First Chapter of Two for Holding by Kay Gordon
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Get ready for the 425 Madison Series with the first chapter of Two for Holding by Kay Gordon. This is the second book in the first season of three seasons and 21 books from multiple authors and a wide variety tropes. This sports romance will have you falling in love!
Chapter One
Any hockey player will tell you that there’s nothing like the rush right before you hit the ice on game day.
The energy from the crowd was electric, the smell of the ice familiar, and the adrenaline running through my veins was addictive. Hockey was like a drug that I had no desire to quit.
I followed behind our goalie, Theo Axelsson, as he led us down the tunnel towards the ice for warmups. The sounds from the crowd were dulled but the faint rumble could still be felt.
Someone pulled the side door open as soon as we got close enough and Axe hit the ice just as the fans exploded with cheers. I followed behind him, feeling completely at home the second my blades hit the smooth ice.
Music was playing and people were yelling but I kept my head down and immediately got a puck on my stick. I held it there, doing some fancy stick work as I made a lap around our half of the ice. Once I got back into position, I fired it at the net without stopping.
I did a couple more laps before stopping near the blue line where Theo, affectionately known to the team as Axe, was on his knees, stretching out his hip flexors. I fell into my own stretches next to him and glanced over with a grin.
“You should smile and wave at your fans.”
He lifted his goalie mask and rolled his eyes. “That’s your job, pretty boy.”
I laughed at his surly attitude, something that wasn’t new. Theo was my closest friend, but he wasn’t much of a people person.
“Takes a pretty boy to know a pretty boy.” I nudged him with my shoulder and focused on my stretches while he chuckled quietly next to me.
After a few minutes, I got back up and started to circle the ice again. I fired off a few pucks before getting in line with my teammates to run some drills.
I watched a group line up for their own drill while a bunch of fans behind me knocked on the glass, calling out my name. I turned and flashed them a smile, nodding at a few who kept shouting my name. I was just about to turn back around when a little guy caught my eye.
He couldn’t have been more than five or six and his small body was almost swallowed up by the people standing around him. He gazed up at me with big brown eyes and a look of awe on his face. He was wearing a red sweatshirt with our logo and the words ‘The Stuff of Legends’ on it.
I pressed my fist up to the glass, right in front of him, and he didn’t waste any time before doing the same. He jumped excitedly and glanced behind him, yelling something to a woman that was standing back from the crowds but keeping an eye on the little dude.
And hell, she was as beautiful as the kid was cute.
Her long brown hair fell pin straight over her shoulders and she had on a black sweatshirt with our logo on it. Her dark blue jeans appeared to be painted on to her shapely legs, giving me a sneak peek of her curvy figure. But more than anything, it was the smile on her face that had me dumbfounded. It was obvious that she loved the little boy.
The little guy turned back to me, grabbing my attention despite the fact that it was my turn to run a drill. After crouching down to grab a puck, I made eye contact with the boy again and held up the rubber disc. A serious look settled over his face and he put his hands out, preparing to catch it.
“Ham, come on!” someone yelled, just as I tossed the puck over the glass. The little boy caught it, jumping up and down excitedly, and I grinned before turning to run my drill. Just as I made it to my spot, I glanced over my shoulder and froze.
Some jackass of a man, who looked at least twenty years older than me, snatched the puck out of the little guy’s hands.
Straight up just stole it from him.
The woman, who I assumed was his mother, stepped forward, pointing her finger at the man while spitting words at him with a pissed off look on her face and fire in her eyes. The little boy was huddled against her side, looking completely dejected. The grown man sneered at the woman before shoving the puck into his pocket like a dick.
‘Two for Holding’ by Kay Gordon
I started to skate back towards them but one of my teammates shoved at me while shaking his head.
“Dude, focus.”
He was right. Smith, another defenseman, was waiting for me to start our drill, so I pulled my eyes off of the fans long enough to fly in with my teammate.
We passed the puck back and forth twice before I took a shot at the net, one Axe easily swatted away, but I didn’t care. I immediately skated back to the glass, but the little boy was gone. I looked around just in time to see him and his mom almost up the metal stairs, near the top of the bowl. Too far for me to even call them back.
“Damn it,” I muttered, feeling frustration boil in my stomach. I glanced around until I found the dick that stole the kid’s puck. When I did, I skated right to where he was standing at the glass. He grinned at me, but I narrowed my eyes in return.
I gestured to the hole in the glass that was used for cameras to take clear pictures. He looked excited to have my attention and ducked down without question. I leaned down, too, and once I knew he could hear me, I cleared my throat.
“You stole a puck from a kid. You’re an asshole and not someone I want as a fan.”
He snapped up with a surprised look on his face and blinked at me, as if trying to decide if he heard me clearly. So, just to drive the point home, I mouthed the word ‘asshole’ one more time before turning to skate off.
We warmed up for a few more minutes and I tried to shake away the anger so I could focus on the game. When we made it back to the locker room, I fixed my skates while the coach gave us his pep talk.
Once he was done, I stood to give a few words of my own. The team yelled in agreement and moved to their feet to head back to the ice.
The music was playing again when we exited the tunnel and the lights were turned down so spotlights could highlight the players. I kept my head down and did a few laps around our goal posts, coming to a stop on the blue line when my name was announced in the starting lineup.
I took my red helmet off my head and tucked it under my arm while the national anthem was sung by the same woman who always performed it. She was good but I focused on keeping my muscles warm and my mind game-ready.
As soon as the music cut off, we were moving again.
“We’ve got this, guys,” I yelled to my teammates as they took their positions. I skated back to where Axe stood between the pipes and tapped his pad with my stick, jerking my chin at him once. He nodded back, his face serious under the mask, and I turned to head back to the blue line.
The second the puck hit the ice, I was home.
We worked hard for the first period, keeping them from scoring but failing to score ourselves. Our defense was good but we had to put some heat on them offensively. During our intermission, I talked to the media about what we were doing right and what we needed to do better to pull off a win. Our rink-side reporter finally let me go and I headed back to the locker room.
Instead of thinking about what we needed to do to win, I thought about the sad look on the little boy’s face when the dickhead stole his puck. During the stoppage in plays, I’d been scoping out the seats in both the lower and upper bowl, looking for him and the woman but with no luck. It was hard to see from the ice, though.
We had two minutes left in the second period when I accepted a drop pass from our center, Matlock, and I immediately sent it back to my fellow defenseman and usual on-ice partner, Eric Harris. A quick flick of the wrist brought it back to my stick and I surged forward, dropping it for Mats to carry into the zone. I stopped at the point and watched as my teammates passed it back and forth, trying to create an opening to the net.
Harris got the puck back and shot it at the goal but it deflected off one of the players before it got through. The rebound kicked back to me and the second it touched my tape, I brought my stick back like I was going to shoot. My fake-out worked and one of Seattle’s players went down to block, while the goalie did the same. While they were both down, I took the opportunity to fire a slapshot, sending the puck to the goal.
It sailed top shelf, over the goalie’s shoulder, and hit the net right below the crossbar. The light went off and our goal horn immediately blared as I held my stick up in the air. My on-ice teammates gathered to smother me in hugs, slapping my back and helmet before getting off me. The second the five of us parted, we headed back to the bench to knock fists with the rest of our team.
Instead of calling us back to center ice to face-off, however, the ref was at the visiting bench, talking to the head coach.
Matlock came to a stop next to me and groaned. “What are they going to challenge it for?”
That question was answered ten seconds later when the ref skated to the red line and turned on his mic.
“Seattle is challenging for goaltender interference.”
The crowd collectively booed and I couldn’t help but grin at their enthusiasm. Most of my team congregated at the bench to look at the replay on their tablets but I just skated over to Theo instead.
“Nice shot,” he said with a smirk as he pulled his mask up so I could see his face. “You’re such a show off.”
I shrugged and wiped my damp forehead with the back of my glove. “Don’t be jealous that I get things done while you’re just standing here looking pretty.”
I stayed with Theo while the refs stood on the headsets with officials in Toronto, trying to determine if any of our guys disrupted Seattle’s goalie so he couldn’t make the save.
While they deliberated, I looked back out to the crowd. It was full house, like it had been every night for a few years, and I was about to head to the bench when I saw them.
Sitting in the lower bowl, in a row almost at the top behind the visitor’s bench, was the little boy. The woman was next to him, wiping some sort of food off his face. He had a grey hat on his head, one he hadn’t been wearing earlier. It was too big but just made him even more adorable.
A grin tugged at my mouth just as the crowd went silent and the ref’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
“After review, it’s been determined that there was no goaltender interference. We have a good goal.”
The crowd erupted into cheers and the goal horn went off again but I couldn’t take my eyes off the little boy and his mother. He was on his feet, jumping up and down with the rest of the crowd, and his mom stood behind him, watching him affectionately.
I kept my eyes on them and watched her press a kiss to the little guy’s forehead. She said something to him and they both grinned, almost knocking me on my ass with the intensity of their smiles.
“Dude, get to the bench.” Theo shoved me from behind, snapping me out of my trance, and my feet moved automatically. I went through the half-door and took a seat next to Harris. Instead of focusing on the game, I wracked my mind for a way to talk to the boy and his mother.
Two minutes and one more shift later and the period was over. Both teams headed down the tunnel to rest for intermission and I followed behind them, fist bumping fans who held their hands out as I did. We were just passing one of the arena ushers when a brilliant idea suddenly smacked me in the face. I stopped and grinned at the usher.
“Hey, Jerry. I need a favor.”
About Two for Holding
Savannah
I didn’t think I was missing anything. I had my son, a great career, and a home that I’d made for both of us. One puck over the glass at a hockey game made me realize I wanted more. The larger-than-life hockey player inserted himself into our world and I never wanted to let him go.
The thing is, I don’t know if I’m strong enough to keep him.
Porter
My home was on the ice, with a stick in my hand and a puck on my tape. It took one little boy with a toothless smile and his spitfire mother to change all that. I wanted them to be my home and I was willing to take all the penalties necessary to make it happen.
Now I just have to convince her that we can handle it all together.
Melding three lives into one isn’t as easy as it seems, especially with the traveling, the media, and the insecurities. Savannah and Porter have to decide whether to use the breakaway to head to the goal or take a seat on the bench.
After all, 425 Madison is the perfect place to fall in love!
About the 425 Madison Series
Welcome to 425 Madison Ave the perfect place to fall in love. Nine delicious romances set in fast-paced & sexy NYC just waiting for you to read.
This season will feature some new authors as well as some of season one’s favs. Back for season two is Allie York, Leigh Lennon, MK Moore, Aubree Valentine, Lauren Helms, and Katy Ames. Plus a warm welcome to KC Enders, and Marcie Shumway! Not only do we have a sexy mix of new and returning authors, prepare for pages packed with new romances, characters, and tropes all from the same well-loved high-rise apartment building in NYC.
Not only do we have a sexy mix of new and returning authors, prepare for pages packed with new romances, characters, and tropes all from the same well-loved high-rise apartment building in NYC.
Make sure to follow the 425 Madison Avenue Facebook page for more on release dates, cover reveals and author spotlights. For exclusive excerpts, giveaways, and news subscribe to our 425 Madison newsletter!
About Kay Gordon
Kay Gordon is a married mother of two living near the west coast. She spends her days teaching young, impressionable minds in public school and evenings typing away furiously once her children are in bed. Her favorite genres to read are Contemporary Romance and New Adult/College romance, although she rarely denies a good paranormal or dystopian! When she's not teaching or writing, Kay loves to spend time with her family. They're all a bunch of nerds who can quote Disney movies and Star Wars quickly!
