Ice King--A Hockey Romance

"No, he interrupts. "I'm going to take care of you and we can just cut to the chase right now and get rid of this bullshit where you refuse my help. Let me keep you safe. Just give me your trust, knowing that I won't ever hurt you." He comes closer and steps in between my legs, gently cupping my jaw and tilting my face up to him.

"Why? You barely know me."

"Doesn't mean I don't want to."

I blink.

"I can see someone's hurt you, Lilah. You deserve all of the love and care in the world and all I'm asking is that you allow me to be one of the people who'll give it to you."

Cole Becker is letting the media get to him. Even though he's already become one of the NHL's star goalies as a rookie, that doesn't stop rumors from circulating that he's some sort of cold, "Ice King" that despises his teammates and the team that drafted him, the LA Tigers. Desperate to fix the image that threatens to overshadow his skills, Cole is willing to do anything. Even fake-dating the sweet, broken waitress that makes his head spin and his heart run wild.

All Lilah wants to do is keep her head down, finish her online college course, chase her dreams of becoming a baker, and survive. But when a photo caught at the wrong time with NHL star, Cole Becker, goes viral, she's suddenly thrust into the limelight--exactly where she doesn't want to be. And when the person she tried so hard to escape from resurfaces because of her new popularity, Lilah has no choice to run to the safety of fame and Cole Becker as his fake-girlfriend. Because no one can lay a finger on the newest sweetheart of hockey, can they? But Cole makes her feel things she's never felt before and she wants nothing but to be loved by the boy that makes her feel beautiful and safe.

But when the lines between real and fake start to blur, the two have to let go of the past that threatens to tug them down and make one of their hardest choices yet; letting love in.

A ***REALISTIC*** grumpy and sunshine.