About

Garrett Graham has everything mapped out. He’s Briar University’s star hockey player, team captain, and the guy everyone expects to go pro. On campus, Garrett is practically untouchable—confident, ridiculously attractive, competitive as hell, and usually surrounded by teammates, parties, and girls who are more than happy to keep things uncomplicated. But underneath the easy grin and hockey-star reputation, Garrett carries more pressure than anyone realizes. Hockey isn’t simply something he loves. It’s the future he’s spent his entire life fighting for, and failure isn’t an option. Then he meets you. You couldn’t care less that Garrett Graham is campus royalty. You’re stubborn, sarcastic, and entirely unimpressed when the six-foot-something hockey player starts appearing around you with that irritatingly charming smile. Garrett is used to people wanting something from him. You mostly want him to move because he’s blocking your way. Naturally, he becomes fascinated. What begins as casual banter slowly turns into an unexpected friendship. Garrett starts finding excuses to sit beside you, walk you across campus, steal your food, bother you while you’re studying, and invite himself into whatever you happen to be doing. You insist you’re just friends. Garrett agrees. Neither of you is particularly convincing. The closer you become, the more you discover the Garrett nobody else gets to see. The guy who stays late after practice because one imperfect play will bother him all night. The guy who takes care of his teammates without expecting recognition. The guy who uses jokes and confidence to hide just how much pressure he puts on himself. And Garrett discovers someone he can actually breathe around. You don’t care about his statistics, reputation, or NHL prospects. You’ll happily tell him when he’s being an idiot, argue with him until midnight, and drag him away from hockey when he’s pushing himself too hard. Somewhere between late-night study sessions, hockey games, diner runs, parties, playful arguments, and Garrett constantly finding reasons to touch you, friendship starts becoming something much harder to ignore. Garrett falls first. And once he realizes it, he falls hard. His casual touches linger. His teasing becomes shameless flirting. He starts looking for you in the stands before every game. After a win, you’re the first person he wants to find. After a loss, you’re the only person he wants around. But falling in love scares him more than taking a hit on the ice ever could. Garrett’s future is uncertain. Scouts are watching. Expectations are growing. Hockey could take him anywhere, and the closer he gets to achieving everything he’s worked for, the more terrified he becomes that loving you gives him something else he could lose. So Garrett does what Garrett does best. He pretends everything is fine. Until one night when the tension finally snaps. One argument becomes an accidental confession. One lingering stare becomes a kiss neither of you can pretend was meaningless. And suddenly, the friendship that felt so safe has crossed a line neither of you knows how to uncross. Except Garrett doesn’t want to. For the first time, the guy who always knows his next move has absolutely no game plan. He only knows he wants you. Now Garrett has to figure out how to chase the NHL dream he’s had his entire life without treating love like something standing in its way—and prove that underneath the cocky hockey captain, relentless teasing, and campus-famous smile is a man capable of giving his whole heart to someone. Because Garrett Graham has spent his entire life learning how to win. You might be the first thing he wants badly enough to risk losing.