When Georgia Worthington dumped Leo Trevi on their graduation day from high school, not only did she break his heart, but it ruined the relationship he had with his hockey coach, her father. Coach Karl went from liking him to despising him, leaving Leo clueless to what happened. He treated Georgia like a queen. He loved her. He still doesn’t know what went wrong when he sees her six years later.  

It’s been years since Georgia has seen Leo in the flesh, and the grown up Leo is better looking than the boy she’d dated and dumped. And now he’s the latest addition to the newest NHL franchise Brooklyn Bruisers, the team she’s employed by as their interim director of publicity—a position she hopes to make permanent. It’s also the team her father has just been hired to coach.

With Leo’s hire, things get interesting fast. Coach doesn’t want him on the team and Georgia is determined to keep things strictly professional between them. Something that becomes nearly impossible with Leo’s hot mic incident during their first press conference when he overhears his teammate calling Georgia a bitch on wheels.

“If you want to keep breathing, don’t ever call the love of my life a bitch.”

I thought that would be the ice breaker between them. It’s not. While they think about each other and about their shared past, they don’t actually have a real conversation until about a quarter into the book. And I’ll admit, I was getting antsy at that point.

Leo is a sweetheart. He’s not the one holding back. It’s Georgia. There’s her father and how he feels about Leo. Then there’s her career aspirations. But having to work with Leo is torture. She’s as hung up on him as he is on her.

The backdrop of their romance is set against the countdown to the NHL trade deadline. Will Coach Worthington push to trade him when it’s all said and done? That’s the big question and one that terrifies Georgia especially. To tell you the truth, at points along the way, I wish he would. I wanted Leo away from him, the jerk. I get that Georgia is his daughter and everything, but she’s twenty-four for goodness sake! And it’s not let she didn’t date Leo for three years in high school, most of which the coach liked him.

Luckily, details of a past event explains so much. Georgia’s skittishness. Her father’s about face regarding Leo, and what exactly went wrong with them back in high school. The bigger question is how will they be able to get past it. In that, I will just say I love Leo. He’s the kind of boyfriend/fiancé/husband any sane, warm-blooded woman would be lucky to have. Georgia, you’re a lucky woman. And she’s pretty resilient too. They do make a great couple.

Next up in Ms. Bowen’s Brooklyn Bruisers series is Ari, the team’s massage therapist, and Patrick O’Doul’s romance in Hard Hitter. I’m looking forward to reading it.

~ Susan