Chapter 1

Madison

“Seriously? You’re asking me to travel to Colorado?” I am not impressed. I live in Austin, Texas. Lived here all my life, all twenty-two years of them and I have no intention of relocating anytime soon. And I have my little dog to think about, Honey-Belle, the love of my life a cute pale Chihuahua.

Hi, I’m Madison Lane and I’m a digital sports journalist. I attended Austin University because I’m a real home body and love being close to my folks, my sister Henri who works as a librarian in our small hometown, my brother Jefferson who is currently between jobs and following his music career. Someday he is going to make it big, and he can support my Gucci buying habit.

Yeah, I love Gucci and all things pink except for my nail polish which always has to be siren red. Although I do break my rule for coral in the summer.

“Yes, Colorado.” My boss is saying as she stands at the door of my goldfish bowl office where I still have no blinds up. Honestly, I’ve been hassling our maintenance team for months to fit my office out with some privacy blinds. How hard can it be? “And the assignment starts in one week, so you need to get your skates on with this.”

One week, is he joking? He’s joking right? I look at Ruben as if he is from another planet. “Don’t give me that look young lady.” He raises his bushy eyebrows to his forehead.

“Er, I don’t think you can get away with saying that.” I tell him. Ruben is in his early forties, so he ought to know better. It’s not like he is a dinosaur and to be honest for running his own reporting agency, he’s done extremely well having worked his way up from the bottom covering menial stories to setting up on his own. This guy has worked his butt off and then some. His wife Jocelyn tells me she hardly ever sees him and that’s why their twenty-year relationship has survived. Sounds good to me. I’m thinking that a relationship where you have benefits but don’t have to see each other that often can work pretty well.

Especially since I am the QUEEN of failed relationships. First there was my high school boyfriend, Lanson. He was the jock of the school and played quarterback, he was a couple of years older than me. I was so in love with him it physically hurt. Then I found out he was fucking someone else behind my back. Some girl in college. Go figure, right?

“Maybe not. Apologies. But this is a big story and you’re the best girl. Er, woman for the job.” He runs his hands through his dirty-blonde hair. His brown eyes look tired, too many late nights at the office and a couple of young kids at home can do that to you. So I hear.

Where was I? Yeah, my miserable failed encounters with the opposite sex. At Uni I dated a law student, he was kind of cute until he decided to go all weird on me. First everything was perfect, you know how it is. You can’t keep your hands off each other, you have to spend literally every minute with one another, kissing is like your lifeline and sex is the only thing you can think off. And yeah, we were that inseparable, coochy-coo couple that everyone was jealous of.

Until Riley decided he wanted to take a role in New York when he was done studying. He’d been made an offer that even I knew was too good to resist. Yet, NYC isn’t for me no way. Like I said, I’m a home girl I love where I live, and I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else except for a holiday. We fizzled out, there was no way we wanted a long-distance relationship. Okay, I’m bending the truth here a bit. I could have gone with it but he couldn’t.

His words. Babe, I need someone by my side, and I don’t want to be dealing with the stress of coming and going, getting on and off planes, working through manic schedules… There was more to it, but I’m guessing you get my drift.

“What’s the detail?” I ask Ruben as I tap away at my keys on the laptop. I’ve got a deadline on a piece I’ve just run for the local high school basketball team, some up and coming player, Milton Swaney is going to be the next big thing. Trust me, I have an eye for spotting them and he’s already got about every scout sniffing after him right now.

“It’s to cover Alex Stone.” My ears prick up. Not THE Alex Stone? Golden boy of the NHL scene. The one with a potty mouth and the total man whore. His face is plastered everywhere and always with some new girl. He doesn’t have the best image but as the captain for the Coldridge Icebreakers, he plays a brilliant centre. He is the star of the NHL right now and can do no wrong.

“Are you shitting me?”

“Nope. You’ve basically got to follow him around 24/7 and report back on a daily basis with your Vlog and social posts.” I feel a migraine coming on. I don’t want to be associated with Alex Stone. Hell, I have never met him, and I don’t like him.

“Can’t you assign someone else? I don’t think I can do this. He’s really not my kind of player.”

“Be serious, Madison. He’s the best there is right now. Besides, with the playoffs coming up, you are the only one who can do the job. You’re the best and you’re covering it.”

“But Colorado? Alex Stone. This is my worst nightmare.”

“Tough. I’ve secured you an apartment and you take your dog of course. All expenses paid plus a rewarding bonus.” Okay, the word bonus always makes my heart race some and gives me that feeling you get when you eat milk chocolate.

“Please.” Ruben implores with his puppy dog eyes. I’ve worked for him for the last two years and honestly, I’d feel like a total bitch if I let him down. I know I’m the best he’s got on the team. What choice have I got.

I guess I ought to start packing and get myself organized to move to Colorado for the next six months or so. But Alex Stone. Ugh.