Julia Connors

My marriage wasn’t perfect, but my husband’s unexpected death yanks away my sense of security and leaves me floundering. Enter Jameson Flynn, former NHL star and my late husband’s sports agent, who’s back in my life as the executor of the will. Things between us are as contentious as when we worked together five years ago, except now we’re working together to navigate all of the secrets and deceptions my husband left behind. I remember Jameson as arrogant, condescending, and heartless. And yet, he repeatedly shows up for me and my daughters – helping me pick up the broken pieces and put my life back together. Now I’m seeing a side of him he only reveals to people he truly cares about. He’s protective in a way I didn’t know I’d like, caring in a way I didn’t know he was capable of, and still sexy as hell. The problem is, he broke my heart a long time ago. But the closer I get to Jameson, the more I see that the only thing easier than hating him might actually be loving him.

Aleksandr Ivanov was my person. We helped each other through the worst of our childhoods. I thought we were meant for each other; then he ghosted me. That’s when I learned that the only person I can count on is me. Fourteen years later, the NHL superstar reappears in my life with an outrageous pretend to be his wife and help him adopt his orphaned niece, Stella. The twist? Apparently we’ve been married since I was sixteen. I can’t commit to the relationship he’s asking for, but when I accidentally screw up his childcare arrangement before he leaves for the Stanley Cup playoffs, I end up as Stella's nanny for a couple weeks. I shouldn’t put my life on hold to help him. I shouldn’t fall hard for his precocious niece. And I definitely shouldn’t let him into my bed, or more importantly, into my heart. Because if I do those things, I might start wanting things I can’t have. There is no happy ending for I’ve got a company to run, and a contract to start filming a television show in Los Angeles. He can’t leave New York, and staying with Aleksandr would mean giving up everything I’ve worked so hard for. Most importantly, I can’t put my very fragile heart right back into the hands of the one person who already destroyed it. Author’s If you don’t like childhood loves, second chances, strong female main characters, hot hockey players, surprise marriages, precocious little girls who worm their way into cold, unfeeling hearts, ice cream for dinner, and television shows about inspirational women, then look the other way. But if you love all that and a happy ending, one-click now to get One Last Shot!

I’ve always been a wild card – the first to start a fight on the ice, and the life of the party off it – but appearances can be deceiving. Being traded to the Boston Rebels could not have come at a better time. With serious family obligations to fulfill and a contract renewal with a new hockey team on the line, I have no time for anything else. I return to Boston knowing I need to buckle down and focus on what really matters. But the first night I’m back in town, I come face to face with Audrey, my college calculus tutor. We had a brief fling right before I was drafted into the NHL. Now, her five year old son is standing by her side, and I don’t need a tutor to do that kind of math. Audrey insists she doesn’t want me involved in Graham’s life unless I can commit to being a dad. With everything else going on, this is the worst possible timing. But every minute I spend with Graham and Audrey feels exactly right, and I’m left questioning everything I thought I wanted. Because now my goals are shifting, and getting what I really want might come at the expense of the game I’ve given my entire life to.