The Game That Breaks Us (Us 3)

Hockey’s bad boy needs to clean up his reputation…

Bennett James has built his career at being the best, on and off the ice, and now it’s come back to bite him. The media has turned against him, and with a near career-ending injury, he needs to clean up his act and prove that he’s serious about the game. For Bennett, working with his old coach at his alma mater feels like a step back, but it might be just what he needs.

…and she’s going to help him do it.

Grace Wentworth has always been the good girl, and she’s tired of that stigma. She wants to prove that she can get down and dirty with the best of them. The problem? She doesn’t know how.

Bennett will teach the good girl how to be bad, if she pretends to be his goody two-shoes girlfriend in front of the media.

But what happens when the game becomes real?

“You’ve got to get your act together.”

I glare at my manager, wishing I could set the fucker on fire with my gaze alone. Bernard Wright might be one of the best sports managers in the business, but he’s also an asshole. I’ve come to learn most people are.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“This—” he shoves a finger onto the front cover of some tabloid “—is unacceptable.”

The photo shows me making out with some random puck bunny at a bar. The picture is nothing new. Photographers follow me just about everywhere nowadays, so they’re always catching me doing something they deem scandalous. I call it normal. I’m aware that makes me as much of an asshole as Bernard, but in a different way.

“It was just a kiss,” I say. “It’s not like I fucked her right there on the bar. Give me a break. I don’t even remember her name.”

Bernard snaps his fingers together. “Exactly, you don’t even know her name. You’re not new to this business, and I know that there’re plenty of other guys out there just like you, but most of them aren’t in your predicament.” He glances down at my casted leg. I try to pretend the cast isn’t there and him drawing attention to it only sours my mood even more. “You’re about five seconds away from losing your career between this injury and your personal life. Hockey should be more important than chasing tail. Figure out your priorities and clean up your act, Bennett, or I won’t be able to help you.” He raises his hands, signaling that he’s done.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

Hockey is my life. I can’t lose that—I won’t lose it.

“What do you propose I do then?”

He shrugs. “You figure it out, Bennett. I’ve cleaned up too many of your messes, made it easy for you, and I’m not doing it anymore. You need to do what you can to get back out on the ice, and while you’re at it, you need to change the media’s perception of you. Think you can do that?”

I grin. “Fake it till you make it, right?”

He smiles and leans back in his plush leather chair. “Right. I have faith in you. You’re a good player, so don’t throw away your career.”

I sigh and stand up. “Are we done here?”

“Yes.” He nods and stands to shake my hand.

I leave, already knowing what I have to do to get back on track.

“Fucking hell, of course they’d give me an uppity bitch for a roommate.”

I pause in the doorway to my dorm. “Excuse me?” I gasp. I haven’t set one foot into my dorm room and my roommate already appears to hate me.