Enemies in the Penalty Box

Two rival captains. One massive PR nightmare. A tiny penalty box where the ice is the only thing not melting.
Ethan Cole is the golden boy captain of the Boston Titans. He has the perfect face, the perfect media answers, and a carefully constructed pristine image. But underneath the perfect tape job and the fierce discipline, the anxiety is suffocating. He needs everything to be flawless, because the alternative is shattering entirely.
Rory Kincaid is the Detroit Iron’s notorious villain. Broad, brutal, and dangerous on the ice, he absorbs the hits and the hatred so his team doesn’t have to. The sports world thinks he’s a mindless bruiser, but off the ice, he’s reading ancient philosophy and fostering a one-eyed rescue dog. He knows exactly who he is—and he knows exactly what Ethan is desperately hiding behind his polished smile.
When a vicious on-ice collision and a viral post-game chirp force the hockey league to step in, Ethan and Rory are ordered into a joint PR campaign to rehabilitate their images. Forced to share mock penalty boxes, tight plane seats, and charity galas, the bitter rivalry morphs into something entirely unexpected. Rory sees right past Ethan’s anxiety-riddled perfectionism, and his low, gravelly praise might be the only thing that quiets Ethan’s racing mind.
They were supposed to just smile for the cameras and respect the game. But the closer they get in the dark, the harder it is to fake it in the light. And when the gloves finally come off, neither man will walk away the same.