Portsmouth Whalers Hockey Romance

The good news is I was recently named head coach of the Portsmouth Whalers hockey team, the youngest coach in the NHL for their newest expansion team. The bad news? Brace yourself. I wish I had when I found out my half-brother just took his life. When I got up off the floor, I also found out he left me with a mountain of debt, and his baby daughter. Even though my Aunt Hildie promises to come live with me in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to help me take care of the kid, she won't be coming until after her hip surgery. The upshot: I show up on the first day of pre-season training camp in a dented up old Jeep with a stroller full of trouble. Lucky for me, and luckier for the kid, the sister of one of my players is at the rink and she offers to help me out. She's a little young and a little crazy, but it's only for a month. What could go wrong? She's laid-back and I'm an in-charge type. (Read: I'm grumpy and she's sunshine.) She loves kids and I don't know what to do with the little girl. She teaches me. My girlfriend objects... Contains mature themes.

What if Cinderella was a sassy girl with a naughty crush on her Prince Charming-who happens to be a pro hockey player? Also, what if her fairy god-mother was her boss-who also happens to be Prince Charming, err, the hockey guy's GRANDMOTHER? She might be in a tight spot . . . if she gets caught. What if Prince Charming was a hockey player with a need to focus on his game? Also, what if he happened to be a billionaire whose grandma is trying to matchmake him with a reluctant Cinderella? Combine one billionaire hockey player on a mission with one struggling nursing student with an independent streak and mix them up good with a matchmaking grandma and you have the perfect rom-com with some of those poignant moments to tug at your heartstrings on the way to a most satisfying ending . . . Contains mature themes.

What does a billionaire hockey player and a down and out dog walker have in common? Sabien: Nothing besides my dog-unless you count the sizzling attraction between us. Which makes our arrangement to live together and carry off a fake relationship all the more ridiculous. But I desperately need to give the appearance of settling down and she needs a place to live after being evicted, so my agent, under loud protest, goes along with the deal and writes up a contract. It's possibly the stupidest deal ever imagined according to my agent, but once it's done, we're in bed together-literally-for the duration of the hockey season. He insists on only one condition-once the season is over, we make a clean break. Sounds good to me-right up until she drops a world-changing news-bomb on my head. Surprised? Understatement. Shocked? Getting closer. More like mind-blowing and life-exploding news... Now what? Contains mature themes.

Link: I'd never heard of a real life matchmaker before, but grandma insists on introducing me to one and makes sure it's really real when she tells me I'm her matchmaker's new client . . . Normally, I'd do anything for grandma, but this is a big ask. Because I'm not ready to settle down. Not even close. I'm a twenty-something rising star in the NHL-otherwise known as a chick-magnet. After all the hard work and focus I got my big contract and now is my time to enjoy the rewards. No way am I going along with the matchmaking plan. That attitude changes fast when grandma informs me her clock is ticking and her time's almost up. And her only wish is to see me settled down with a nice young woman. Shit. She goes on about babies, but my mind is spinning with the knowledge that I have no choice. I need to go along with this matchmaking deal for grandma. Unless I can come up with a way to give her the comfort she wants, the illusion that I'm settled down-without actually settling down . . . Contains mature themes.