Austin: Hockey is life.

As a 45-year-old divorced single dad, being the varsity hockey coach is the only thing that still brings me joy. When I’m on the ice, I feel so alive, and for those precious moments, I can forget about all my shortcomings. Because of my dedication to my players, we are the league’s reigning champions.

When my best friend's son Brayden tries out, I don't know if there's room for his ego and cockiness on my all-star line-up. But Brayden ignites something inside me that I haven't felt since my divorce.

The attraction doesn’t - and shouldn’t - make any sense. I'd previously been married to a woman, and Brayden is half my age. I'm supposed to push my players' boundaries to their absolute limit, but this boundary I'm pushing with Brayden is definitely out-of-bounds.

It’s only a matter of time until Brayden's dad finds out...

Brayden: Austin's my coach...and my dad’s best friend.

There's something about Austin's boldness as a coach that makes me feel some kind of way.

After many 6:00 AM practices with Austin, our coach-player relationship grows into something much more. This attraction to my coach is sudden. It feels like I'm getting body-checked hard out of nowhere.

There's no doubt we shouldn't be together, at all. But even though I want to stop, it feels like we’re colliding on the rink at 60 miles an hour. If anyone finds out, my dream of playing in the varsity league will be over faster than it began.

Austin is a full-length stand-alone romance novel in the Single Dads Club series, with no cliff-hanger and a HEA. Recommended for 18+ listeners.