consequences could be catastrophic.