Page 45 of The Pucks We Freeze
Thank you for reading The Pucks We Freeze!
As a thank you for preordering and downloading your copy on release day, you have access to a special bonus scene showing a glimpse into the first night Kade and Willow shared together.
Keep scrolling to dive in!
Want more from Rixton U?The Players We Hateis an enemies-to-lovers romance featuring Talon and Wren, packed with secrets, tension, and heat.
Available for FREE with Kindle Unlimited on September 19th!
Preorder The Players We Hate: geni.us/ReadThePlayersWeHate
If you’re craving more sports romance, it’s time to swap your hockey sticks for Saturday night lights.
Football is their game. Falling in love? That was never in the playbook.
The Braysen U boys aren’t just dominant on the field. They’re impossible to resist off it. Whether it’s rivals who can’t stay away, fake relationships that feel too real, or best friends risking it all for love, these stories have all the swoon-worthy drama you crave.
The journey begins withThe Rivals We Hate, featuring Beckham, one of Talon and Owen’s childhood friends.
Available on audio or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Read The Rivals We Hate: geni.us/ReadTheRivalsWeHate
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Kade
The bonfire crackled behind me, sending sparks into the night sky, but none of it registered. Not the crowd, not the music, and not the way people kept calling my name to take shots or play one last round of cornhole.
Because she wasn’t there.
I scanned the tree line past the floodlights, down the hill toward the dock. And there she was.
Willow.
My crush started in my sophomore year. She probably didn’t even remember, but we had English lit together. I was late the first day and ended up in the only open seat—right beside her.
She sat there twirling her pen like the class couldn’t possibly be more boring. But when the teacher started droning on about howRomeo and Julietwas the ultimate love story, she raised her hand without hesitation.
“No offense,” she said, “but Juliet was thirteen and Romeo was a walking red flag.”
The room went dead quiet. Then people started laughing—some uncomfortable, some impressed. But she didn’t flinch. She just smiled, as if she knew she’d dropped a truth bomb no one else wanted to say out loud.
That smile stuck with me. So did the way she tapped her pen against her notebook when she got into something, or how she always wore these oversized sweatshirts like she wanted to disappear.
Even back then, there was something about her. A kind of quiet confidence buried beneath all the sarcasm and those guarded glances. I don’t know if it was a crush or just curiosity atfirst. All I know is, I noticed her long before the graduation party at the lodge.
And now? Now I couldn’tnotnotice her if I tried.
She sat with her legs swinging gently, hands gripping the edge beside her like she needed something to anchor her.
I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I just slipped away, gravel crunching beneath my shoes as I made my way down the hill. With every step, the noise faded, replaced by the quiet hush of the lake and the weight of something unfinished.
She didn’t look up when I sat beside her—only shifted slightly, like maybe she’d been waiting for me all along.
“You disappeared,” I said softly.
“Yeah… parties aren’t really my thing.” Her voice was quiet, almost drowned out by the water lapping beneath the dock.
