Todos os capítulos de The Hockey Captain’s One-Rule Romance : Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Lena’s PovMy phone bill was blinking red on the screen, and my heart felt like a heavy stone sitting right in my throat. I stared at the kitchen table in our small apartment, watching my sister Mia stir her plain oatmeal with a plastic spoon. She tried to smile at me, but I could see the dark shadows under her eyes. She was only seventeen, but she worried about money just as much as I did."Did you find anything new online, Lena?" she asked softly, her voice barely louder than the hum of our broken refrigerator."Lots of things," I lied, forcing my lips into a stretched-out smile that felt completely fake. "Just waiting to hear back. Don't you worry about a thing, okay? Eat your breakfast."An hour later, I was walking down the busy city sidewalk with my best pair of flat shoes, the ones with the worn-out soles. My legs felt shaky because I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, saving the last bit of bread for Mia. The sky above was gray and heavy, threatening to pour rain

Carter’s PovThe camera flash is so bright it feels like lightning striking right inside my brain. I stand there in my stiff, expensive tuxedo, forcing myself to smile for the reporters shouting our names. But my eyes keep sliding sideways to Lena.She wears a simple dark blue dress that cost more than my first second-hand car, yet she looks like she is just wearing jeans to walk in the park. She does not smile wide like she is trying to sell toothpaste. She does not lean all over my arm like a model trying to steal the spotlight. She just stands there, calm and quiet, as if standing next to a professional hockey player on a red carpet is the most normal thing in the world."Lena! Carter!" a loud voice shouts from the front row of reporters. A man with a sharp, greasy smile pushes his microphone forward. "Is it true you're only with him for his money, Lena? How much is the contract?"My jaw tightens so hard my teeth ache. Before I can open my mouth to tell this jerk where to go, Lena

Lena’s PovMy phone starts buzzing on the bedside table at six o'clock in the morning, and it doesn't stop.Vibrate, buzz, ring. Vibrate, buzz, ring.I pull the heavy white duvet over my head, groaning as I reach out blindly to grab the screen. When I swipe it open, my eyes nearly pop out of my head. The internet is completely broken. Every single sports website, celebrity gossip blog, and social media feed has the exact same picture right at the top of the page. It is a crystal-clear, high-zoom photograph of Carter and me kissing in the dark living room, framed perfectly by the massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the penthouse.My heart jumps straight up into my throat. I stare at the screen, my fingers trembling so badly I almost drop the phone.How? How is that picture even real?The windows of this penthouse are on the fiftieth floor. There are no other buildings this tall anywhere near us. A street photographer standing down on the sidewalk could never get an angle like tha

Lena’s PovThe cold, polished marble of the Hayes family mansion felt like a giant cage waiting to lock its doors around me. I had agreed to come to this dinner not because Victor had earned my trust, but because I refused to let any rich, arrogant man intimidate me into silence.Carter stood right beside me in the grand, echoing foyer, his jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth might crack. He glared across the hall at his father, who had just suggested that I should have arrived alone so the family could interview me like a job applicant."She is not coming alone, Victor," Carter snapped, his deep voice bouncing off the high ceilings. "She comes with me, or I walk out right now."Victor just gave a cold, smooth smile, waving a hand dismissively. "As you wish, my boy. Let us go in to the dining room."Before we walked out of the bedroom upstairs, Carter had carefully helped me fasten the cold metal clasp of a silver necklace chosen by his stylist. When his warm fingers brushed agai

Lena’s PovMy eyes snapped wide open, and my whole body froze like a statue carved out of ice. The first thing I noticed was the steady, heavy thump-thump of a heartbeat right beneath mycheek. The second thing I noticed was the heavy weight of a warm, muscular arm wrappedsecurely around my waist. And the third thing—the thing that made my face burn brighter thana blazing fire—was that my leg was completely tangled up with his under the soft duvet, and Iwas plastered against Carter Hayes's chest like we had been glued together. For a few long seconds, I didn't move an inch. I just lay there, breathing in the clean scent ofcedar and rain on his skin, listening to his heart, and letting myself enjoy the incredible warmthof his arms. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. The harsh, arrogant lines around hismouth were completely gone, and he didn't look like a billionaire hockey captain or a manhunted by reporters. He just looked like Carter. Suddenly, the slow breathing sto