Love in a Contract Paperback

A shy accountant, a pro hockey player and a past they can't forget. Ruby Hunter gets nervous talking to people. And with a camera around? Forget it. When she's offered the chance to be on The Suitor, the only reason she accepts is that it's an opportunity to conquer her fears, all at once. Little does she know the leading guy is her ex-fiance, who she broke up with eight years earlier, the one regret she's had in her adult life. Carson Carver is painted as the bad boy for the media and doing this show is his chance to prove them all wrong. He hopes seeing his good side will change his image and keep him playing for the Boston Breeze hockey team for more than just a year. When one of the contestants turns out to be his high school sweetheart, he's not sure if he can stand reliving the past. As dates force them to confront the past, can they forgive one another and move forward? Or will their history keep them apart?

  Chapter 1

  Running a hand through his hair, Carson Carver’s insides burned with irritation. “What do you mean this is the best opportunity I’m going to get?” 

      His agent Sterling Wallace stood in front of him in the empty locker room of the Boston Breeze. His eyes darted about, meaning he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the conversation. Carson wasn’t happy about it either. When he’d asked his agent to find ways for him to stay in the city, he didn’t think reality show contestant would even be an option.

      With his lungs on fire from skating even after practice, his brain was still fuzzy, trying to comprehend everything Sterling was saying. He pulled his foot up, untying his skate and wiping the leftover ice from the blades. 

      Sterling sat on one of the locker benches, his legs bouncing up and down. “You’ve told me to do everything I can to keep you here. Being the main guy on The Suitor is going to help your image—”

      “Help my image?” Carson broke in. The vein near his temple popped out, a throbbing starting in his forehead. This wasn’t something he wanted to talk about. 

      With a quick motion, Sterling walked toward Carson, phone out. “This was at the newsstand this morning, Carson.” The image showed today’s newspaper for the Boston World, the bold words proclaiming, “Hockey bad boy hits more than the puck.” A picture of him standing next to his car in the middle of a pile up on Route 3 stared back at him. How did people get these photos?

      At least it’s not the worst thing they’ve printed. 

      Guilt ran through him as he thought of past mistakes. His mother, if she were still alive, wouldn’t be happy about seeing another article with her son in it, especially when it wasn’t his fault. The newspapers used to showcase his skills on the ice, but lately, it seemed to home in on all the mistakes. When had things gotten so bad?

Keeping his voice at a normal volume, he said, “You think that doing this reality show will help me stick around Boston?”

“Listen, Carson. You’re a great skater, a skilled athlete. But the Breeze needs someone who’s got their head on straight, who’ll do everything to help the team win the Stanley Cup at the end of the season.” Sterling paused for a moment. “You’re not a bad guy, I think you’ve just been labeled that for too long. We need to show management your good side.”

Carson stood, unable to sit still any longer. He scrubbed his face with his hands and took a few steps across the length of the locker room beneath the Boston Breeze arena. 

“Why me?” he said, almost rhetorically.

“You’ve got good friends. The show is sponsored in part by a matchmaking company here in town, Love, Austen?”

Realization dawned. “Parker.” 

Carson began his career in Michigan, but it had been his dream to play for the Breeze since he was young. He’d been traded back to Boston toward the middle of last season and even though they’d been knocked out of the post season early, it was like a dream come true.

But it was returning to rowing, which he’d loved back in high school, that helped him meet Parker and the other guys who rowed on the Charles River every Saturday morning. He’d met Meg Austen, a couple of weeks ago when they’d gotten together with their rowing group for dinner at his restaurant, Top Shelf.

Sterling nodded. “Meg suggested you to the film crew, and they contacted me.”

Carson frowned. “I’ve got a full schedule as it is with workouts and trainings. How am I supposed to squeeze in a knockoff of The Bachelor?”

“We’ll make it work. Make sure you get workouts in before taping and then schedule any of the bigger trips around your schedule. It will be great for the fans. It’s the off-season anyway, so you can relax.”

With a sigh, Carson shuffled his feet with each step. “I can’t if I want to stay here long term. You really think this will boost my image?”

Sterling flashed him a wide grin. “Are you kidding? What better way than to show everyone 

who you really are? The hometown boy who’s been misunderstood?” 

      Thinking back to the few snippets he’d seen of The Bachelor, he asked, “Do I actually have to marry the girl?” He wanted to choke on the last words, worried that by saying them, it cemented his future. All he could see in his mind’s eye were women fawning over him, making a big fool out of themselves and him. If there was one thing he didn’t like, it was looking like a fool.

      Auburn hair and light green eyes popped into his mind, and it took everything to seal the door shut again.

      Eight years, and you still can’t forget, can you, Carson? 

      Sterling walked over and rested a hand on Carson’s shoulder. “You can do whatever you want. There are no stipulations on this as far as I know.”

      Quirking an eyebrow, Carson said, “Am I allowed to make some of the rules?”

      “I—well, I don’t know. If you can, are you in?” Sterling asked, hope in his voice.

      Carson squirmed. Post-game media interviews and press conferences were a struggle for him as they only ever asked about what happened off the ice. What would his life be like under the microscope of a full-time camera? Then again, maybe Sterling was right, and it would be to his advantage.

      “Find out that information, and I’ll decide.” Looking at his phone, he could see the end of May was two days away. Instead of taking time off after the season, he’d been progressively kicking things up a notch with each training, hoping to master some of his weaknesses. His image was on that list, but did he have time to squeeze in dates for days?

      Sterling waved goodbye and left the room. How’d he get into a mess like this anyway? He could blame a lot of things, things that happened the last time he’d lived in Boston. But that wouldn’t be fair to her.

      Pulling out his phone, he scrolled until he found his good friend Brennen Peters in his contacts and dialed.

      “Hey, Carson. What’s up?”

      “Not much, man. Do you have time for lunch?” Talking it over with someone might help with the decision.

“I’m just finishing up one of my baking classes with Lexi, but I can meet you in a bit.”

      Taking a deep breath, Carson said, “Yeah, that will be great.” Hanging up the phone, he felt a measure of relief. This was something he wished he could talk to his parents about, get their opinion on the offer. His dad would probably make it a point to say he wouldn’t have to do a show like this if he’d kept his drinking under control from the beginning.

      But he’d been sober for three years now, and maybe someday the media would move onto another topic when it came to him. Maybe a reality show would be the best option for that. Feed them a new topic to help them forget the unfortunate circumstances that led him to three different teams in five years.

      But he was with the Breeze now, and he wouldn’t ruin that chance.