Puckered Up With Slapshot Santa

My family’s dental practice is hemorrhaging patients to the flashy new office across the street—built by my long-time rival who now wants to buy me out and turn my building into her parking lot. Desperate to save the legacy I’ve fought for, I’m fresh out of ideas… until Garrett Reid, famous hockey player and my lifelong crush, walks into my office with a crazy proposition to help him win a holiday bet.

I’d sworn him off just a month ago, determined to finally starve out the butterflies he’d sparked in me since we were kids. After all, the hazel-eyed heartthrob with the too-cute smirk had never seen me as anything more than his best friend’s sister. But when he begs me to pose as his girlfriend—to spare him a humiliating elf costume and win a big favor from his teammates—his offer stops me cold.

In exchange for a few fake dates, he’ll send the entire Briarwood Bobcats team my way as patients. One hockey roster could save my practice for good. How can I say no?

What follows is a whirlwind of holiday magic: charity events under twinkling lights, cozy moments in the rink’s frosty glow, his warm hand lingering on my back, and almost-kisses that leave my heart racing faster than a puck across the ice. But pretending to date the man who checks every box on my dream-guy list is a dangerous game. His probing gaze and protective charm melt my resolve to keep my heart locked away as I wonder if I’m just his convenient holiday helper… or if he’s finally seeing the woman behind the white coat.

Can I convince the world that our fake spark is real, save my practice, and walk away with my heart intact? Or will this holiday romance blossom into a bigger Christmas miracle than I ever thought possible?

**A lighthearted, brother's best friend, holiday, hockey romantic comedy full of banter, butterflies, and Christmas magic!

“So, what’s the story?” Garrett asked, reclining in my exam room. I don’t know what was more surprising, finding him sitting there, or seeing someone so relaxed in a dental exam chair. “How is it that a woman who’s never more than two feet away from her phone can’t find it in her heart to return a message?”

“A dentist’s life is a busy one.”

“Oh?” A single, thick eyebrow rose on his forehead. The silence stretching between us was an entire conversation in and of itself. He was waiting for me to provide him with a list of activities that I’d deemed more important than communicating with him.

Well, he could keep on waiting. I didn’t owe him an explanation. Besides, there was no list—not one he’d approve of, at least.

Garrett took his feet off the footrest, straddle the chair, and leaned forward. I took half a step back, bumping into the bank of cabinets against the wall behind me. Garrett was still a good five feet away, but his new posture made him look like he was about to pounce on me.

My pulse throbbed in my ears as I imagined what it would be like if he really came off that chair and closed the distance between us.

I suddenly squeezed my eyes shut against the fantasy playing out in my head, but it didn’t help since the fantasy was… in my head! My eyes popped open again as I strained to rein in my wild imagination that had his hands splayed on my back and his lips pressed against mine.

I shrugged off my white coat and slung it onto the counter before Garrett had a chance to see the steam that must have been escaping from my collar. The cooling power of the icicles hanging from the eave outside my window had never looked more appealing.

“You’ve suddenly fallen off the face of the earth, and I’m not so sure I like that.” His brows pinched as he said the words. Had my cold turkey method of flushing Garrett out of my system bothered him as much as his eyes were letting on?

“I need you, Cassidy.”

I clutched the counter behind me as words I’d ached to hear since the seventh grade made my knees wobble. Church bells rang so loud in my head I could hardly hear my own thoughts. My decades-old list of things old, new, borrowed, and blue ran through my mind at lightning speed. Images of flower arrangements and wedding colors flashed before my eyes.

Garrett Reid, my childhood crush and star center for the Briarwood Bobcats, needed me.

“I made a bet,” he continued.

A bet?

Every one of the beautiful images whirling around in my mind shriveled like a crusty old raisin until there was nothing left of them but a miserable pile of dust. “You what?”

“I need you.”

“No, the other part,” I said, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“What? That I made a bet?”

“Yeah, that part.” My voice was flat.

“I can’t win without your help.”

There it was. He didn’t need me. He needed to win a bet. Now all the calls and texts made sense. The old dynamic was alive and well. I’d always been the invisible little sister until Jordan or Garrett wanted something. It had happened so many times over the years that I really should have been ready for it, but somehow, I never was.

It stung a little more this time because I’d gone from blushing bride-to-be in my own head to a useful idiot in record time.

This was exactly why I had to get over Garrett Reid for good.

I slipped my coat back on, thoroughly recovered from my hot flash from a few moments before. “I’m not interested in your bet. You made it. You go win it.”

It didn’t matter how good Garrett looked in his team jersey or how his broad shoulders dwarfed my exam chair. Who cared that his masculine scent filled the otherwise sterile atmosphere of my dental office. My boycott of handsome hockey players was officially back on until further notice.

“Hang on a minute.” I couldn’t help but notice a hint of desperation leaking into Garrett’s voice. “Don’t shut me down before you hear the deal.”

“I don’t need to hear about any deals. I’m not interested.”

Garrett stood suddenly, his face drawn down into the most pitifully pleading expression I’d ever seen. “They’re going to make me wear lederhosen, Cass—lederhosen and pointed elf shoes.”

“Who are?”

“The whole team. If I lose the bet, I have to come to the Bobcats Christmas party looking like one of Santa’s overgrown little helpers. And I’m telling you, I can’t win without you.”

I couldn’t help the laughter that popped out of my mouth as images of too-cool Garrett Reid dressed like a Christmas elf filled my mind. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened my favorite shopping app.

Garrett threw his hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side. “Now your phone works?” he said with a crooked grin.

“Oh, it’s always worked,” I shot back as I reined in my laughter. After a few quick taps, I found what I was looking for. “There! You said you needed my help. So, I helped. Have a look.” I turned my phone around to face him.

A look of horror washed over his face when he saw the screen. “Lederhosen?”

“Not just any lederhosen—Christmas-green lederhosen, and they’re on sale. Want me to put them in my cart?” I asked with my finger hovering over the button.

“Absolutely not.”

“Well, you said you needed my help. This is the only help I have to offer.” I shrugged and put my phone back in my pocket. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I said, placing my hand on the doorknob, “I have work to do.”

“Name your price,” Garrett blurted.

I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. “Look, Garrett, I’ve got serious things going on right now. I don’t have time to worry about silly bets.”

His expression softened, and he took a step toward me. “I didn’t know you’d been dealing with stuff. Why didn’t you tell me?”

I shrugged. “I’m a big girl. I can handle my own problems.”

His chest expanded with a deep breath, broadening his shoulders even more—something I didn’t know was possible.
“What’s going on?” The bass in his voice sent a shiver through my body. He leaned forward, almost teasing me into believing he was ready to pounce again. Only this time, I imagined he was ready to jump to my aid.

Garrett really was one of the good guys. He might have spent the past twenty years teasing me like a little sister, but he was always ready to help when the chips were down—just like a great big brother. I swallowed my disappointment at the inescapable dynamic we’d been locked into for the past two decades.

My shoulders fell. “Don’t worry about it.” I opened the door and motioned for him to step on through. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to fill this seat with an actual, paying customer.”

He peered through the door and looked down the hall toward the waiting room. “I don’t seem to see anyone ready to take my place.”

I sighed. “That’s the problem.”

“You mean that’s the problem—the trouble you’re dealing with? Not enough customers?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Business has been drying up for a while now. I need more patients or else I’m—”

“Done.”

The strength in that single syllable made me rock back on my heels, my lashes fluttering. “Yeah, to put it not-so-delicately. If I can’t get more patients, I’m done.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Confidence oozed from every pour of his body. “You need more teeth. Consider it done.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Help me win my bet, and I’ll get you so many new patients you’ll have to hire a new crew of dentists just to help you keep up.”

I threw my hands to my hips and narrowed my eyes. “You can’t just pull patients out of thin air.”

“I won’t have to. Haven’t you ever heard of the sacred relationship between a hockey player and his dentist?”

“If you’re referring to the fact that we’re constantly gluing your teeth back into your heads, then yes.”

He grinned. “How good would it be for business if Nelson Family Dentistry became the official dental office of the Briarwood Bobcats?”

Something electric shot through me, and my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. “You can’t make a promise like that… can you?”

“Have I ever let you down?”