Gauging the Player

Breaking rules on the ice is easy. Breaking them to get her back? That’s a whole new game I’m not sure I can win.

I don’t do one-night stands. But when a blue-eyed chanteuse knocks me off my feet, I break my own rule. When I wake up the next morning, though, she’s gone, and I have no way to find her.

Lily’s trapped in a past she can’t escape. One night of passion with me seemed to help her forget—until dawn broke. She ran without looking back. When chance has us bumping into each other in front of a strip club (it’s not what it sounds like), she realizes she’s misjudged me—and maybe even her own heart. But she’s not ready to bury her specters, and what started as a one-night stand is threatening to bloom into something that will unravel her carefully laced-up world.

Between my obligations to my family and my hockey team, a lot’s riding on my shoulders. I’m struggling to meet everyone’s expectations, and Lily’s a complication I don’t need. I know I should let her and that one night we shared fade into a pleasant memory, but I can’t get her out of my mind. I’m determined to win her over the same way I dominate on the ice: with patience and persistence. Deep in my heart, I think this girl is worth it. The problem is, I’m facing off against a rival I can’t outplay.

I have to convince her to let go of the ghosts haunting her, or she just might freeze me out forever.