Blurb:

The jock, the geek, and the hockey project…

Jett

My pro hockey dreams are hanging by a thread. I need to have a great season, and that means no partying, no distractions, no fun. A grad student’s science experiment is the definition of no fun, so…okay.

Pros and cons of agreeing to this deal: 

Pro: Positive use of free time. (At least, that’s what my agent says.) 

Con: Malcolm is bossy, clumsy, and he doesn’t know the first thing about hockey. 

But he’s also cute and he’s got a great sense of humor and—oh, no. 

I cannot have a crush on the geek. No way. Not now.

Malcolm

Yes, I’m a serious student, but a hockey project is not serious. Who cares about big, hunky hockey players zipping around a sheet of ice at warp speed? Not I. 

According to my professor, however, the only way to attain the required data is to study the specimen in his natural habitat, a.k.a., the ice rink. 

Pro:  My thesis should lead to a bevy of job offers. 

Con: Jett. He’s impossibly big and gruff and handsome and disarmingly charming and—

Fine. Guilty. I like the jock…perhaps too much. 

Lately, I find myself wondering if there’s such a thing as a one-time shot at forever. 

One-Time Shot is a low-angst, geek-jock MM bisexual college hockey romance featuring a charismatic hockey star and an adorkable scientist.

AVAILABLE NOW

*****

Excerpt:

My control was slipping, though. Every fucking thing about this guy turned me on and I couldn’t figure it out. 

Malcolm was cute, not hot. He was quirky, not cool. He wasn’t athletic in the slightest, but he had more confidence than a lot of seasoned hockey players. He knew who he was and what he wanted. And he was willing to try something new to achieve his goals. I admired that kind of drive. 

I just wished that I admired the curve of his ass in those khakis a little less as he moved to the small kitchen table and held up a pad of paper and a pen. 

“I’m ready to begin. We didn’t discuss how much time to allot for these sessions, but I think forty-five minutes will suffice.”

“Uh…right. That works for me.” I licked my lips, tilting my chin toward the windows. Pull it together, Erickson. “Nice place, by the way. I like your plants.” 

“Thank you.” 

He blushed. An honest-to-God blush with pink cheeks and averted eyes. I found myself grinning again…for no particular reason.

“Do you have a green thumb?” 

I half expected him to change the subject, get down to business, so he could throw my ass out the door in precisely forty-four minutes and twenty seconds, but Malcolm glanced at the plants, nodding as he sat at the table. 

“I do. My parents have a large vegetable garden in their yard. I took charge of it from the time I was ten till I left for college. I switched out some of the less-yielding crops for lettuce, corn, and squash, and grew tons of tomatoes. They tend to it now. Sadly, not as well as I did.”

See what I mean about this guy? 

“You’re bragging, Maloney. I like that confidence.” 

Malcolm snorted. “I’m not bragging. I’m stating a fact. My parents are lovely people yet serial houseplant killers. The vegetables stand a better chance outdoors where Mother Nature can care for them till I arrive to save the day.” 

“You’re funny.”

“Hilarious,” he confirmed, pointing at the chair across from him. “Shall we begin?”

“Sure.” I sat, shifting under the weight of his expectant gaze. 

“I took the liberty of creating a short syllabus, including a diagram of a rink and an index of hockey terminology.” Malcolm pushed his laptop toward me. “I’ve memorized all of them. Quiz me if you’d like.” 

I scrolled through his proposed outline covering etymology, history, tactics, rules, and a very fucking long glossary which included slang. “Whoa. Did you google this?” 

“It’s a compilation of sources, each credited in the attached bibliography,” he replied.

“You made a bibliography.”

“Of course. One must give credit where credit is due.” Malcolm scooted his chair closer and reached over to scroll through a list of annotations. “See?” 

Yeah, I saw. And I was a little pissed at myself for being so slow. 

“You’re trying to scare me away,” I stated. 

“No, I’m helping you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t see how this helps either of us. What do etymology and history have to do with measuring speed?”

“Well…nothing, but—” 

“Here you have ‘biscuit’ and ‘biscuit in the basket.’ ” I gestured at the screen. “These are very unscientific terms, Maloney.”

“True, but I know those. The biscuit is the puck and putting the biscuit into the basket is to make a goal.” Malcolm beamed. “Correct, yes?” 

My lips twisted in amusement. “Yes. Can you use this info in your thesis?”

He fiddled with his glasses. “Undetermined, but doubtful.”’

*****

Review:

Malcolm is aaalll the adorkableness that I could want. He’s awkward and sweet and caring and smart. He can be stuffy and old fashioned in his speech but he throws himself full bodied in things that interest him. Including Jett.

Jett may be an athlete and not as academic as Malcolm but he works hard for what he wants, for his future. He’s also got a good head on his shoulders, one that recognizes what a good thing he’s found in Malcolm.

These two shouldn’t work together but they do. They listen and open up to each other and they are willing to put everything on the line when they have to. I just … *sigh* love them together. It may have started out as research, morphed into something a little more intimate but soon it turned into something even more. Timing may not be on their side tho.

I adore Hayes’s books. I enjoy the sweetness mixed with heat, characters that just have me from the first page, and a HEA that never disappoints. I need more from her, and this series, as soon as I can get it.

*****

Author Info:

Lane Hayes  lives in sunny Southern California with her amazing husband, who thankfully doesn’t mind cooking, and their fabulous fox red Labrador, George, who’s pure mischief. Both provide oodles of inspiration for the low-angst, humorous books Lane loves to write.

She’s been telling stories about sexy, funny, sometimes geeky and quirky men who find love for a dozen years now and loving every minute. In her previous life, she sat at a desk and dealt with numbers, so yes…romance is much more satisfying!

Lane loves tea, travel, and chocolate…in any order. Add a book and she’s set!My Readers’ Group, Lane’s Lovers: https://bit.ly/3aIbMYg

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Website: www.lane-hayes.com
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