There are so many people to thank that I don’t know where to start.
To CeCe Carroll, my wonderful editor, thank you for polishing up my writing and catching every word I missed.
To Marla Esposito, thank you for finding every comma I missed…I hate commas!
To Ben Ellis, my fantastic cover artist. This cover is amazing! Thank you for capturing Tristan perfectly.
To Samantha Wayland and Aven Ellis, my amazing little tribe. We are totally on fire! Our books and writing styles are so different, but there is no one else that I would want to bounce ideas off of or navigate this industry than both of you.
To my fantastic beta readers, Elaine and Sita. Thank you for helping me polish this book. Your comments helped immensely and I’m glad you enjoyed Tristan and Evie.
To the Bergy Babes. Thank you for all the support and woohoo, weird summer pandemic hockey is back!
To the Hearties. Thank you for welcoming me into this group of amazing hockey romance authors and for answering all of my questions. I’m sure I will pester you all with each book.
To my Sassy Readers. I can’t believe that people want to join my reader group and talk about my books! I know you’re just here for the hockey butts.
To my mom. You and Dad showed me how to have a successful 40+ year marriage through laughter and affection. You’ve also shown me that even in grief, you can become the strongest woman I know. So glad you are finally able to travel the world and have a social life I envy!
To my amazing in-laws, thank you for letting me watch your hysterical Italian family for the last 15+ years. I still think about that first Christmas Eve. After everyone gorged themselves on seafood for dinner, my mother-in-law asked if anyone was hungry, and the family sat down to a lasagna she just had in the fridge and dove in…at eleven p.m.
To my family, for always encouraging me to go after my dreams and for your unwavering support, even if most of you don’t read romance novels…I’ll forgive you for that last indiscretion.
To Aubrey, our little miracle. Who knew you were possible? Or that I could actually write with a toddler. I cannot wait to see what the future holds when you can finally form sentences that I can understand. And you can’t read my books EVER! Or at least until you’re thirty.
And of course, to my husband, John, for more reasons than I can count. You were the one who encouraged me to get back to writing when I was laid off from my day job in 2008. Probably so I would leave you to your books and guitars. Chicken has dried out on the grill and sweet potatoes have been burned because I was working on a scene instead of focusing on dinner, but you never complained…well, not that loudly. And you agreed to let me live out my romance dreams and get married over the anvil in Gretna Green, Scotland, even if you did refuse to wear a kilt. Thank you for loving my craziness and putting up with discussions about the characters in my head not doing what I want them to.
And to my readers, thank you for continuing to read my books and fall in love with my characters as much as I have. I hope I make you laugh out loud and follow your heart.
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Chapter 1
EVIE
This morning I stepped on a Lego. It wasn’t the first time, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last, but that’s my excuse for running late today. Not because I’d had to stop for my fancy, triple espresso shot, extra foam latte before I could feel human enough to go to work. Yeah, definitely the Lego’s fault. And the adorable little kid who’d left it there. My sweet little miracle.
He’d asked me for extra snuggles this morning after saying sorry, Mommy, in his little, lispy toddler voice. I would’ve given anything to stay tucked up in bed with him, but my clients also needed me. So I’d kissed James goodbye, swung into my favorite coffee shop down the street, and made it to my office an hour later than I’d wanted. Luckily, I still had thirty minutes before my first client showed up.