Beyond The Line

Some love stories begin with a spark.
Theirs began with trust.

Oliver “Oz” Shah and James Harrington have spent years side by side at the highest level of professional rugby—training together, fighting for the same goals, relying on each other in ways that feel essential and unspoken. What they have is solid. Proven. Safe.

Until it isn’t.

What neither of them planned for is the slow, devastating realization that what binds them isn’t just loyalty or leadership, but love—quiet, undeniable, and impossible to ignore. When the truth finally surfaces, James steps down as captain to protect the team he loves. Oz responds by choosing James, publicly and without apology, even when it means setting his own future on fire.

The fallout is immediate. The scrutiny relentless. But in the wreckage of reputation and expectation, something far more fragile takes shape: a life they might be allowed to choose for themselves.

This is not a story about scandal—it’s a story about devotion. About two men learning that love doesn’t always arrive loudly, but when it does arrive, it demands honesty. About choosing each other in a world that would rather they stay quiet. About deciding whether legacy is something you inherit—or something you leave behind.

Tender, intimate, and emotionally rich, this novel is a slow-burn romance set against the unforgiving machinery of elite sport, where love is both a risk and a refuge, and the bravest act isn’t winning—but staying.