Slap Shot: Bryant — Alicia Hunter Pace

Two deeply scarred souls struggle with forbidden feelings in this heartfelt second novel in the Nashville Sound series.

Life has taught defenseman Bryant Taylor never to look back and never to get serious about a woman. His ill, pregnant wife died while he was off playing an away game, leaving him -- and both their families -- heartbroken. Jokes and puck bunnies are his style now, and he's sticking to it.

Gabriella Charbonnet has idolized her brother Emile since he rescued her from their violently abusive father when she was eleven -- and he's supported her ever since. He even agreed to play for the Sound so that she could apprentice as a pastry chef in nearby Beauford, Tennessee.

When Bryant and Gabriella find themselves thrown together at a society fundraiser, sparks fly. But Gabriella wants nothing to do with hockey players, aside from her brother, who just so happens to be Bryant's best friend. The first rule of the bro code? Don't mess with sisters.

There are plenty of reasons why starting a relationship would be all kinds of wrong, yet walking away from each other doesn't prove to be as easy as they thought.