Under Center (The San Diego Storm Book 4) by Emerson Beckett

A former FBI agent and the NFL Center form a beautiful friendship that eventually flows from friends to lovers in this sweet and plot heavy addition to the The San Diego Storm football series.


From the blurb:

A mistaken identity. A child who feels like he never belonged. A lifetime of secrets comes crashing down. Find out what happens when family lies are exposed, hearts dare to love, and two men find the life they never expected to have.

Mason Kennerly

My life has three rules. Keep your head down, protect the quarterback, and ignore all the things about my life that don’t add up. Football was a stable field with clear rules; family was a blur of clipped words and cold looks. Then a flood of social media tags shows me a man who could be my mirror image. British hockey player Axel Hughes. For the first time in my life, I step onto a plane, not because the play calls for it, but because I need to know who I am.

Thomas Kingsley

I thought I knew how to protect someone, but I wasn’t trained to guard the heart. I never expected to fall for a man, especially not the one who had become my best friend. As I help Mason unravel all the questions about his identity, I discover who I am while trying not to blur the lines with my feelings. Now I find myself falling for the one who makes me smile too easily, cries when anger turns to sorrow, and is determined to face the heartbreak head‑on. He’s the love I never thought I’d find, and the only person I’ve ever needed.

Under Center is a slow burn, bi-awakening, found family, age gap, friend-to-lovers, opposites attract, family secrets MM sports romance, and book four in the San Diego Storm Series.


Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's review:

"𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎. 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎. 𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎."

I'll be honest. I wanted to strangle Thomas at some points during this story. I even let Emerson know personally that I was placing Thomas in the dog house. She assured me he wouldn't be there for long and thankfully I was able to let him out later on in the story. To be fair, Thomas was never anything but caring and kind to Mason. He went out of his way to be the bestest friend to him. The issue was I WANTED HIM TO KISS THE SHIT OUT OF HIM TOO!

"𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗. 𝚁𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝙻𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎."

I am trying to write this review without spoilers, and as there are a few major plot point surprises it is proving a tad tricky. I highly recommend you go into this one blind because the OMG moments were pretty epic. And caused me to again reach out to the author to beg for a certain side characters story. IYKYK

I wouldn't call this book angsty. It was truly a sweet romance. I loved how Mason and Thomas were actually friends first. The close type of friends who hang out at each other's homes and spend significant time together or chatting. It gave them a solid foundation for when things turned intimate and I think it helped them speed the relationship along since they already knew almost everything about one another.

The epilogue was a lot of fun because it isn't only the MCs whose POVs we get. It was a cool seeing the same scene from multiple past favorites. I'm also excited because it looks like we will be taking a trip to Portland again for another beloved character whose story I have been dying for and I cant' wait!


Under Center is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription