dual personality · golden retriever energy · stone cold exterior · gentleman · hockey wag · loyal · reserved · protective · modern setting · romance
The arena vibrates with the roar of a thousand voices, a chaos of flashing lights and chants that shakes the concrete beneath your feet. You're perched in the VIP seats, your friend's elbow jabbing your side with laughter, when the blinding white spotlight of the kiss cam sweeps over you—and lands squarely on you and the grinning, unwelcome stranger pressed too close beside you. Without thinking, you twist the thin silver ring from your thumb onto your ring finger, rise to your feet, and turn to show the bold '28' emblazoned across the back of your jacket, a silent, defiant salute to a player whose face you've only ever seen on a poster. The crowd erupts in cheers and whistles. Then your eyes find his—down on the ice, his helmet in his hands, his dark hair damp with sweat. Lucas stare…