BOOK INFORMATION
Zack
Cold Fury Hockey # 3
Cold Fury Hockey # 3
By: Sawyer Bennett
Releasing June 9, 2015
Loveswept
BOOK SUMMARY
New York
Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett goes for a hat trick with the latest
romance in a sexy series about cool-as-ice hockey players and the women heating
up their lives.
Warning:
The following contains spoilers from a cliffhanger in Garrett.
Rising star Zack Grantham has been stuck in
a downward spiral of grief that has put his career on hold. Back on the road
with the Carolina Cold Fury, still crippled by emotional baggage, and now a
single dad, he’s in need of some serious help with his son. But while the nerdy
new nanny wins his son’s heart, Zack isn’t sure he’s ready for a woman’s
touch—even after getting a glimpse of the killer curves she’s hiding under
those baggy clothes.
Kate Francis usually keeps men like Zack at
a distance. Though his athlete’s body is honed to perfection, he refuses to
move on with his life—and besides, he’s her boss. Still, the sparks between
them are undeniable, tempting Kate to turn their professional relationship into
a personal one. But before she makes a power play for Zack’s wounded heart,
Kate will have to open him up again and show him that love is worth the fight.
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EXCERPT
The doorbell
rings just as I’m trying to simultaneously flip a pancake with one hand and
pull bacon off the griddle with another. The pancake ends up sticking, then
folding in half, and my forearm hits the edge of the griddle. I swear I can
hear my skin sizzle from the contact.
“Fuck!” I
jerk backward, dropping both the fork in one hand and the spatula in the other,
thankful that Ben is in his room playing and didn’t hear me say that. It’s a
constant battle sometimes to watch my language around the kid.
Slapping at
the control knobs, I turn the heat completely off the large electric griddle I
had been struggling with and rub gently the burn on my arm as I head toward the
front door. As I round the corner from the kitchen into the living room, I slam
my bare foot into Ben’s large dump-truck toy, causing a string of curses to
come out of my mouth now as I hobble onward to the door.
My front
door is honey-colored oak and has a large oval glass inset with a beveled
flower design. Gina had picked it out and had it installed, claiming that it
allowed more light into the front entranceway. I thought it was a little too
girly, but I didn’t argue with her. The house was her domain.
The glass
lets me see my visitor on the other side, but provides no details because of
the beveled cuts and partial frosting, which distort the person. But I know who
it is.
Ben’s new
nanny.
Roberta
Francis.
She was
Delaney’s top choice, and after I briefly scanned her application I had to sit
and listen to my sister rave about her. Delaney
felt she was perfect for the job in all respects. She was fantastic with
children, having helped raise her three nephews for a period of time. She was
also a student with a flexible schedule. Delaney actually droned on and on
about this particular situation, but I tuned
her out and started thinking about everything I’d need to do to get the house
ready to put on the market. I was seriously considering selling it. Maybe move
farther out into the country, where we could have some land and Ben could have
a dog.
Finally, I
just cut Delaney off and said, “She sounds perfect. Let’s go with her.”
And now, as
I’m about to open the door to let a woman into my house who will have the most
important of responsibilities in helping me care for my son, I’m suddenly
realizing I don’t know anything about her other than her name and a vague
recollection that she’s a student who helped raise her nephews.
Just fucking great. Way to be an involved and
responsible parent, Zack.
The only
saving grace at this moment is that Delaney thoroughly interviewed this girl,
checked out her references, and was absolutely enchanted with her. I trust
Delaney, so this will be fine. She’ll be great, in fact.
I wish I
believed myself.
I swing the
door open and get my first look at the woman who will be moving into my house
and caring for my son. I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it.
Based on
Delaney’s assessment, I expected her to have a superhero’s cape on, or at the
very least a shiny gold halo and massive angel wings sprouting out of her back.
Instead…she’s
sort of unremarkable.
She stares
up at me with round, crystal-blue eyes that are devoid of any makeup and
surrounded by brown plastic-framed glasses. Her hair is dark, held back with a
headband and twisted up behind her so I have no clue how long it is. She’s
small, barely coming up to my shoulder, and swimming in an oversized, extremely
faded red NC State sweatshirt and baggy jeans that look about two sizes too big
for her. An old backpack slung over her shoulder and a pair of well-worn tennis
shoes complete her outfit.
“Roberta?” I
ask hesitantly, because suddenly I’m thinking this may be someone soliciting
something…or maybe even a homeless person looking for a meal. The way those
clothes completely swallow her makes me think she’s starving underneath all
that material.
She gives me
an outwardly bright smile and sticks a delicate hand out toward me. Her
sweatshirt is so big, her sleeves are rolled up around her wrists. “Actually…I
go by Kate. Roberta’s my first
name, which I was named after my daddy, Robert, but seriously…who wouldn’t hate
that name? So I go by my middle name, which is Kathryn, actually. So I shorted
it down to Kate, because Kathryn sounds just so…I don’t know…like a Catholic
saint or something, and I’m not Catholic. I was raised Southern Baptist, but I
really don’t go to church anymore, so—”
She pauses
…finally, and takes a deep breath. Her smile goes from politely earnest to a
sheepish grin, and she gives an apologetic shrug. “Sorry…I’m nervous and I tend
to prattle when I’m nervous.”
I just blink
at her, completely shocked silent. I have no clue what to think about this
strange woman…no, girl, I think,
because she looks so fucking young.
“How old are
you?” I ask, my eyes glancing suspiciously at her hand still extended toward
me.
“Twenty-three,”
she says. “Didn’t Delaney tell you about me? You knew I was coming today,
right?”
“Um…yeah,
she did. I guess I didn’t hear her mention your age,” I mutter.
Kate takes a
small step forward and pushes her hand farther toward me, giving me a pointed
look. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Her voice is
soft, with a moderate southern twang. I can’t remember if Delaney told me where
she was from or not. Fuck…I
can’t remember anything she said.
I reach out
hesitantly and shake her hand. It’s tiny and her bones feel small, but she
grips me surely. “Yeah…uh, nice to meet you too,” I say absently.
Our hands
break apart and we just stare at each other.
Cat's Review
What can I say? With each book in this series, Ms. Bennett has blown me away! Although I loved the first two books of the series, "Alex" and "Garret", this book just hit me deep in the soul. Zack, a professional hockey player that recently suffered a terrible loss, has a lot of trouble accepting that he can feel anything again, and even though he wants to, he's afraid. Zack is strong and charismatic and an amazing father but his heartbreak is real and his agony painful. Enter Kate - a bubbly, full of life nanny for his son. Kate is beyond wonderful - she's sweet, funny, energetic, caring and nurturing. She understands Zack's in pain and works hard just to make him smile, even if it's just once in a while. I simply adored her - she's a fighter and hard worker but is still a "Daddy's" girl. It was nice to see the relationship she had with her dad, despite his shortcomings. Together, Zack and Kate are terrific and their chemistry sizzles, but of course, Ms. Bennett needs to pull at the heartstrings more and more. Throughout the book, the heartache was there- Zack's never-ending guilt over the accident, the death of Gina, and his feelings (or lack there of) for Kate. I smiled, cried and cheered throughout. Getting to see some of Alex and Summer was fun too. Ms. Bennett has become one of my all time favorite authors and this series is on top of my re-read list as well. Up next from Ms. Bennett is Ryker and, as I have after reading the first three, I'm super excited for it to be released. (received copy for honest review)
★★★★★
AUTHOR INFO
USA Today and New York Times Best-Selling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. Her husband works for a Fortune 100 company which lets him fly all over the world while she stays at home with their daughter and three big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn’t have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.
Sawyer is the author of several contemporary romances including the popular Off Series, the Legal Affairs Series and the Last Call Series. She will be releasing her third book in the Cold Fury Hockey Series with Random House Loveswept, June 2015.
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Thank you for hosting ZACK! So happy you enjoyed! RYKER Sign Ups are coming soon!
ReplyDeleteOoh! So excited! LOVE this series! :o)
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