Olivia Parker has one rule: never again fall for an athlete. After her NHL star ex-husband humiliated her in front of the world, she poured her heart into building Paws & Claws, a small-town animal shelter where loyalty means everything. But when the Summit Ridge Outlaws arrive in town, her quiet refuge collides head-on with the last kind of man she swore she'd avoid.
Daniel Scott is the team's broody new captain, weary of bright lights and empty hotel rooms, desperate for a place to belong. Forced to volunteer at Olivia's shelter, he expected barking dogs and begrudging chores; not the fierce, sunshine-bright woman who sees right through him. Every look, every shared rescue with the shelter's most broken animals chips away at her defenses, sparking a heat neither of them can ignore.
But Olivia knows what happens when a small-town girl trusts a hockey hero, the roar of the arena always wins. Daniel is determined to prove her wrong, to show her that his ambition isn't measured in goals or glory but in the fragile hope they're building together.
