percystrident
For almost a year, Maree McClennan has been gone, spending the fall and winter at an elite hockey training camp, chasing the dream she's worked toward her entire life. Coming home should feel familiar...back to her family, her friends, and the neighborhood she grew up in. But there's one person waiting for her that she never truly left behind.
Benny Rodriguez.
Before she left, Benny and Maree shared something they promised no one would ever know. A relationship built on late-night conversations, stolen moments, and a friendship that quietly became something much deeper. The only problem? Maree is the younger sister of one of Benny's closest friends, Yeah-Yeah McClennan. If the truth ever comes out, it won't just break a promise..it could tear apart years of friendship the two had built.
Now they're forced to act like strangers, pretending the memories they share never happened. But avoiding each other proves impossible when every baseball game, every neighborhood hangout, and every summer afternoon seems to pull them back together. Benny is determined to protect the secret, while Maree's bold, headstrong personality makes pretending not to care harder than either of them expected.