Thin Ice | BOOK I

After losing her best friend and skating partner, Alina Sokolov finds herself unraveling; until the last person she expects starts pulling her back together: her brother's best friend.
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Alina Sokolov was supposed to be chasing gold medals and university deadlines with her best friend, Mateo, at her side. But one brutal night leaves her stuck in a loop of grief and guilt; she transfers schools, moves in with her brother, and promises to try again.

Only trying is harder than she thought. She can't unpack a single box in her room, she flinches at the sound of skates on ice, and therapy feels like talking into an echo.

Enter Cade Vaughn: hockey star, relentless flirt, and her brother's infuriating best friend. Cade is everything Alina doesn't want or need: loud, distracting, nosy; but somehow, he keeps showing up. With a joke when she's silent. A smile when she's spiraling. And a way of seeing her that makes her feel like she's still in one piece.

But grief doesn't let go easily. And when buried memories begin to resurface, Alina is forced to decide whether she'll keep running from the past-or let someone stay long enough to help her face it.

𝘵 𝘳 𝘰 𝘱 𝘦 𝘴:
brother's best friend,
college romance,
figure skater x hockey player,
friends to lovers,
slow burn