A Perfect Compromise
Theirs is a game of give and take…Schoolteacher Issy Brandine has a plan to build a stable, secure future for herself. No settling for second-best. Anything more than a sultry Caribbean fling with hotshot hockey star Jean Baptiste Larocque isn’t part of the plan. A New Jersey Ice Cat with the Stanley Cup in his sights won’t fit into her low-key lifestyle. Except a surprise pregnancy changes everything.Issy knows her child deserves more than a part-time dad. With JB’s eyes on the championship that will redeem his career, compromise is out of the question. But love—and the baby between them—might prove that nothing is impossible.
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Theirs is a game of give-and-take...
Schoolteacher Issy Brandine has a plan to build a stable, secure future for herself. No settling for second-best. Anything more than a sultry Caribbean fling with hotshot hockey star Jean Baptiste Larocque isnât part of the plan. A New Jersey Ice Cat with the ultimate hockey trophy in his sights wonât fit into her low-key lifestyle. Except a surprise pregnancy changes everything.
Issy knows her child deserves more than a part-time dad. With JBâs eyes on the championship that will redeem his career, compromise is out of the question. But loveâand the baby between themâmight prove that nothing is impossible.
âPenny for your thoughts.â
JBâs soft question startled her. Issyâs gaze shot up to meet his. There was nothing but mild curiosity in his dark eyes.
âYouâll be disappointed, trust me.â
âLet me make up my own mind on that.â
Damn it. She should have made something up. He wouldnât give up until she told him.
âItâs hard to talk about. Personal stuff.â
He didnât say anything for a moment. âWe shared a lot of personal stuff in Antigua. Why is this any different?â
Her throat ached at his gentle tone and the understanding in his eyes. She had no choice. The time had come to tell him.
Welcome back to the world of the New Jersey Ice Cats! Itâs time for another dedicated and delicious hockey player to face off against a lovely but challenging woman who will turn his world upside down.
There are some characters who steal your heart the minute they appear in a series. Jean Baptiste âJBâ Larocque captured mine when he skated onto the page as an arrogant rookie who caused trouble for Jake âBad Boyâ Badoletti in A Perfect Distraction. From what many of you have told me, and the number of requests Iâve received for JBâs book, Iâm pleased that heâs one of your favorite characters, too.
I hadnât planned for JB to redeem himself or to have his own story, but he had other plans! Of course, he had to wait until heâd grown up enough to be ready for love. And for the right woman to appear in his life. For sure, he didnât expect that woman to be mousy, uptight Isabelle Brandine.
As for Issy, if anyone needed a little detour from the neatly laid-out path sheâd created for her life, she did. And who better to provide that unintended detour than JB? All of which goes to show that sometimes the unplanned journey can yield the greatest pleasure and the person you least suspect is the one who makes your heart sing.
I love to hear from readers. Please contact me at [email protected] or via my website (annasugden.com). You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.
Former marketing executive ANNA SUGDEN loves reading romance novels and watching films with happy endings. She also loves watching hockey and football, where she prefers a happy ending for her teams. When sheâs not researching hockey players (for her books, of course), she makes craft projects and collects penguins, autographs and memorabilia, and great shoes. Anna lives in Cambridge, England, with her husband and two bossy black cats. Learn more about Anna, her books and her shoes at annasugden.com.
Wanda Ottewellâwho helped me become a better writer and without whom there wouldnât be an Ice Cats series.
Jill Marsalâthe best agent!
My galsâBeth Andrews, Terri Garey, Kathleen Long, Janice Lynn and Tawny Weber. I couldnât do this without you.
Contents
THE HORN BLARED. Game over. Players vaulted over the boards. Helmets, gloves and sticks flew into the air and rained down onto the ice.
As the arena erupted, Jean-Baptiste âJ.B.â Larocque stood stock-stillâhis mind numbâunable to believe it.
The New Jersey Ice Cats had lost. Game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. In overtime.
So damn close.
Theyâd put everything on the line but theyâd fallen short by one goal. One lousy goal.
Heâd had the puck and the game...the Cup...on his stick.
Only, heâd missed. Heâd freaking missed.
Worse, in the shocked seconds after, Denverâs defense had grabbed the puck, streaked up the ice and done what J.B. couldnât. Just like that, it was all over.
Sudden-death overtime had never lived up to its name so perfectly before.
The aches and pains J.B. had blocked for the past two months came flooding back full-force, making him stagger. Leaning on his stick, he fought to stay upright. As terrible as he felt, he wouldnât let the watching world see him crumble.
Around him, his dejected teammates leaned listlessly against the boards. His closest friends, Kenny Jelinek and Taylor âMad Dogâ Madden, sat slumped on the ice. Scotty Matthews looked ashen beneath his gray-streaked play-off beard. The captain had stayed on, hoping to win one more Cup. Instead of retiring on a high, heâd hang up his skates as second-best.
