Title: Twisted Wrister
(#7 of The Playmakers)
Author: GK Brady
Genre: Sports Romance
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He’s not looking for happily-ever-after. She’s not looking for a hockey player. Can love score a win, or will it get iced?
Blake Barrett’s star is streaking into the upper reaches of the galaxy, and it’s his wicked wrist shot that’s fueling the twenty-four-year-old’s meteoric rise. Top center for the NHL’s Cup-winning champs? Check. Millions in the bank? Yep. As self-assured in his stickhandling abilities off the ice as he is on it? Not so much. Women might be throwing themselves at him, but he needs a little more practice to figure out what to do if he catches one.
Though after growing up with a front-row seat to his parents’ disastrous marriage, he’s convinced the closest he can get to happily-ever-after is settling for someone who ticks the most boxes when his career’s done. Why waste time on a dream he can’t even pin to the boards? So when Blake’s roommate—who also happens to be his teammate and best friend—sets his sights on their feisty new neighbor, Blake’s duty-bound by the bro code to help his buddy win her … except when Blake gets to know her, he’s not so sure he wants to play wingman anymore.
Michaela Wagner has earned her hard-fought-for position as a real estate lawyer in a prestigious firm. She may have aced her classes and graduated early, but an army of suits is ready to keep her ambition in check. Undeterred, she casts her eye on a prize account her boss is dangling like a juicy carrot.
Though she doesn’t have much time for dating, she’s a big believer in fairy-tale endings. Prince Charming is waiting for her … though he hasn’t been at the speed-dating events or in the dating apps she’s subjected herself to. Could he be one of the hunky hockey players next door? Absolutely not. Too much testosterone, too much swagger, too many female fans. If she were forced to pick one, though, it would be Blake. He’s an enigma begging to be bared, and he’s got those green eyes that follow her with an intriguing mix of bewilderment and intensity. Too bad he believes in happily-never-after.
As Blake glides closer to Michaela, doubt turns to possibility, and his philosophy begins to unravel like spent stick tape. But a happy ending for these two seems as elusive as a Stanley Cup win. When loyalty faces off against desire, will their love survive the penalty box?
Excerpt . . .
I’m a skeptic, and it comes from lack of experience. With no past relationships of his own to call upon, and the volatile one modeled by his parents, how was Blake equipped to untangle the good from the bad?
He twirled his nearly empty glass between his hands on the tabletop, calculating how to answer. “I don’t know that I’d classify myself as a cynic. I think I’m a realist, and yeah, that’s based on observation.”
“Okay. So what does a realist’s philosophy look like?” Her bright eyes were trained on his, her look one of curiosity, nothing more, as if she really wanted to understand his take on this particular subject. He felt safe being up front with her.
“I think we get dazzled from time to time by someone we think is the so-called ‘one,’ but it’s our minds and our libidos blowing smoke up our butts and letting the fantasies we’ve built up since childhood hack our common sense. Which blinds us to the pitfalls. I also believe we each have many possible partners, some better than others, and if we’re lucky, we find the best match and build a decent life with that person.” He shrugged.
She tilted her head to the side. “So tell me. Have you ever been dazzled, Blake Barrett?”
“Honestly? No.” The admission brought a twinge of melancholy to his soul.
Nodding, she smiled knowingly. “Because you’re a realist.”
He nodded back, though inside he questioned what the hell he was agreeing to. No one had ever pushed him to delve inside and examine these beliefs, and he sure as hell hadn’t pushed himself. Did he buy into the dry philosophy he had spewed? Love and happily-ever-afters had been vague ideas lurking in some musty back closet of his mind. Lofty, unattainable goals for a guy like him. And it was nothing he’d ever shared with anyone, nothing he’d ever put into words before. Now that he just had, he wasn’t convinced they were true. He didn’t want to ponder it, not now, so he put the irritating thought aside.
“That must get lonely.” A hint of sadness flitted through her eyes. “You do realize you might change your tune if someone … dazzling … were to come along?”
Did he get lonely? Yeah, he did, which explained why he’d brought Sherry home the other night. While it might have let him lose himself for a few hours and scratch a very prickly itch, he was boggled by the fact that such an intimate act hadn’t filled anything inside him. Which sounded weird as he turned it over in his head. “Anything’s possible,” he conceded at last.
Playlist . . .
About the Author . . .
A writer of contemporary romance, she loves telling tales of the less-than-perfect hero or heroine who transforms with each turn of a page.
G.K. is a wife and the proud mom of three grown sons. When she’s not writing, she might be reading, traveling, drinking wine, listening to music, or gardening—sometimes all at once! She currently resides in Colorado with her very patient husband.
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