“Is this okay?” he asked.

“Only if your goal is to murder me with pleasure, and at this point, go right ahead.”

Single mom Bristol is busy learning hockey, feeding an entire town breakfast every morning, and trying to forget just how much she misses her sister. Everyone else seems to be moving forward. Her older sister Savannah is planning a Christmas wedding. Bristol’s ex-husband is remarried and a dad again. But she’s stuck in a funk and even the holidays aren’t helping.

At least not until a sexy stranger arrives in town and turns into a worthy distraction.

Beau offers to teach Bristol everything he knows about hockey—which is a lot considering he went pro—but that’s on the down low. Everything is. He’s got reasons for coming to Hope Falls, for spending time with Bristol and her family. Big, secret reasons. But between giving her skating lessons and falling ass over face for the woman, he’s got to stay focused on the goal.

And it’s starting to look like protecting someone he loves means hurting Bristol.