Delay of Game

A captain who came back from a broken leg. The winger who broke it. And a host family with two spare rooms and only a hallway between them.

Emmett Mahoney spent four months injured, watching his team from a couch, and two years waiting for an apology call that never came. He’s back on the ice, skating every shift Ashtabula gives him, and he has no use for Tucker Bradshaw’s regrets. Then the Ugly Sweater Cup places both men to the same house in Copper Harbor, and the winger who called it an ordinary hit is washing dishes at his elbow.

Tucker came north to earn a call-up and planned to be home before Christmas. Instead, a Lake Superior storm closes the roads, and the tournament stretches through the holiday. Between cutthroat euchre, bookstore visits, and arguments about hockey, he discovers how much he likes Emmett’s company—and how badly he wants Emmett to like his. But making him laugh is easier than admitting what happened two years ago. And wanting him doesn’t mean he’s been forgiven.

Emmett has spent two years being angry. He’s far less prepared for how much he wants to come home to this man.

✓ Rivals to lovers with a history
✓ Snowed in over Christmas
✓ Forced proximity
✓ Grumpy / sunshine
✓ Age gap
✓ Small-town charity hockey tournament
✓ Ugly sweaters mandatory

Heat Level: Steamy MM Christmas open-door hockey romance
Vibes: Snowbound, funny, forgiving
Setting: Copper Harbor, Michigan, the week of Christmas
Ending: HEA.
Book 1 of The Ugly Sweater Cup
Each book is a standalone romance with a happy ending and no cliffhanger.

The roads will reopen. This time, Tucker needs to give Emmett a reason to answer when he calls.