Spending the night in jail isn’t exactly how I planned to spend Christmas, but I’ve had worse holidays…
Now that I’m out, it’s time to accept my real punishment. Coaching ten-year-old terrors on the ice, in my non-existent free time. My Coach thinks it’d be good for me. Remind me where I came from. He should know I’ve tried every day of my life for the last ten years to forget.
The youth hockey league is a hell I didn’t plan on and the worst penalty possible…
Until the day a sweet, single mom cracks a joke about her kid, and then all bets are off.
I’m the best defenseman in professional hockey, but I didn’t see her coming… now what in the hell do I do? I’m not equipped for a relationship. I’m definitely not ready to have a kid depending on me, but I can’t deny she makes me feel things— want things I never imagined I could have.
I should save us both the trouble and stay far away from her. But rules were made to be broken, and I was never good at following them anyway.
Dominick and Holly are everything. This is one of those stories that’s so good, I couldn’t read another book for days because it wouldn’t be fair to the next book. Even a lovely story would pale in comparison. Dominick Masters is my favorite of the Vipers and while I always love the characters in this series, I can’t imagine anyone could knock him out of the top spot. I’ll know for sure once Max’s book comes out, but I highly doubt it’s possible, so we’ll see.
This story pulled me in from the first page. Dominick’s life has been tougher than most and it never seems to get better for him. Even being a NHL star doesn’t solve his problems or relieve his burdens. He’s the consummate loner even with his teammates and doesn’t share his story with anyone. Enter Holly and Ben. Holly’s jerk ex cheated with her best friend then left her for his mistress and they live right next door. He treats his son even worse than he treats his ex-wife and makes everyone’s life miserable. Dominick takes a special interest in Ben because he sees the damage Ben’s father is doing to him and wants to make things better for the kid, any way he can. Along the way, he’s shocked to find himself caring about this kid, asking his teammates for help and finally opening up to the people who want to get to know him, including Holly. And he takes it all in stride, just embracing the changes in himself and in his life without question. There’s no angst or attempts to avoid it or running away, he just accepts that it’s time to open up and let people in, no matter how intimidating the prospect may be.
Their story is sweet and funny with a great balance of suspense and romance, plus a whole lot of heat. I loved everything about this book and will definitely read it again. I received an ARC from Valentine PR in exchange for an honest review.
