Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
When they met at figure skating camp ten years ago, Chase Merritt was a scrappy hockey player from the wrong part of town, and Zoe Carson was the up-and-coming ice princess. They fell in love faster than you can say triple toe loop, until Zoe makes a fateful error that ends up costing Chase dearly.
Almost a decade later, their fortunes are reversed. Chase is the MVP of the New York Legends hockey team, while Zoe—their new skating coach—has years’ worth of personal and professional bruises. It’s hard to face him again—all six feet and two hundred pounds of muscle and swagger.
And anger. Chase is in hot water with management, and refusing to work with Coach Zoe no matter how badly he needs to shore up his stride—and his image. Until a journalist digs up an old video of Zoe and Chase performing a skating program, and the internet goes wild.
Management seizes on the opportunity for a P.R. redemption, ordering Zoe and Chase to reprise their flashy routine.
Skating with him again—to a love song, of course—is pure agony. But it’s also Zoe’s only chance to unpack the truth of what really happened that night ten years ago. And to at least find forgiveness, if she can’t win back his heart
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
January
Nerves of steel.” That’s how an NBC commentator once described me during my Olympic-medal performance. And Sports Illustrated captioned my photo with “Grace under pressure.”
If they could see me now, they’d file a retraction. My palms are sweaty as I cross the gleaming marble atrium of the New York Legends hockey team headquarters.
In theory, this is a dream come true. In reality, I just moved to the most expensive city on the East Coast for a part-time job offered to me only after the previous two candidates fell through. But I’ve always been impulsive.
So here I stand, my heart rabbity inside my chest. “Good afternoon,” I greet the security guard, an older white man with a handlebar mustache. “My name is—”
“Zoe Carson!” chirps a female voice. I glance past the security turnstiles to see a young woman scampering down the escalator in my direction. She’s a smartly dressed redhead with a quick smile. “I have your employee ID.” She practically skids to a stop on the other side of the turnstile. Then she waves a card over the sensor. The light turns green and the gates slide open for me. “You’re in!”
“Wow, thanks,” I say, nodding a silent thank-you to the guard and then walking through to the other side of the security barrier.
“You’re welcome!” She beams. At least one person is happy to see me. “I’m Darcy Kendrick, Nolan Sharp’s assistant.”
I’m sorry is the first response that pops into my head. Sharp is my new boss, the same man who’s responsible for half the anxiety that’s sloshing through my bloodstream.
The other half, though, belongs to a certain hockey star who’s probably somewhere in the building.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, offering a hand to Darcy.
She gives it a quick pump, then hands over my ID. “Here you go. I put a lanyard and some swag in your locker. But first, let’s check out the main rink, and you can see the guys in action.” Darcy waves her ID in front of another scanner and opens a door to reveal a gleaming rink with bleacher seating.
I follow her inside like a puppy—if puppies were full of dread.
“We need you, Zoe,” Darcy says. “Our stats are shakier than they should be at mid-season. And the last skating coach bailed on us.”
“Why was that?” I hear myself ask.
“He moved to Sweden for better job security.” She shrugs. “I can’t imagine that his new team is better than this one, but I’m very biased. This team can win. We’re just in a slump.”
We walk right down to the plexiglass, where hockey players in blue and red practice jerseys whiz past. I turn a critical eye to their skating. One of the defensemen sends a shower of ice chips flying as he accelerates after his teammate. His stride is powerful, but I notice a shallowness in his crossovers that could cost him precious seconds in a game.
That’s why I’m here. The Legends are fifth place in their division, which isn’t great. But it’s only January. There’s still time to climb the ranks and secure a bid for the playoffs. If these men trust my coaching, I can make a difference.
The whistle blows. Another player suddenly skates close to the glass, and my heart leaps into my throat. When he lifts his gaze to the spot where we’re standing, I stop breathing.
But the skater isn’t anyone I’ve met, although he lifts a hand in a friendly wave, which Darcy returns.
“Now let’s get you upstairs,” she says, herding me out of the rink and onto one of the escalators that climb through the glittering atrium. As we rise, she points out two more practice rinks and other world-class facilities.
This job could be a godsend. So why do I feel so sweaty? Oh, right. The memory of a pair of ethereal blue eyes crosses my mind like a shadow, and my stomach tilts again.
That second coffee was definitely a mistake.
As we step onto the final escalator, I spy a cluster of men on the fourth floor, in the players’ lounge. Tall bodies. Broad shoulders.
Oh God. I’ve spent the whole day wondering what Chase Merritt will say when we finally come face-to-face. The team gave me every player’s contact information as soon as I took this job so that I could reach out to each of them and set up our first coaching session.
I spent hours writing and rewriting my first email to Chase. The first few drafts had begun Maybe you don’t remember me… But then I’d deleted that in favor of a breezier greeting.
At least I hope it was breezier. Writing a business email to the man who once broke your heart isn’t easy.
I still haven’t gotten a reply, in spite of checking my email approximately eleventy billion times. And now I’m so tense I could burst.