Charleston Coyotes Hockey

My dad has been the coach of the Charleston Coyotes for as long as I can remember. All the time I've spent in ice rinks has taught me two things: 1. I will NEVER date a hockey player. As a single mom, it's not like I have time for romance anyway. 2. Nothing smells worse than hockey players after a game. And I work as a dog groomer, so I have experience with smelly animals. It's amazing how quickly my rules are forgotten when Darius walks into my pet salon.

When Kaiden Hart, the captain of the Charleston Coyotes hockey team, comes to my aid in an emergency, it's the first time I've seen him since I was a young girl. And boy, have the years been kind to him. When he invites me out to dinner, accepting seems like the polite thing to do. At least that's what I tell myself. How else can I justify wanting to be near my older sister's ex-boyfriend? It couldn't have anything to do with his piercing blue eyes and kissable lips. Who cares if he's got chiseled abs and a rear end I could bounce a quarter off of?

The first time I met Murphy, the goalie of the Coyotes hockey team, I thought he was the most attractive man I'd ever seen. The second time, we shared a wild night and I never planned to see him again. Imagine my surprise when I showed up for a work meeting only to find out Murphy was my new client. He needed a bodyguard to pose as his live-in girlfriend, and I was perfect for the job.

Ryder Goode has been my celebrity crush since he signed on with the Charleston Coyotes. Watching him race around the ice has become a favorite pastime of mine. Despite him being one of my brother's teammates, we've never met. At least not until he cashes in on the prize he won in a charity auction—one weekend with me as his personal chef. During those two days, every preconceived notion I have about him gets annihilated, leaving me wanting to learn more about the kind and generous man. So when he asks me to stay on as his full-time chef, I accept.

The first time I meet Niall O'Rourke, he greets me, wearing little more than a scowl and a demeanor colder than the ice he skates on. I do my best to avoid him, that is, until he makes a proposition too good to refuse: I pretend to be his fiancee, and in return, he'll appear on my local television show. Despite our personalities clashing like hockey sticks, I discover beneath his brawny exterior is a man burdened by a complex past and a wounded heart.

When my dad retires, I take over as the new owner of the Charleston Coyotes hockey team. As a businessman and father of a teenage daughter, I'm prepared for the challenges of the game, but Maeve, the stunning blonde I meet on a dating app—not so much. Despite the large age gap, the connection between us is electric, and our one-night hookup quickly spirals into something deeper. But life checks me harder than a hockey player when I discover Maeve is the executive assistant my dad raved about—which means she now works for me.