Checking Hearts

Noah Carter has spent years keeping his head down.

With a camera in his hands and the shade of a jacaranda tree as his refuge, he's learned that staying invisible is safer than drawing attention to himself-especially from Ethan Hayes, the star captain of the Chicago Sentinels.

Confident. Popular. Untouchable.

Ethan has everything Noah doesn't: friends, talent, and a future bright enough to blind everyone around him. And for as long as Noah can remember, Ethan has made his life miserable.

But when a single moment cracks the ice between them, Noah begins to see the side of Ethan no one else does.

The pressure behind the perfect smile.

The loneliness hidden beneath the captain's jersey.

The boy desperately trying to live up to everyone's expectations.

As old wounds reopen and buried secrets come to light, hatred slowly gives way to something far more dangerous.

Because falling for your bully was never part of the plan.

And loving him might cost Noah everything.

In a story of heartbreak, healing, and second chances, Checking Hearts proves that sometimes the strongest walls are built around the people who need love the most.

Some scars don't heal. Some hearts do.