Friends-to-lovers hockey heat with Boston’s veteran joker, a no-nonsense physical therapist, and the dangerous secret that could destroy everything they’ve built!

Sergei Petrov, the Boston Titans’ veteran forward and team prankster, hides his deepest struggles behind jokes and laughter. After representing Russia at the Olympics, he returns with a gold medal, a career-threatening injury he’s keeping secret, and memories of one explosive night with the team’s physical therapist before he left. His plan? Pretend it never happened, get through the season, and keep sending money to his family back in Russia. Simple—until he’s assigned to daily PT sessions with the one woman who sees right through his jokes.

Zoe Calloway has been the Titans’ physical therapist for three years, and she’s built her reputation on being professional, direct, and completely immune to hockey players’ charms. She’s been texting with Sergei for months—what started as coordinating babysitting duties for teammates turned into daily conversations she won’t admit she looks forward to. Their night together before the Olympics was supposed to be a one-time mistake. But now she has to put her hands on him every day for treatment, pretending she doesn’t know exactly what’s under that training gear.

Just as their “just physical” arrangement combusts into something deeper, Sergei’s past catches up with him. A famous Russian athlete arrives in Boston claiming she needs to marry him for asylum—and the Russian oligarchs threatening his family back home aren’t giving him a choice. Caught between protecting everyone he loves and losing the woman who makes him want to drop his mask, Sergei must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice.

With his career ending, his family in danger, and the truth about to destroy everything, Sergei and Zoe must learn that sometimes the biggest risk isn’t playing hurt—it’s playing it safe with your heart.

PUCKING THE THERAPIST is the fifth book in the Boston Titans Hockey Series. This steamy contemporary sports romance features a veteran player hiding behind humor, a physical therapist who sees through everyone’s walls, forced proximity that tests professional boundaries, and a guaranteed HEA.

Tropes you’ll love: friends to lovers, forced proximity, secret injury, fake engagement (not with her!), professional boundaries, found family, veteran athlete, and choosing love over duty.

Each book in the Boston Sports Universe features different characters and can be read as standalones, though interconnected through the vibrant world of Boston’s professional sports scene.

Some injuries can’t be healed with ice and tape.