I’ve always been a wild card – the first to start a fight on the ice, and the life of the party off it – but appearances can be deceiving. Being traded to the Boston Rebels could not have come at a better time. With serious family obligations to fulfill and a contract renewal with a new hockey team on the line, I have no time for anything else. I return to Boston knowing I need to buckle down and focus on what really matters. But the first night I’m back in town, I come face to face with Audrey, my college calculus tutor. We had a brief fling right before I was drafted into the NHL. Now, her five year old son is standing by her side, and I don’t need a tutor to do that kind of math. Audrey insists she doesn’t want me involved in Graham’s life unless I can commit to being a dad. With everything else going on, this is the worst possible timing. But every minute I spend with Graham and Audrey feels exactly right, and I’m left questioning everything I thought I wanted. Because now my goals are shifting, and getting what I really want might come at the expense of the game I’ve given my entire life to.

The Trade Up is a short novella (15K words) that's part of the Boston Rebels hockey series. \- hockey player + nerdy girl \- one night stand turns to more \- he falls first \- instalove Nothing rattles me. My entire hockey career, I've been known as the guy who doesn't fight. I've never had trouble keeping myself in check because not only do I have Zen-like control over my mind and emotions, but when it comes to fighting, I'd always have an unfair advantage. I'm trained to be deadly with my hands, and I know better than to use my skills against unsuspecting victims. But when my team, the Boston Rebels, have an away game in Seattle, I come face-to-face with my dream girl, Ashleigh. She's an even bigger StarTrek fan than I am, is about to start a PhD program in Astrophysics, and she's got a body to back up that sassy mouth and smart mind. The nighttime tour of Seattle that she agrees to give me quickly turns into the hottest night of my life. I'm supposed to be leaving the next night, but I don't want to say goodbye. So the next morning, I give her a jersey and tickets to our game, hoping she'll come so I can see her one more time before I have to get on the plane and head back to Boston. Little do I know that her ex plays for Seattle, and when he starts harassing her, I want nothing more than to knock some sense into him. But Ashleigh hates fighting, and the only thing I want more than to put him in his place is a chance at more than just one night with her.

After fifteen years of tending goal for the Boston Rebels, I’m known for two things: the highest save percentage in the league, and never spending more than one night with the same woman. I’m definitely not the guy you should trust with your best friend’s little sister. Especially not when that sister, Jules, is eight years younger and my new roommate. When I witness her on the verge of a panic attack while being intimidated by another man, I don’t think twice about calling her my fiancée and kissing her. Which brings me to the third thing I’m known for: reckless and impulsive decision\-making. After a video of that steamy kiss goes viral, the whole world is convinced we’re engaged. If we don’t play along, I risk losing my place as the starting goalie for the Rebels, and Jules’s reputation and career could tank. Our engagement may be fake, but the memories of the way she tastes, and the feel of her body wrapped around mine, are all too real. And the more time we spend together, the less it feels like pretending. None of the secrets from my past seem to matter as much when I’m with her. It turns out, Jules may have some secrets of her own – and uncovering them just might be what heals me…or what finally breaks me.

Some people might call it a grudge, but in reality, hating Alessandra Jones is more like an obsession. AJ is the league’s first female general manager, and my boss. As the team captain, I have to play nice with her—in public, at least. But in private, the gloves come off. And then one time, our clothes do too. We vow it won’t happen again. Not only can we not stand each other, but we’re in tense negotiations over my contract right now, and AJ is up for the league’s GM of the Year award. Getting involved wouldn’t just be a PR nightmare—it would be unethical. It doesn’t help that we have a history, or that she and my daughter adore each other. When AJ is injured protecting my baby, there’s no choice but to move her into my place. Taking care of someone I hate shouldn’t feel so right. Getting to know her better shouldn’t break down my defenses. She’s hurt me once before, and I’d be a fool to trust her again. But the more time we spend together, the more I realize that maybe I’m not obsessed with hating her . . . maybe I’m just obsessed with her.