Neutral Zone

Milo Vance plays right wing for the Detroit Hounds the same way he does everything else: angry, quiet, and alone. He does not talk about his personal life. He does not date. After bad losses he sits at the same dive bar and drinks until the game stops replaying in his head, and then he goes home to an empty apartment and does it all again.

Adrian Cross is the bartender. He is an artist who pours drinks to pay rent, warm where Milo is cold, patient where Milo is sharp, and completely unbothered by professional athletes. He is also out, comfortable in his own skin, and living a life that has nothing to do with locker rooms or game schedules. Everything Milo does not know how to want.

Milo keeps showing up. Adrian keeps letting him stay. What builds between them is slow and dangerous, because Milo is closeted and Adrian does not do secrets. Adrian will not be someone’s secret. He has been that before and he is not doing it again. And Milo is not sure he knows how to be anything else.

The grumpy NHL player who does not feel anything is starting to feel everything. The bartender who said he would never fall for a closet case is already in too deep to walk away. Something has to give. The question is what it costs them.

Neutral Zone is Book 4 in the Icebreaker series, a spicy MM hockey romance featuring grumpy/sunshine, a closeted athlete, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Each book can be read as a complete standalone with no cliffhangers.

For readers who enjoy:
Grumpy/sunshine with a slow melt
Closeted NHL player and the man who won’t be his secret
Player and civilian romance
Spicy MM sports romance with a coming out arc
Emotional slow burn with high payoff