Title: Warm Up
Series: Nova Scotia Storms #2
Author: Cathryn Fox

Genre: New Adult Sports Romance
Release Date: July 5, 2022

BLURB

He’s a defenseman on the academy’s hockey team – a well-known player on and off the ice.

It’s a reputation he wears proudly…flaunts, even. The only one he has to look out for is himself. No one expects anything else.

Thanks to past mistakes, I have a whole lot of responsibilities outside of the academy and have no choice but to put others in my life first. They count on me, but you know what? I’m lonely.

I guess that’s why I got all tangled up in the guy whose only focus is on hockey – and fun.

What I hadn’t meant to do, however, was fall head over heels for the player who only wanted one thing from me. Can you say been there done that?

But I think, underneath it all, there’s a lot more to him than even he knows and maybe his choices aren’t his own. Maybe someone else is pulling the strings.

Either way, when past mistakes catch up with me again, the team’s biggest player must decide whether to follow the path carved out for him and walk away from me, or shape his own future, and become the man he keeps well hidden.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61078763-warm-up


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EXCERPTS

#1

My gaze is on Sawyer, but I’m completely aware of Matt at my side. I don’t need to turn to him to know he’s staring at me, his intense gaze assessing everything I say and do. I slowly angle my head, and my tight throat tightens even more as my eyes meet his. Wow, I’m pretty sure no guy has ever gazed at me like this before. Being the sole recipient of his focus is rather unnerving…flattering.
“Nachos are on me,” he says. “It’s the least I can do to make up for that asshole harassing you.”
“None of that was your fault.”
“Well, he’s a guy and I’m a guy and I want to make up for our kind.”
“You’re not responsible for all mankind, Matt,” I say, a little chuckle bubbling up in my throat.
He angles his head. “How do you know my name?”
I arch a brow and stare at him like he might have taken one too many hits on the ice. “Really?”
“You follow the team?”
“No,” I say honestly. I don’t. I don’t have time. “I’ve heard of you. Who hasn’t?” I say lightly, at least I’m trying to be light. God, the last thing I want is for him to think I’m another one of his groupies. But a guy like Matt, he’s hard to miss on campus.
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” he says, and Chase slaps him on the back.
“Only half of what you hear is true,” Chase laughs. “The other half. That’s true too.”

#2

“You drive a truck?”
“You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy. Come on, let me drive you the rest of the way.”
She hesitates for a brief second. “It’s not that far.”
“You’re not the one lugging this thing around,” I tease and lift her guitar.
She grins. “I’m quite capable of carrying my own guitar.”
“I have no doubt,” I say and mean it. I get the sense that Kennedy is the kind of girl who takes care of herself and everyone around her. “But come on, hop in.”
She nods and we walk to my truck. I click my fob to unlock the doors and place her guitar on the back bench seat. She slides into the front, and I circle the vehicle and get into the driver’s seat.
“Ohmigod, Matt,” she shrieks and picks a pair of my boxer shorts up off the floor, holds them up using two fingers, wrinkles her nose and asks. “Do I want to know?” I snatch them from her and toss them into the back. “Is your room this bad? Was Daisy right?”
“No and no and no.” She blinks and one eye half closes as she tries to piece that together. “You probably don’t want to know, but I’m going to tell you.” I start the truck and back out of my spot. “They probably fell out of my hockey bag after our Wednesday night game in Cape Breton. No, my room isn’t that bad.” I toss her an apologetic look, because it’s not that good either. “And no, Daisy was not right. Daisy is never right.” She’s still giving me the side eye as I pull onto the road. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing.”
“Are you telling me I won’t find your panties in the passenger seat of your car? Like it’s not a thing?”

#3

“Hi.”
I spin at the sound of Matt’s voice, and there’s nothing I can do to stop the gasp when I spot him standing in the doorway, a towel knotted at his waist as he uses another small towel to scrub his hair dry.
“Sorry,” he says quickly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I thought I was alone.”
Do not look down, Kennedy. Do not check out his abs, or anything that lies below that towel.
The only way I can stop myself is by rushing back to the fridge and opening it. I enjoy the rush of cold air as the door blocks him from my view.
“I just got home from practice,” he explains. “I was hoping to be showered and dressed before you got here. I heard a noise, and investigated.”
“Just me.” My God, I sound like I’d just swallowed the contents in a helium balloon and ate it afterward.
“I thought maybe someone had broken in.”
“Does that happen often?” I ask, as I grab a couple big packages of ground beef and set them on the counter. I’m thankful that lasagna requires numerous items. That gives me a reason to hang out inside his fridge.
He quietly snorts a laugh. “More often than you’d think. Sometimes it’s a rival team member looking to cause trouble. Sometimes it’s a girl looking to surprise one of us.”
I grab an armload of cheese and veggies and deposit them on the counter. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“Who said I was disappointed?”

#4

“Hey, Milk Man.” While I want this, in the back of my mind, Cheddar’s words lightly jangle. She’s too smart for that.I don’t want tonight to be smart, or responsible, or anything but a good time. No emotions, just pleasure.
“Yeah?”
“For the record, I was walking tonight, not for exercise but because my car has been making a funny noise.” I reach up and tug the elastic from my hair, letting it fall over my shoulders.
His eyes narrow, his confused gaze moving over my face, not at all understanding why I’m bringing up my car when he’s spilling his guts.
He calms a bit. “Okay…Did you need me to give you a ride, deliver you to your door, or something?”
“Yes and no. I want you to give me a ride, but not home, and I want you to deliver.” I point to his bed. “Right there.”
He angles his head and follows my finger. “Kennedy? What the…are you serious?”
“Yes.” I step closer, my body bumping his. “I want to ride you like you’re my only form of transportation.”

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#1 Away Game

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COMING SOON

#3 Crash Course – Releasing September 6

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AUTHOR BIO

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cathryn Fox is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. Cathryn lives in beautiful Nova Scotia with her husband, who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. When not writing, Cathryn can be found Skyping with her son living in Seattle (could he have moved any farther away?) shopping with her daughter in the city, watching a big action flick with her husband, or hanging out and laughing with friends.


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