After years of trying to get back home to be closer to my daughter, I finally secured a spot on the newly expanded San Francisco Shockwaves. Juggling being the newly appointed Captain of the team and taking on full-time fatherhood to a teenager sends my life into chaos. I quickly find myself needing someone who can pick up the pieces and keep my life in order as I certainly can't do it alone.

I made a deal with my brother a long time ago to never date his teammates. Technically, Rowan Landry, the hot as hell center for the Chicago Falcons, is no longer my brother’s teammate. Or his best friend. Their college days are long behind them, and they barely talk now. Also, I’m not dating him—we’re just sleeping together. There’s a difference.

He's known as Father Anton to his teammates - the brooding, sexy captain of the NHL's Chicago Blaze has a reputation for...not having a reputation. Just like his diet and sleep routines, celibacy is part of Anton Petrov's on-ice mojo. Or so they say. Anton stays mum on the subject. If the world thinks he chooses to abstain from sex, so be it. Better that than the truth getting out: There is a woman he burns for, but he can never have her. She's his teammate's wife, after all.

“Give me a second chance, babe . . . and I’ll blow your mind.” Monroe doesn’t know why she answers the text that’s obviously meant for someone else. Or why she keeps answering. Maybe it’s because she’s all alone in a big city and in desperate need of a lifeline. Or maybe it’s because each exchange leaves her intrigued and more than a little turned on. Still, Monroe never would’ve snarked back if she’d known she was talking to the “Golden Boy” of the Dallas Knights.

My new neighbor is a jerk. Sure, he's the embodiment of tall, dark, and handsome. But he has managed to become enemy number one within the first forty-eight hours of moving into the apartment next door. I may have retaliated and escalated the situation. I'm not above being petty, and I'm determined to make him break first.