Part of Toronto Terror
First published 2026
One impulsive night, Bex asks Flip Madden to sleep with her. She regrets the words the second they leave her mouth. Flip is older, famous, and the most reformed playboy in professional hockey. More to the point, her father coaches his team, and a hockey stick to the skull is a real possibility if this ever gets out. Flip says no. Of course he does. Bex tells herself that settles it. Except nothing is settled. Flip starts showing up at her university recitals with flowers. He reads every book she mentions. His eyes track her across every room they share. He is more careful with her now, not less interested. Bex has to decide whether the no he gave her was a rejection or a delay. She also has to decide how much she is willing to risk on a man who could detonate her relationship with her father and her own sense of self-control. The central pull of the story is not will they or won't they. It is whether Bex can trust that someone who has every reason to walk away is choosing, deliberately, to stay close.
Genres: romance, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional, intimate, romantic, slow-burn, tension-filled
Tropes: forced-proximity, second-chance, slow-burn
Setting: university
522 pages · Paperback · Helena Hunting