Cover design by Cate Ashwood
The Thomas Flair
A contemporary sports romance
It’ll take more than medals to mend their broken relationship.
Diabetic gymnast Sol Ashvili, an alternate for the 2016 men’s Olympic gymnastics squad, had one thing on his agenda for the last day of competition in Rio—corner teammate Tony Thomas, his best friend for half his life, and finally confess he’d been in love with him for years. But instead of returning to the team suite after winning his second silver medal, Tony jetted out of Rio and turned his back on everything: a college degree, gymnastics meets… and Sol. The first two Sol could forgive—barely. The last? Not a chance.
Commentators had a name for Tony’s crowd-pleasing, no-holds-barred, high-octane gymnastics—the Thomas Flair. After the 2016 Games, he parlayed that reputation into a career as an internet celebrity, specializing in extreme sports and risky stunts. His decision to battle his way back into competition shape for a chance at the 2020 Olympic team is extreme all right, but now he must survive the biggest risk of all: facing Sol again after his epic betrayal in Rio.
For the sake of the team and the reputation of US men’s gymnastics, Sol and Tony struggle to leave the past behind and find a way to work together. But as the Games draw closer, they’re starting to realize that finding their way back to each other may be the only way for both of them to truly fly high.
The Thomas Flair is a 64,000-word enemies to lovers second-chance rom-com set around the Tokyo Olympics that might have been, featuring a thrill-seeker who needs reining in, a perfectionist who needs to let go, redemption, rowdy teammates, and a few gymnastics moves that will never make it into the Code of Points.
The Thomas Flair is all about second chances on and off the medal stand and learning just what is important in your life. If there’s ever a novel that solidifies that old adage, “there’s no I in the word team” this novel is it.
My heart was in my mouth with the rest of the men’s team when they walked out into the Olympic stadium to compete. I got their nerves and insecurities. The closing scenes, too, are adrenaline-fueled.
As the saying goes – came for enemies-to-lovers, stayed for feels, fluff and giggles.