Zack
Cold Fury Hockey # 3
Cold Fury Hockey # 3
By: Sawyer Bennett
Releasing June 9, 2015
Loveswept
New York Times
bestselling author Sawyer Bennett goes for a hat trick with the latest romance
in a sexy series about cool-as-ice hockey players and the women heating up
their lives.
Warning:
The following contains spoilers from a cliffhanger in Garrett.
Rising star Zack Grantham has been stuck in a
downward spiral of grief that has put his career on hold. Back on the road with
the Carolina Cold Fury, still crippled by emotional baggage, and now a single
dad, he’s in need of some serious help with his son. But while the nerdy new
nanny wins his son’s heart, Zack isn’t sure he’s ready for a woman’s touch—even
after getting a glimpse of the killer curves she’s hiding under those baggy
clothes.
Kate Francis usually keeps men like Zack at a
distance. Though his athlete’s body is honed to perfection, he refuses to move
on with his life—and besides, he’s her boss. Still, the sparks between them are
undeniable, tempting Kate to turn their professional relationship into a
personal one. But before she makes a power play for Zack’s wounded heart, Kate
will have to open him up again and show him that love is worth the fight.
The doorbell rings
just as I’m trying to simultaneously flip a pancake with one hand and pull
bacon off the griddle with another. The pancake ends up sticking, then folding
in half, and my forearm hits the edge of the griddle. I swear I can hear my
skin sizzle from the contact.
“Fuck!” I jerk
backward, dropping both the fork in one hand and the spatula in the other,
thankful that Ben is in his room playing and didn’t hear me say that. It’s a
constant battle sometimes to watch my language around the kid.
Slapping at the
control knobs, I turn the heat completely off the large electric griddle I had
been struggling with and rub gently the burn on my arm as I head toward the
front door. As I round the corner from the kitchen into the living room, I slam
my bare foot into Ben’s large dump-truck toy, causing a string of curses to
come out of my mouth now as I hobble onward to the door.
My front door is
honey-colored oak and has a large oval glass inset with a beveled flower design.
Gina had picked it out and had it installed, claiming that it allowed more
light into the front entranceway. I thought it was a little too girly, but I
didn’t argue with her. The house was her domain.
The glass lets me
see my visitor on the other side, but provides no details because of the
beveled cuts and partial frosting, which distort the person. But I know who it
is.
Ben’s new nanny.
Roberta Francis.
She was Delaney’s
top choice, and after I briefly scanned her application I had to sit and listen to my sister rave about her. Delaney felt
she was perfect for the job in all respects. She was fantastic with children,
having helped raise her three nephews for a period of time. She was also a
student with a flexible schedule. Delaney actually droned on and on about this
particular situation, but I tuned her out and started thinking
about everything I’d need to do to get the house ready to put on the market. I
was seriously considering selling it. Maybe move farther out into the country,
where we could have some land and Ben could have a dog.
Finally, I just cut
Delaney off and said, “She sounds perfect. Let’s go with her.”
And now, as I’m about
to open the door to let a woman into my house who will have the most important
of responsibilities in helping me care for my son, I’m suddenly realizing I
don’t know anything about her other than her name and a vague recollection that
she’s a student who helped raise her nephews.
Just fucking great. Way to be an involved and responsible parent, Zack.
The only saving
grace at this moment is that Delaney thoroughly interviewed this girl, checked
out her references, and was absolutely enchanted with her. I trust Delaney, so
this will be fine. She’ll be great, in fact.
I wish I believed
myself.
I swing the door
open and get my first look at the woman who will be moving into my house and
caring for my son. I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it.
Based on Delaney’s
assessment, I expected her to have a superhero’s cape on, or at the very least
a shiny gold halo and massive angel wings sprouting out of her back.
Instead…she’s sort
of unremarkable.
She stares up at me
with round, crystal-blue eyes that are devoid of any makeup and surrounded by
brown plastic-framed glasses. Her hair is dark, held back with a headband and
twisted up behind her so I have no clue how long it is. She’s small, barely
coming up to my shoulder, and swimming in an oversized, extremely faded red NC
State sweatshirt and baggy jeans that look about two sizes too big for her. An
old backpack slung over her shoulder and a pair of well-worn tennis shoes
complete her outfit.
“Roberta?” I ask
hesitantly, because suddenly I’m thinking this may be someone soliciting
something…or maybe even a homeless person looking for a meal. The way those
clothes completely swallow her makes me think she’s starving underneath all
that material.
She gives me an
outwardly bright smile and sticks a delicate hand out toward me. Her sweatshirt
is so big, her sleeves are rolled up around her wrists. “Actually…I go by Kate. Roberta’s my first name, which I was named after my
daddy, Robert, but seriously…who wouldn’t hate that name? So I go by my middle
name, which is Kathryn, actually. So I shorted it down to Kate, because Kathryn
sounds just so…I don’t know…like a Catholic saint or something, and I’m not
Catholic. I was raised Southern Baptist, but I really don’t go to church
anymore, so—”
She pauses
…finally, and takes a deep breath. Her smile goes from politely earnest to a
sheepish grin, and she gives an apologetic shrug. “Sorry…I’m nervous and I tend
to prattle when I’m nervous.”
I just blink at
her, completely shocked silent. I have no clue what to think about this strange
woman…no, girl,
I think, because she looks so
fucking young.
“How old are you?”
I ask, my eyes glancing suspiciously at her hand still extended toward me.
“Twenty-three,” she
says. “Didn’t Delaney tell you about me? You knew I was coming today, right?”
“Um…yeah, she did.
I guess I didn’t hear her mention your age,” I mutter.
Kate takes a small
step forward and pushes her hand farther toward me, giving me a pointed look.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
Her voice is soft,
with a moderate southern twang. I can’t remember if Delaney told me where she
was from or not. Fuck…I can’t remember
anything she said.
I reach out
hesitantly and shake her hand. It’s tiny and her bones feel small, but she
grips me surely. “Yeah…uh, nice to meet you too,” I say absently.
Our hands break apart and
we just stare at each other.
I was really looking forward to seeing Zach heal and fall in love, and I was not disappointed. I loved Kate and she was just what Zach needed to move on. She really is "adorkable" - that's what she call's herself - the way she hides behind baggy clothes, glasses and a bun. But she is so funny the way she babbles and gives everyone nicknames. She really adds humor to an otherwise emotional romance. Zack's guilt is a huge roadblock to his relationship with Kate, and there were times he acted like a real ass, but it was has hard not to understand where he was coming from. Once again, Sawyer Bennett has written an emotional, sexy and funny romance. Can't wait to see Ryker get his HEA in the next book of the series!
ARC via NetGalley
USA Today and New York Times Best-Selling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.
Sawyer is the author of several contemporary romances including the popular Off Series, the Legal Affairs Series and the Last Call Series. She will be releasing her third book in the Cold Fury Hockey Series with Random House Loveswept, June 2015.
Thank you for hosting ZACK!
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