Book one in the Westbridge U series Eighteen-year-old Grace Carter has spent her life hiding from the truth of her broken home, enduring the cruelty of an alcoholic father in the small town of Willow Springs, Texas. Her only escapes are the books she reads and the cheerleading routines she uses to mask the scars of her reality. All she wants is a way out, a chance to live her life on her own terms. Enter Jaxon Reed-the charismatic, cocky captain of Westbridge University's hockey team. At 18, he's already a hockey prodigy, and everyone knows it. He's got everything-looks, talent, and the confidence that comes with it. But underneath the bravado, Jaxon carries a past that haunts him, one he's not ready to confront. When they're paired together for an English project, neither Grace nor Jaxon is thrilled. Grace sees Jaxon as just another entitled athlete, while Jaxon thinks Grace is too distant to care about. But as they spend more time together, something unexpected happens. Jaxon begins to notice Grace's hidden pain, the way she flinches at loud noises and keeps people at arm's length. Grace, in turn, starts to see the cracks in Jaxon's perfect exterior-his reliance on hockey as an escape from a past that refuses to let him go. What begins as forced proximity soon becomes something neither of them saw coming-an undeniable connection that neither of them is prepared for. As their secrets unravel, they'll discover that sometimes, the most broken people are the ones who heal each other.

What happens when your first heartbreak becomes your biggest distraction? --- Everyone at Henley University knows Logan Adams, the charming 6'3 star forward with an easy smile and eyes you could drown in. But I remember the boy before all of that. The one who watched Marvel movies with me, who fell on the ice more times than he'd ever admit, and who promised we'd always be friends. That was years ago. I haven't seen him since our high school graduation, long after we stopped being friends. Now I'm transferring to Henley, and working as a student medical assistant for the hockey team. For the first time in years, I'll be around Logan... The boy who broke my heart without ever realizing it was in his hands. ****The Henley Boys is a series of standalones. Before the Buzzer is the first book in the series, but you can choose to read in any order!***** ***100K reads on February 6, 2026 ***150K reads on February 24, 2026