Between The Lines – Emily Hayes

We’re here because we won a hockey game. Let’s focus on that.” The moderator stepped in, ending the press conference with practiced efficiency. Camille stood on autopilot, her body moving through the motions of departure while her mind raced through implications and contingencies. Photos. Someone had taken photos. The thought looped through her mind like a broken record, each repetition sharper than the last.

The hallway outside the press room was quieter but not private—staff and team personnel moving past, equipment cases being wheeled toward exits, cables coiled over shoulders, the organized chaos of post-game operations echoing off the concrete walls. Lou walked beside her, close but not touching, professional distance maintained for the cameras that might still be watching. They didn’t speak until they reached the elevator. The doors closed, sealing them into temporary privacy, and Camille’s composure cracked.

“Photos.” The word came out strangled. “Lou, there are photos.” “I know.” Lou’s voice was steady. “I saw them this morning. Didn’t want to mention it before the game.” “You knew? You knew and you didn’t tell me?” “Would it have helped you play better?” Lou’s steady gaze held hers, no judgment, just the practical clarity that defined everything she did.

“You needed to focus. We both did. The game mattered.” Camille wanted to argue. Wanted to rage against the unfairness of it— the constant surveillance, the assumption that her private life was public property, the reality that even careful containment couldn’t protect them from someone with a long lens and a social media account.

Instead, she sagged against the elevator wall. “I’m not ready.” Her voice cracked on the admission. “I know we talked about it, I know I said I wanted time, but—Lou, I’m not ready. If this gets out before I’m ready⁠—” “It won’t.” Lou stepped closer, blocking her from the elevator’s security camera.

“The photos don’t show anything. Two women at a table in a restaurant. That’s it. People can speculate, but speculation isn’t proof.” “Speculation is enough for some people.” “Then we give them nothing else to speculate about.” Lou’s hand came up to cup Camille’s face, a brief, dangerous touch that lasted only a heartbeat. “We’re careful in public. We don’t change anything. And when you’re ready—if you’re ever ready—it happens on your terms. Not theirs.”

1kitap1.com/en ou’s hotel room overlooked the city that had built Camille and broken her in equal measure. They’d retreated here after the press conference, after the exhausting performance of professionalism that had left Camille hollow and aching. The rest of the team had scattered to their own rooms, chasing sleep before tomorrow’s final media obligations and the flight home. But Camille had followed Lou through the door without asking, without explaining, and Lou had let her in without question.

Now they stood by the window, watching Manhattan’s lights pulse against the dark sky. The room smelled like hotel soap and the particular staleness of climate-controlled air.

Welcome to Phoenix Ridge Hockey — I’m so glad you’re here. This series is all about powerful women, high stakes, and the kind of love that doesn’t stay neatly inside the lines. Between the Lines kicks things off with elite women’s hockey, fierce ambition, and a romance that burns… and I hope you fall just as hard for Lou and Camille as I did. If you’re new to Phoenix Ridge, welcome to a city where the women hold the power and the feelings run deep.

And if you’ve been here before — it’s so good to have you back. Now lace up. The season’s about to begin. With love, Emily 1kitap1.com/en T 1 he puck cracked off Lou’s stick with the sharp, satisfying sound that had defined her life for twenty years. She watched it sail into the corner, exactly where she’d aimed, and allowed herself half a second of satisfaction before the whistle cut through the morning practice. “Calder. Office. Now.” Coach Peterson’s voice carried across the ice, flat and bored.

He’d been phoning it in for months. They all had, in different ways. When your team barely scraped together enough sponsorship money for decent equipment, when half your players worked second jobs to afford the privilege of playing semi-pro hockey, enthusiasm became a luxury nobody could afford. Lou’s skates carved a familiar path toward the boards.

Around her, the Phoenix Ridge Valkyries continued their drills, the scrape and clash of practice filling the rink’s hollow acoustics. Sweat cooled on her neck as she glided past the blue line, that particular chill of exertion meeting arena cold. The smell of ice and rubber hung thick in the air, underlaid with the industrial cleaning solution Lou herself had mopped across these floors at two in the morning more times than she could count.

She knew every crack in the concrete, every stain on the boards, every temperamental light fixture that flickered when the temperature dropped. She pulled off her helmet as she stepped off the ice, her short dark hair damp and sticking to her forehead.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 32eef5036a54f490
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,399,074 bytes (1.334 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 200
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 314.33 minutes
• Total Words: 62,866
• Total Characters: 377,285
• Average Words per Page: 314.33
• Average Characters per Page: 1886.42

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