Kissing My Hockey Player Ex – Bryn Beck

There’s a streak on her wrist she’s missed. I see it immediately. “Hallie,” I say, then stop. She looks up. “What?” “There’s—” I gesture vaguely toward my own arm. “Paint.” “Oh.” She twists her wrist, frowning. “I thought I got it all.” “You missed a spot.” I shouldn’t move closer. I do anyway. The aisle narrows with every step. Books crowd in on either side, spines brushing my shoulders. Hallie stills as I reach for the cloth in her hand. “Here,” I murmur. My fingers brush her wrist.

It’s barely anything. Innocent. Harmless. It still feels like lightning. She inhales sharply. I feel it—feel her—like my nerves have suddenly been stripped bare. My thumb grazes the inside of her wrist, right where her pulse jumps fast and sure beneath my skin. I pull back instantly. “Sorry,” I say again, the word a reflex now. “I didn’t mean—” “It’s fine,” she says quickly. Too quickly. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes bright in a way that has nothing to do with paint fumes.

Silence stretches between us, thick and charged. From across the store, Winnie laughs. Ethan responds with something dramatic. Life keeps going. “I should check on them,” Hallie says. “So should I,” I agree. Neither of us moves. She studies me then, something searching in her gaze. “You keep apologizing.” I swallow. “Habit.”

“Or avoidance,” she says softly. I take a deep breath. “I didn’t disappear because I stopped loving you,” I say quietly. “And after I let all that time pass, I didn’t think I deserved to come back.” Her expression softens. “I know.” The space between us is electric, the air thick with emotion. We look at each other, not saying a word. Jack reappears near the front, clearing his throat loudly. “Wall looks great. Smells… intense.” Hallie laughs, grateful for the interruption. “We’ll open a window.” As she passes me, her shoulder brushes mine.

Intentional? Accidental? But the contact lingers, echoing long after she’s moved away. I stand there, heart pounding, mind racing. I always assumed she knew. In a town like Maple Harbor, there was no way she couldn’t. Marriage. Divorce. Winnie.

Kissing My Hockey Player Ex A Sweet Single Dad Hockey Romance (Book 1 – Maple Harbor Hockey Heroes) Bryn Beck OceanofPDF.com Copyright © 2026 by Bryn Beck All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. OceanofPDF.com Contents 1. Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapter 3 4. Chapter 4 5. Chapter 5 6. Chapter 6 7. Chapter 7 8. Chapter 8 9. Chapter 9 10. Chapter 10 11. Chapter 11 12.

Chapter 12 13. Chapter 13 14. Chapter 14 15. Chapter 15 16. Chapter 16 17. Chapter 17 18. Chapter 18 19. Chapter 19 20. Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 – Epilogue 22. Chapter 22 OceanofPDF.com Chapter One T Chapter 1 Hallie he bookcase collapses with a sound like a tired sigh turning into a scream. I’m mid-reach, fingertips brushing the spine of a hardback copy of Pride and Prejudice, when the shelf shudders beneath my weight. There’s a split second where I think I can save it—shift the load, brace the side, pretend gravity respects effort.

It doesn’t. Wood groans. Paper rustles. Someone gasps. “Oh—no, no, no—” I whisper, too late, as the entire display tips forward. Books rain down in a clattering avalanche. I twist, instinctively curling inward, and the corner of the shelf slams against my shoulder before pinning me half-sitting, half-sprawled on the rug. A paperback smacks my cheek. Another lands open across my lap like it’s judging me. The world freezes. For one horrifying heartbeat, all I can hear is my own pulse thudding in my ears and the faint hum of the heater kicking on.

Dust motes float lazily through the sunlight slanting in from the front windows. The smell of old paper and lemon polish fills my nose. I am not hurt. That realization comes quickly. My shoulder aches, but nothing is broken except my dignity. I wiggle my fingers. Toes move. Good. “Hallie?” someone says. I close my eyes. Of all the days for this to happen. Book Club night, when every chair is filled and half the town has wandered in early to browse and gossip and comment on the refreshments.

And now I end up trapped under my own carefully curated display like a cautionary tale. Local woman crushed by her love of literature, I think irreverently. “I’m fine,” I say, automatically, because that is what I say when I am very much not fine. My voice comes out a little breathless. “Just, um, testing the structural integrity of… romance novels.”

A nervous laugh ripples through the room. Someone steps closer. I see shoes at the edge of my vision. Sharp, polished, leather. The shelf presses heavier against my side. Okay. Maybe I need help.

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: 6f5e48716ae793c7
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,524,524 bytes (2.408 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 211
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 255.72 minutes
• Total Words: 51,143
• Total Characters: 294,027
• Average Words per Page: 242.38
• Average Characters per Page: 1393.49

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