Zack
Cold Fury Hockey # 3
By: Sawyer Bennett
Releasing June 9, 2015
Loveswept
~*SYNOPSIS*~
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.
~*EXCERPT*~
~*REVIEW BY VANESSA*~~*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.
Anyone whose read my reviews knows how much of a fan I am of Sawyer and how I love everything she writes. This one is no different and may be my favorite book of hers ever! If you haven’t read any of the Cold Fury Series I highly suggest you do so just to get some back ground info on our characters in this book. In Alex and Garrett you read about how much in love Zack and his girlfriend, Gina, love each other and how perfect they are together. When tragedy hits and Gina passes away, leaving Zack and Ben, their son, Zack has to step up and really be the single parent his son needs; on top of feeling the grief and guilt of Gina’s death. A little after four months of helping out Zack’s sister Delany tells him that he will need to hire a live-in babysitter so Ben can be taken care of during the approaching hockey season, which is how we meet Kate. Kate couldn’t believe that she would be the live in nanny for Cold Fury player Zack but she couldn’t be more delighted, that is until she gets a not so warm welcome from him on the first day of her job. No problem on her part though, because she sets him straight from the very start letting him know that she will not take anything but respect from him. While Ben may love her already, Zack isn’t taking to her that fast which is fine, since he can’t seem to understand or want to be around her insane dorkiness. Until one night Zack sees past her disguise and has attraction smack him in the face. Zack tries to fight it the best he can but the fact that he is feeling anything after not feeling in four months is something he can’t run from. Giving into temptation may be a good idea at first but once the guilt starts to set in, it threatens to ruin this new found happiness. Can Zack let go of his guilt once and for all and find his missing piece? Read it and find out!! I highly recommend Sawyer Bennett and all her books so if you enjoy this definitely check out the rest!!!
~*ABOUT THE AUTHOR*~
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.
~*SOCIAL & BUY LINKS*~
Thank you for hosting ZACK today!
ReplyDelete