Empire State Hockey Series by Lexi James

Sawyer Daniels had a plan.She’d teach at the daycare and go to class until she finished her degree. Once a week, she would bartend at the strip club, Atlantis, to earn the money she needed to break free.She just had to make it until graduation, and then, with any luck she’d be out of this mess.But one night, she meets Rex Lockwood. The hot and broody man she’d been eyeing one night at work... moreSawyer Daniels had a plan.She’d teach at the daycare and go to class until she finished her degree. Once a week, she would bartend at the strip club, Atlantis, to earn the money she needed to break free.She just had to make it until graduation, and then, with any luck she’d be out of this mess.But one night, she meets Rex Lockwood. The hot and broody man she’d been eyeing one night at work. When one thing leads to another, she ends the night in his lap where lines between work and pleasure begin to blur.To make matters worse, he’s the new university hockey coach for her brother’s team. The brother she’s currently refusing to speak to.Rex Lockwood never thought he’d be back in New York City, but here he is, back in the hockey world as the men’s hockey coach for his old university. Now that he’s back, he’s promised himself that he will only do what’s best for him and his daughter, not letting anyone close enough to affect her happiness.But when he meets a girl with bright blue eyes and a body made for him, he begins questioning his reasons for keeping everyone at a distance.Can they overcome these obstacles, or will they be driven further apart? less

GwenWanna know what happens when two doctors meet and get married? What about when they get married to each other, and their jobs, then decide to have a kid? Me. I’m what happens. A nurse by the age of twenty-four working at my dream hospital, with the best friends I could ask for. But, at the end of the day, I still walk into an empty apartment. It’s what I grew up with, so I’ve learned how to live independently, almost to the point where I struggle letting people get too close... moreGwenWanna know what happens when two doctors meet and get married? What about when they get married to each other, and their jobs, then decide to have a kid? Me. I’m what happens. A nurse by the age of twenty-four working at my dream hospital, with the best friends I could ask for. But, at the end of the day, I still walk into an empty apartment. It’s what I grew up with, so I’ve learned how to live independently, almost to the point where I struggle letting people get too close. So, I just throw myself into my job in an attempt to fill the void of loneliness. But then I met Cade, my big, grumpy friend who’s slowly taken down my wall brick by brick, sneaking his way into the void.CadeBeing arguably the best goalie in the NHL on a team full of some of my best friends should make me feel like I’m on top of the world, but it doesn’t. It’s been like this since I was seventeen, I figured out then that I was better off alone. Well, more so that everyone else around me was better off without me, so I pushed everyone away, keeping even my best friends at arms-length. My family has spent years trying to pull me back in, but it wasn’t until I met Gwen that I actually wanted to listen. But I’ve been known to break promises, and the one thing I’ve learned is that promises can change your life. Especially pinky promises. less

STELLAMy bakery is my prized possession—the one thing I can say I did pretty much on my own. My family has always helped whenever I’ve let them, albeit not as often as they’d like me to.But when a situation arises that I can’t handle on my own, it’s hard to turn down a hot NHL player when he offers to help.Should be simple enough…if only he wasn’t my brother’s best friend, and the only man to make my toes curl from a kiss... moreSTELLAMy bakery is my prized possession—the one thing I can say I did pretty much on my own. My family has always helped whenever I’ve let them, albeit not as often as they’d like me to.But when a situation arises that I can’t handle on my own, it’s hard to turn down a hot NHL player when he offers to help.Should be simple enough…if only he wasn’t my brother’s best friend, and the only man to make my toes curl from a kiss.MILESI moved across the country a week after signing with the New York Cyclones. That was also the week I met her. I wish I could say it was some epic love story…but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The night I met Stella was the same night I learned just how off limits she was.As the new guy on the team, I wasn’t about to break the golden rule that first week, especially when my teammates quickly became family. But years later, things have changed, and when Stella finds herself in a sticky situation—refusing help from everyone except me—what kind of man would I be to leave her to fend for herself?I just didn’t expect I’d fall again so fast. less