Slap Shot by Chelsea Curto is a spicy, slow-burn contemporary sports romance and the third book in the D.C. Stars series. It features a private chef, a protective hockey player, forced proximity, the sweetest single mum dynamic and a man who shows his devotion in every small, meaningful way — with a guaranteed happily ever.

But that’s the thing about Hudson Hayes: he makes me feel alive in ways I’ve never been.

Hudson Hayes, standout defenseman for the DC Stars, has one problem he can’t outskate: he needs a private chef, and fast. He’s spent months searching with no luck, and with the season about to kick off, he’s running out of time – and patience.

Madeline Galloway needs a fresh start more than anything. After being unexpectedly fired from her executive chef position in Las Vegas, she’s willing to take a chance on a lead that sends her clear across the country to Washington, D.C. One interview with Hudson, and everything falls into place. He’s kind, charming and entirely too easy to like. Soon, Madeline and her young daughter, Lucy, are unpacking boxes in his guest room.

The rules are straightforward: keep things professional. No personal entanglements. No falling for the handsome hockey player who makes her laugh in the middle of meal prep, or who seems to adore her daughter just as much as she does.

But when a New Year’s Eve kiss shatters the careful boundaries between them, everything shifts. Friendship stops feeling like enough. And when Madeline discovers that Hudson has been learning American Sign Language so he can talk with Lucy, resisting him becomes impossible.