The Hooker

by Ava St. James

Daisy

I’ve been the assistant physiotherapist for New Zealand’s national rugby team for three years and have been carpooling with the star hooker for two of those.

Jamison Atoa brings me matcha in the mornings and he’s one of my closest friends. I’ve never thought of him as anything else before.

Until my puppy goes missing, and he takes charge of the search party.

Has he always had such broad shoulders?

I could lose my licence if anything happens with him, but I’m not sure I can stop myself.



Jamie

I don’t know when I started looking at Daisy differently, but now I can’t look away. I think I’ve been in love with her since we started carpooling and she tricked me into drinking matcha.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell if she feels anything for me besides lukewarm happiness that I show up for my physio appointments.

But if we do anything together, we could lose our jobs.

I’m not sure I care.



The Hooker is a friends to lovers, workplace romance, featuring rugby players and a mischievous puppy set in New Zealand.

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2025

About the author

Ava lives in New Zealand with her two dogs and drinks copious amounts of tea to get her through the day.