Title: Zack, Cold Fury Hockey # 3
Author: Sawyer Bennett
Published: June 9, 2015, Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary, Sports
Blurb
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.
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.
Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/125350-cold-fury-hockey
Excerpt
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.
Review
4.5 Hearts
This is book #3 in the Cold Fury Series. Do not read this book before reading Garrett. There will be spoilers.
Zack is a member of the Cold Fury hockey team. He has been away from practice recuperating from injuries and the death of his girlfriend. He is tired of not being able to “feel” anything. Nothing and no one are able to get him excited. The team suggests he sees a counselor before he is cleared to practice again. While he looks forward to getting back to work, he has to find someone to take care of Ben while he plays hockey. Zack has dragged his feet until the last moment and finally his older sister hires someone to watch Ben. Little did Zack know, Kate was going to help him with all those “feels” he had been missing!
I love quirky, geeky Kate! I loved how she bonded with Ben and even her willingness to help Zack heal his heart to the detriment of her own feelings. I was happy to see the inner dialogue with both Zack and Kate. It made the situation more real to me seeing that they both struggled with the no strings arrangement they had agreed upon.
My reason for a 4.5 rating is because I felt that Zack doth protest too much! He fought a relationship soooo hard….it became annoying. I thought that someone along the way, coach, friends, counselor, sister, somebody should have manned up and helped him get his head unscrewed. Kate was a sweetheart throughout and was right in giving up on him because of all the indecisiveness. That said, Sawyer Bennett is a one click author for me. I love this series and look forward to meeting the rest of the team.
*I received and ARC of this title from the publisher for an honest review.
*I received and ARC of this title from the publisher for an honest review.
About the Author
USA Today 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 second book in the Cold Fury Hockey Series with Random House Loveswept, February 2015.
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