Chapter 1
Love–just like hockey–is all about taking risks, and no one knew the game of love or hockey as well as Eve Wilson.
“Welcome to the press conference, Ms. Wilson.”
Eve tossed her silky wave of black hair over her shoulder and nodded her thanks. Some described her as cold, some said they’d only seen her resting bitch face, but Eve just liked to call it another day of doing business.
Her Jimmy Choos clicked across the porcelain tile as she took her reserved seat next to award-winning coaches and professional team support in the yellow-and-black painted locker room, home of the Boston Bruins. The faint scent of sweat and fresh ice clung to the air, mingling with the low hum of reporters murmuring among themselves.
Eve wasn’t sure why she could barely eat that morning–it was as though something ominous hung in the air like a rain cloud threatening to bring the first wave of fall weather. However, she soon realized why there had been a chill in her spine, as Assistant Coach Jay Gros swooped in to take the seat beside her. His last name was pronounced Grôz, but he earned the nickname Coach Gross for a reason. “Hey Eve, is this spot reserved for Adam?”
Eve’s skin prickled at one of his regular jokes, but she acknowledged her colleague with a gracious smile, ignoring the way he leaned in just a little too close. “Coach.”
He smirked across his freckles, which made him look younger than his middle age. “What? No ‘good morning?’”
It was until now. Despite all the rumors about her frosty behavior, no one could ever call her rude or unprofessional. “Let’s hope it will be.” She said simply. “The morning’s just begun, afterall.” Eve had perfected the art of shutting men down politely but effectively, a skill honed from growing up around professional hockey players her entire life. Jay’s futile attempts to ask her on a date would continue until either some unlucky girl with no sense of self worth took him in or Eve moved on in her professional career.
She did, as a matter of fact, have a dream job–one that led her far away from the male-dominated world of hockey, her father, and more than one disastrous ex-boyfriend.
Growing up the daughter of Olympian and Dallas Star center Bark Wilson, Eve had her fair share of attention from men, but weeding out the ones who actually cared about her and didn’t either fear her father or try to impress him proved… challenging. There was Steve, the architect, who stood her up on their 5th date because her dad asked him for a quote on his third mansion in Santa Monica. That, naturally, took highest priority. And Justin, the hot finance guy, kept passing out every time her dad commented on the refs making a bad call. It was something about how the words “calls and puts” caused a visceral reaction, and quite frankly gave Eve such a severe case of the ick, she pushed Justin out of the front door and vowed never to date a member of the male species again.
By the time she hit thirty, Eve had sworn off dating entirely, focusing instead on her career in sports. Now, as the Bruins’ lead professional therapist, her job was to lead an experienced team devoted to handling player injury, informing the media of updates, and handling egos bigger than the hockey rink itself.
And today was no different.
She exhaled, shifting in her seat as the team’s General Manager stepped up to the podium.
“Thank you all for being here today. As you know, we’ve been making some exciting changes to our roster for the upcoming season. Today, we’re thrilled to introduce the newest member of the Boston Bruins family.”
Eve barely glanced at the press release in front of her. Another rookie signing. Another talented kid with more potential than experience. Another eager beaver who will get himself injured way too soon and dash the fandom’s hopes. She was used to it.
But then the name flashed across the screen behind the GM.
Matthew Hayes.
The breath whooshed from Eve’s lungs. No, it isn’t. Matty?
Hayes strode through the side doors and the room erupted into camera flashes and questions and celebratory murmurs of approval. He was a big deal—a rising AHL star who had been tearing up the league, now making his long-awaited NHL debut.
But none of that mattered.
Because Eve knew him.
Matty was the baby brother of her best friend from childhood, Bella Hayes.
And he was all grown up.
Eve couldn’t believe this was actually Bella Haye’s younger brother—tall, broad, completely different from the lanky teenager she remembered. His brown hair, once a shaggy mess, was now cut and styled. His sharp jawline and dark eyes held an easy confidence that had never been there before.
To make the situation 10x more chaotic—he grinned.
Right. At. Her.
Eve’s pulse spiked as eyes from across the room narrowed in on the subject of this new hot shot’s gaze.
She straightened in her seat, forcing her expression into a neutral mask of indifference. She was a professional, after all. BELLA why didn’t you tell me Matty was coming to Boston! They literally spoke on the phone last night. And this tidbit definitely hadn’t been brought up.
But then—
“Honestly, it already feels like home,” Matty said into the mic, flashing that charming smile once again. “It helps that I have some familiar faces here.”
He glanced at her, a knowing flicker in his gaze.
Oh, hell no.
She could already sense Coach Gross smirking beside her, his sixth sense for gossip kicking in.
“Well, well,” he murmured under his breath. “You never told me you had some history our new star player.”
Eve clenched her jaw. “Star player? That skinny kid? Also, I have no idea who he is.” He was far from skinny, as a matter of fact, every inch of him was sculpted as if by the Greeks, but Eve wasn't going to miss making her high standards clear.
Gros cleared his throat uncomfortably, but his slick tone remained. “We’ll see about that.”
She forced a breath through her nostrils, as her heart thumped in her chest. Because she already knew, this was the big storm she'd truly sensed was about to land in Boston.
