Breakaway : a novel
(Book)

"Bonus epilogue originally published online in 2023"--Title page verso.

Cooper. As a pro-bound college athlete with a good-time reputation, I usually have my pick of puck bunnies. But lately, I've been in a dry spell that feels more like a curse, and the stress is affecting my game -- the one thing that can't happen if I'm going to keep building my case for a future in the NHL, starting with making team captain. Enter Penny Ryder. She's my coach's daughter, but the moment she pulls me into that ice rink closet and lets me have my way with her, she is the one thing on my mind besides hockey. She wants me to introduce her to all the things she has been dying to experience with a guy, and by looking at her list? We are kindred spirits in the bedroom. If I say yes, I'll be relaxed on the ice again, but if her dad finds out what we're up to, I'll be forced to say goodbye to the chance at being captain and finally earning my own father's approval. Penny. Thanks to the ex from hell, I'm a long way from being ready for a relationship, but after an unfortunate morning involving my roommate and a flying -- ahem personal toy, it is clear that it is finally time to reclaim my agency, one long-sought-after experience in bed at a time. Enter Cooper Callahan. He is the most casual guy I can think to be with, but he just so happens to be my hockey coach dad's star defenseman. An arrangement with him will force me to keep yet another major secret from my father, but the agreement we strike is simple: secret friends-with-benefits until he makes captain and I cross off all the experiences on my list in order to finally move on from the incident that ruined both my life and my figure skating career at sixteen. Yet the longer our connection goes on, the more we trust each other, and the less I want to say goodbye. I know love leads to heartbreak, but what if it can also clear the ice for a breakaway?