by: Amy Aislin
Series: Stick Side
Genre: M/M Contemporary Sports Romance
Release Date: September 8, 2020
Amazon | Paperback | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Goodreads
Time for distractions? Hardly.
A chance at making the playoffs? It’s a dream for NHL forward Taylor Cunningham that just might come true. If he can keep his eyes on the ball—ahem, puck. And study for midterms. Dakota Cotton, eleven years his senior, isn’t just a distraction, though—he’s everything Tay’s ever wanted.
Dakota has no interest in introducing someone who might not stick around to his four-year-old son. Been there, done that, with the divorce to prove it. But there’s something about Tay that hits all of the right buttons and has him wanting to take a chance.
As things heat up between them, and the pressure to succeed hits an all-time high, will they risk a shot at happiness or choke?
Kim at Read Your Writes has allowed me to briefly take over the blog today, and I’m sharing an exclusive excerpt. Check it out below!
***
“You’re not impulsive.”
“Not normally.” A kiss landed on Tay’s nose. “But you make me want to be.”
Tay chewed the inside of his cheek. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I don’t think anything about you could ever be bad.”
Tay had to kiss him for that.
“Unless you hate zoos,” Dakota teased, whispering the words against Tay’s mouth, arms coming around his waist. “Then we might have to talk.”
“Daddy. Tay.” Andy’s voice from down the hall had them moving apart. “I wanna see the capbras.”
Following Dakota down the hall, Tay said, “The what now?”
“Capybaras,” Dakota said over his shoulder.
That cleared up nothing. What the hell was a capybara?
A rodent commonly found in South America, according to the sign in front of its enclosure. The largest in the world. Didn’t look like any rodent Tay had ever seen. It sort of reminded him of a small hippo but with a snout-like face. Not like an elephant snout, more like an anteater snout but not as pointy. Except it also kind of looked like a giant chipmunk.
Oh good, he’d just described the creature of his nightmares.
Andy loved it. He made little cooing sounds, trying to entice the animals to him.
The zoo was in High Park, only a few minutes’ walk from Dakota’s home. They’d walked leisurely, Andy running ahead, coming back every so often to urge them along. High Park was a massive municipal park covering almost four hundred acres. It was both a natural and recreational park with sporting, educational, and cultural facilities, as well as gardens, playgrounds, trails, picnic areas, and even a restaurant. The zoo too, of course, although it was tiny compared to the rest of the park, taking up only a small portion in the south near Grenadier Pond, and only had about twelve different kinds of animals.
Once Andy got tired of waiting for the capybaras to come to him—they didn’t—they continued through the zoo, which was essentially one lane lined with animal enclosures on either side. Bison, emu, wallabies, sheep. It was a good day to be out; there was a bit of a chill in the air, but the sun was hot and there wasn’t any wind.
Running back from where he’d raced ahead to look at the West Highland cattle, Andy slipped his little hand into Tay’s and kicked at a rock in his path.
Tay’s heart went to mush in his chest, and he sought out Dakota, committing the pleased smile on his face to memory.
“Tay, d’you think the yak and the cow are friends?”
“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be. Do you think they’re friends?”
“The yak’s best friend is the peacock.”
Eyebrows going up, Tay smiled down at the kid. “What makes you think so?”
“’Cause, see?” Andy towed him to the southern edge of the yak enclosure. “The yak’s looking at the peacock.”
Sure enough, one of the yaks was staring at the peacock in the neighboring enclosure.
“Huh.” He squeezed Andy’s hand. “I think you’re right, little man.”
Andy beamed up at him, then he took off again.
“You’re not impulsive.”
“Not normally.” A kiss landed on Tay’s nose. “But you make me want to be.”
Tay chewed the inside of his cheek. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I don’t think anything about you could ever be bad.”
Tay had to kiss him for that.
“Unless you hate zoos,” Dakota teased, whispering the words against Tay’s mouth, arms coming around his waist. “Then we might have to talk.”
“Daddy. Tay.” Andy’s voice from down the hall had them moving apart. “I wanna see the capbras.”
Following Dakota down the hall, Tay said, “The what now?”
“Capybaras,” Dakota said over his shoulder.
That cleared up nothing. What the hell was a capybara?
A rodent commonly found in South America, according to the sign in front of its enclosure. The largest in the world. Didn’t look like any rodent Tay had ever seen. It sort of reminded him of a small hippo but with a snout-like face. Not like an elephant snout, more like an anteater snout but not as pointy. Except it also kind of looked like a giant chipmunk.
Oh good, he’d just described the creature of his nightmares.
Andy loved it. He made little cooing sounds, trying to entice the animals to him.
The zoo was in High Park, only a few minutes’ walk from Dakota’s home. They’d walked leisurely, Andy running ahead, coming back every so often to urge them along. High Park was a massive municipal park covering almost four hundred acres. It was both a natural and recreational park with sporting, educational, and cultural facilities, as well as gardens, playgrounds, trails, picnic areas, and even a restaurant. The zoo too, of course, although it was tiny compared to the rest of the park, taking up only a small portion in the south near Grenadier Pond, and only had about twelve different kinds of animals.
Once Andy got tired of waiting for the capybaras to come to him—they didn’t—they continued through the zoo, which was essentially one lane lined with animal enclosures on either side. Bison, emu, wallabies, sheep. It was a good day to be out; there was a bit of a chill in the air, but the sun was hot and there wasn’t any wind.
Running back from where he’d raced ahead to look at the West Highland cattle, Andy slipped his little hand into Tay’s and kicked at a rock in his path.
Tay’s heart went to mush in his chest, and he sought out Dakota, committing the pleased smile on his face to memory.
“Tay, d’you think the yak and the cow are friends?”
“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be. Do you think they’re friends?”
“The yak’s best friend is the peacock.”
Eyebrows going up, Tay smiled down at the kid. “What makes you think so?”
“’Cause, see?” Andy towed him to the southern edge of the yak enclosure. “The yak’s looking at the peacock.”
Sure enough, one of the yaks was staring at the peacock in the neighboring enclosure.
“Huh.” He squeezed Andy’s hand. “I think you’re right, little man.”
Andy beamed up at him, then he took off again.
Purchase Risking the Shot from:
The Stick Side Series:
Shots on Goal is on sale for 99¢ across all retailers through September 17th.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group, Amy Aislin’s Readers, to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram and Twitter, or sign up for her newsletter.
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