Big Stick Energy: A New York Legends Hockey Romance

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Grand Central Publishing, Jun 30, 2026 - Fiction - 368 pages

A hockey team captain and a bubbly staffer mix business with pleasure when they start fake dating through the wedding season in this hot sports romance perfect for fans of Mariana Zapata and Elle Kennedy.

Darcy Kendrick is used to putting out fires. As an overworked admin to a hockey team, she’s seen it all. But nothing prepares her for accidentally DMing her very private, very NSFW fantasy to the subject of this fantasy: team captain Eric Tremaine. Nobody actually dies of embarrassment. Right?

But when a wedding invite puts them on a collision course with her chaotic family and his emotionally fraught past, Eric suggests a plan: they fake-date their way through the “Wedding Experience.” It’s mutually beneficial. Totally strategic. And definitely not real. Except between mini tacos, slow dances and lingering glances, Eric starts to wonder if the sharp-tongued assistant with a bottomless to-do list might be the one person who truly sees him. And for Darcy? The fire in her heart might be the only one she can’t put out.

It’s supposed to be fake. It’s supposed to be temporary. So why is it so hard to walk away?

 

Contents

Like a Pit Bull in the
2
Blink Twice for
Babe Youre Catastrophizing
Its Titos
Shortness of Breath
Real Helpful Guys
Thats My Coffee Order
Interesting Job Youve Got There
A Big Hard Problem
File That Away
And the Ottoman
Putting Me on a Leash
More Flips than a Pancake Breakfast
Bad News About the Green Bikini
You Get It Now?
Not a Stupid Person Usually

Whos Obsessed?
The NewLeather Smell
Heres Our Game Plan
Whole Thing Is a Blur
Should We Stretch?
So Many Questions
A Little Bit Stupid
Like One of His Rookies
Not a Single Mullet
Like Summer Camp with Côtes du Rhône
Trespassing in a CEOs Vacation Home
Rectangular and Heavy
Thats in the Bylaws
Valuable Minutes
How Am I Supposed to Behave?
Hello Young
Like Oliver Twist
We Said a Weekend Fling
Appreciate the Chivalry
Middle of a Beehive
Edgework and World Domination
No Bigger than a Poker Chip
The Only Thing on the List
Shouldnt Give Me the
Such a Shame
Clueless but Eager
All the Lucky Ties
The Ice Bucket Trick

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About the author (2026)

Sarina Bowen is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary fiction. Her books have been on "best of" lists at Goodreads, Audible, The New York Public Library and Amazon. In her free time she takes figure skating lessons. Sarina's hockey fandom started in college, cheering on the Yale University team and wishing they'd let her drive the Zamboni.

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