Penn Navarro works hard on the ice to be the best, but as soon as the game is over he retreats into his own world, distancing himself from his teammates and refusing to let anyone in. He is haunted by an incident from his past, but in the current season, his past is catching up to him in the form of Mila Brennan. When she tracks him down, all his carefully constructed walls begin to fall.

Mila’s arrival in town threatens the secrets Penn has been keeping from everyone around him. But she is terrified that if the secrets don’t come out, she is in danger. There are threats that begin with Mila’s arrival, though the threats are what sent her looking for Penn. Together they will have to figure out how to contain the danger and what their proximity means to each other.

This was a sweet story. I loved watching Penn’s protective nature come out when Mila arrived. He may not have reached out to his teammates before, but for Mila he breaks character and steps out of his comfort zone. As quickly as the team embraced her (I wasn’t surprised by that bit), it had to chuckle that she didn’t understand the meaning behind Penn’s actions towards her, in regards to the team and team families. Watching them both juggle their growing feelings just felt warm and fuzzy throughout.

There were some fun crossover moments for longtime Sawyer Bennett fans. Because the threat coming after Mila and Penn is scary enough that they get private security involved, and the way Jameson Force Security swoops in to save the day with fan favorite cameos and references was a treat. I love the introduction to some new players, and the way those new teammates jump in without assumptions of the players made for some highly entertaining interactions. I am looking forward to Lucky’s book, coming up next. As a new member of the team, we don’t know him well, but he came in with all the energy and is quickly bonding with his new team. I can’t wait to see what kind of social media chaos he creates in the next book!