One Last Shot

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 request: 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 us: 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 Note: 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!