Kate Martin has an image to protect. Nika Mühl has nothing left to lose. When a PR mess forces them into a perfectly staged partnership: smiles, hand-holding, and headlines meant to distract. Everything is supposed to be fake. Except for the tension. The jealousy. The way it hurts when the cameras turn off. As pressure mounts and mistakes threaten to ruin everything, Kate clings to control while Nika refuses to be managed. Somewhere between public lies and private moments, feelings cross a line they can't undo. Because pretending is easy, until someone gets their heart broken. COVER ART by @lovermuhl

Responsibilities-pressed together by someone always nearby, by constant nudges forward, by a camp that never really gives them space to be alone... or apart. For Nika, the pressure comes from everywhere: being watched, being responsible, and being stuck with Kate-the too-warm, too-likable, and relentlessly cheerful rival tied to years of college competition. Someone she's been trained to guard, to read, to shut down. Someone she knows how to keep in front of her. Until defense wasn't just strategy anymore-it was a shield she raised to keep her heart from getting too close. For Kate, it's quieter but heavier. Nika's presence lingers in the small moments: shared silence, deliberate closeness, late nights no camera ever catches. She's spent years learning how to break through defenses like Nika's-how to cut, how to draw fouls, how to force openings. What she wasn't prepared for was realizing she didn't have to drive past her anymore-for once, she could let the rivalry go, let herself stay. She didn't realize she was breaking through a different kind of defense now, one that wasn't drawn on a court, one Nika had built carefully around her heart, until it was already too late to pull back. Time slips by, days blur, feelings stack up. That's the full-court pressed. Not a game-but the constant closeness, the lack of escape, the emotional pressure of being pushed toward someone you're meant to compete against, not fall for. Full-Court Pressed is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers summer romance about what happens when college rivalry doesn't end at the buzzer. Now they're pressed from all sides by being stuck together, history, and friends messing with them. Between the cameras and the kids, there are private moments where feelings grow-whether they're ready for them or not.

Whatever you want me to do, I will do.

In the high-stakes world of college basketball, Nika Muhl and Kate Martin were notorious rivals, their clashes on the court as intense as they were frequent. Their animosity was palpable, their competitive spirits fueling a rivalry that seemed destined to endure. But when fate brings them together on the same professional team, everything changes. Forced to set aside their differences and become teammates, Nika and Kate find themselves navigating uncharted territory. As the only rookies on the squad, they're thrust into a world of shared practices, team events, and cramped quarters, their once bitter rivalry giving way to reluctant cooperation. Yet, as they spend more time together, something unexpected begins to blossom between them. Despite their initial antagonism, Nika and Kate find themselves drawn to each other in ways they never imagined. Through late-night conversations, shared victories, and moments of vulnerability, they begin to see each other in a new light. Could they be something more than just friends? Pinterest Board: https://www.pinterest.com/lili_loves_books/game-of-hearts/

After being chosen by the Golden State Valkyries in the expansion draft, Nika Mühl and Kate Martin find themselves on the same team. Kate, appointed captain of the team, is working on getting to know her teammates, but is having trouble reaching a certain brunette. Nika, struggling to come to terms with her ACL injury and the loss of her dream team, chooses to close herself off from everyone in San Fransisco, especially Kate. Can Kate break through Nika's walls? And why exactly is Nika distancing so hard from Kate specifically, especially when the Croatian is stealing glances at her every chance she gets?