Match Penalty

Jon Paul Dumont is everything I was warned about in this league—talented, entitled, and fully aware of both.

The NHL's favorite bad boy has left a trail of broken hearts from Montreal to San Diego, and a year ago, I was stupid enough to become one of them.

Now he's signed with my father's team, the Seattle Hawkeyes, attempting a comeback after a career-threatening injury and a DUI charge that got him dropped from the Blue Devils. As the GM's assistant, I've spent four years building my reputation as more than just Coach Wrenley's daughter.

I'd like to pretend that my past hasn't just skated back into my life in a Hawkeyes jersey, but the universe has other plans. Now we're paired together on the team's biggest charity event of the year, and suddenly I'm forced to confront not only JP, but all the reasons I fell for him in the first place—his perfect smile, his infuriating habit of speaking French when he knows I don't understand, and the way he brings me coffee just the way I like it.

He claims there's more to the story of why he disappeared that night, and the way he looks at me makes me want to believe him, but I learned the hard way that players like JP Dumont don't change.

When he challenges me to a bet—three shots on goal for the chance to prove he's not the player everyone thinks he is—I know I should walk away. But with the whole team watching, my pride on the line, and my heart refusing to listen to reason, I realize I'm in danger of making the same mistake twice.

Because this time, JP Dumont isn't just playing for keeps—he's playing for me.

***The Rookie Hawkeyes Series is a spin-off series from the original: The Hawkeyes Hockey Series. Each book in this series is a standalone: Each MMC and FMC gets their HEA at the end of each book.
*** You do not have to read The Hawkeyes Hockey Series before starting the Rookie Hawkeyes Series.