Is Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey Worth Reading?

“I want you to touch me… right now. I’ll show that scumbag ex I’m good at sex too.” Those were the last words Emily remembered saying before she woke up naked in the hockey captain’s bed — with her brother’s best friend staring back at her. One drunken night. One reckless mistake. One positive pregnancy test that ruined everything. Emily is a talented painter who just caught her boyfriend cheating. Alex is the campus’s arrogant, playboy hockey captain who never does commitment. Now they’re stuck together by an unplanned baby, crushing guilt, and a sizzling attraction that refuses to die. He says he doesn’t do responsibility. She says she won’t abort their child. But as Emily’s paintbrushes capture feelings she’s terrified to name and Alex starts showing up at her dorm with midnight cravings and soft kisses, one thing becomes dangerously clear: This hockey captain might just be hers… accidentally forever.  

Five years ago, his rising hockey fame shattered our forever promise, leaving me with nothing but memories. Now, I’m the journalist assigned to cover his championship run, and he’s the cold, distant superstar who treats me like a stranger in front of the cameras. But the moment the lights dim, his burning gaze pins me down, revealing a hunger that never died. In the locker room shadows, the bad boy enforcer is ready to break every rule to reclaim what was always his.

Selena Matthews is used to being a quiet student, She studies hard, stays out of trouble, and keeps her heart guarded. After losing her parents as a child, she learned not to expect much from people. Then she meets Jake Gordon, the popular hockey star. What starts as study sessions turns into kisses and secret moments. Jake says it’s better to keep their relationship private for now, and Selena foolishly believes him. But weeks pass, and he still won’t tell anyone about their supposed relationship. Selena starts to wonder if she’s really someone special to him or she's just being played by him. And when Cullen, the captain of the hockey team, begins asking questions, the secrets start leaking out. Selena must decide, will she keep hiding for a love that doesn't really exist, or finally choose to be seen?

Meet Madison Lane, a passionate sports journalist with a heart as resilient as the toughest hockey puck. When she's assigned to cover the upcoming championship series, Madison never expected that her professional life would collide with the rugged world of the Coldridge Icebreakers. The very man she cannot stand for his man whorish ways is to be the centerpiece of her coverage, when she has to cover him 24/7 AND move in with him. Alex Stone the man whore of the hockey scene has no time for a sports journalist living in his back pocket, especially not one that he can't take his eyes off and control himself with. She is everything he doesn't want in his life besides, she is becoming his biggest distraction. But when a fake dating scheme orchestrated by the team's public relations team throws Madison and Alex into a whirlwind of media attention, their worlds collide. They're forced to show the world they are a couple. Will their fake relationship become blurred around the edges and become the real thing?

“Admit it,” He growls, slamming my back against the wall, his body caging me in. “You like it when I piss you off.” My breath catches as our bodies collide, heat and hatred sparking between us. I hate Dorian Hayes with every fibre of my being...so why can't I pull away? For Noah Carter, hockey isn’t just a game–it’s an escape. The golden boy captain with a killer smile and a secret he can’t afford to slip, Noah’s carefully crafted lie is falling apart with every practice and every time he locks eyes with HIM. HIM. Dorian Hayes is fire on the ice with only one mission--Make it to the NHL. But there’s one person he never expected to see when he got in Bridgewater to play for the Artic-Blades. Noah Fucking Carter. The one person he hates with everything inside him. Cue in a plan to destroy everything Noah stands for. But every time their bodies collide on the ice, Dorian can’t deny the pull. It’s infuriating, maddening…and addictive. He doesn’t want to want Noah, but when their rivalry shifts from Icy stares to scalding touches, Dorian is forced to confront a truth he’s spent years skating away from: sometimes, the person you hate the most is the only one who truly sees you.

We promised forever, but his hockey fame tore us apart. Five years later, I’m the journalist assigned to cover his championship run. He’s cold during interviews, answers clipped, eyes never lingering long enough for me to read what he’s thinking. But off-camera, his burning gaze pins me down like I never left. Like we never ended, which blurs the line of love and lust. The team calls him untouchable now. A league legend in the making. I came here to tell his story, not to fall back into it. But as I dug deep, I realized everything I thought I knew was a lie. And someone is determined to make sure I uncover it, no matter who gets destroyed when I do. Including Me.