Rose Lynn has spent years perfecting the art of keeping people at arm's length. Smart, guarded, and impossible to intimidate, she transfers to Briar University determined to focus on school and leave her messy past exactly where it belongs. Then she meets Garrett Graham, Briar's hockey captain and resident heartbreaker, whose confidence is as irritating as it is magnetic. What starts as constant bickering and forced proximity slowly turns into something neither of them expects. Garrett sees through Rose's walls faster than anyone ever has, while Rose begins to realize the charming hockey star is more than the campus legend everyone thinks he is. Between late-night practices, whispered conversations, and feelings neither of them are ready for, the two are pulled into a romance that feels equal parts terrifying and inevitable.