BLURB
What do you do when an NHL player steals your dog and won’t give it back?
Maggie Hudson made a heartbreaking decision nine years ago that has haunted her ever since. To fill the hole in her life, she showers her rescue dog with love and affection. But one day, Kirby goes missing.
Three months later, NHL player Spencer Corbett is astonished when Maggie shows up on his doorstep demanding her dog back. He’d found the pug on the side of the road, collarless and in bad shape. But even when confronted with hard evidence she’s the dog’s owner, he begs her to reconsider. His own elderly dog is on her last legs and Kirby has given her a new lease on life.
After Maggie relents, Spencer falls hard for her. Not only is she the most compassionate and selfless person he’s ever met, she’s witty, intelligent and sexier than sin and doesn’t even realize. What starts out as a friendship quickly turns into more, but when a woman from Spencer’s past throws everything into chaos, their fragile relationship is put to the ultimate test.
Animal Attraction can be read and enjoyed as a standalone sports romance.
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EXCERPT
“Maggie, get on your computer right now and go to the Dragons’ team website. There’s a video you have to see.” Jade’s voice vibrated with excitement.
“Why? What’s up?’ Cradling her phone between her ear and shoulder, Maggie took a bite of her microwaved meatloaf dinner as she opened up her laptop. “Did they post a new slow-mo of Gideon Aguilar?”
As hockey fans living in San Francisco, Maggie and Jade adored the NHL Dragons. Even though the team was stinking up the ice this season, she and Jade never missed a game on TV and Gideon Aguilar was a new and welcome addition to the roster. He was arguably one of the sexiest NHL players in the league, and the slow-motion video the organization posted last week showed Aguilar exiting the team’s chartered plane. He had a garment bag over his shoulder and was wearing black slacks, a black sweater and sport coat—nothing special, but he had something, a savoir-faire that drew attention. Maybe it was the slight breeze ruffling his hair or that loose-limbed self-assured walk.
“No, it’s not Aguilar,” Jade said. “It’s your favorite. Corbett. The latest At Home With the Dragons. I’ll hang on while you pull it up.”
“Oh, that’s different.”
Maggie took another bite of meatloaf as she watched the opening graphics for the “At Home With” series of videos from the Dragon hockey club. Running about five minutes long, the film clips documented bits of the personal lives of the players. Maggie always enjoyed these behind-the-scenes looks. The last one went viral because they shared a photo on camera that wasn’t supposed to be shared. And if this segment was about Spencer Corbett, all the better. He was her favorite player.
A beautiful young woman with bright white teeth and blond hair set with perfect waves filled the screen. “Welcome to another edition of ‘At Home With.’ I’m Danica Jackson and today we’re visiting Dragon defenseman Spencer Corbett. Hi, Spencer. Thanks for letting us spend some time with you at home.”
“No problem.”
“And who’s this?”
A dog had bounded into the frame and jumped on Danica’s legs excitedly and Maggie gasped. It was a black and gray pug she’d recognize anywhere. She put her fork down slowly and leaned closer to the computer monitor.
“Oh my God.”
“It’s Kirby, isn’t it?” Jade asked on the phone.
Most pugs were tan with black muzzles. Some were all black, but Kirby was a unique ombre blend of gray and black. His fur looked as if someone had run out of black ink and tried to spread it as far down his gray body as they could.
Maggie took a deep breath. “You know it is. Oh my God. I can’t believe this.”
One day she’d come home from work to find Kirby was gone. One of the neighbor kids had kicked a ball into her backyard, went in to get it as she’d told them they could, and hadn’t made sure the gate was latched when they left. As a result, Kirby had gotten out. Sick with worry, she’d searched the area and talked with all the neighbors. She’d posted “lost” signs everywhere, checked the shelters, and offered a reward, all to no avail. It had been three months and, heartsick, she’d given up hope.
Until now.
“That is my dog,” she exclaimed. “Spencer Corbett has my dog.”
“I knew it! That’s why I called you,” Jade said.
Maggie focused on the video again. Corbett claimed to have found “Blackie” wandering the streets in the middle of the night a little over two months ago. He’d named him Blackie? How original.
Corbett was talking, “With his coloring, he’s lucky he wasn’t run over. He was in pretty bad shape when I picked him up, but he’s fine now. He and Lulu are best friends. Lulu’s my other dog.”
On screen, the perky Miss Jackson cooed. “So you rescued him from the streets? Spencer, you’re a hero.”
No you’re not, Maggie thought. You’re a dog thief! Kirby had a collar on. He always had a collar on.
Maggie pressed pause on the video. “This is unbelievable. Spencer Corbett has my dog. I need to get in touch with him ASAP, but I don’t think I can just call up the Dragon front office and get his phone number.”
“Why not?” Jade asked. “It’s not like you’re just a fan wanting his autograph. He has your dog.”
“That’s true. These are unusual circumstances, but they might not believe me.”
“Well, you could always call the media. They love these kinds of stories. ‘Famous hockey player reunites a lost dog and his owner,’ right? They’ll jump at the chance for a cute feel-good story like this.”
At work the next day, Maggie had little time to think about Kirby, because it was the 100th day of school and, as a first grade teacher, she had a ton of activities planned. The most complicated one was the quilt of 100 squares. They’d been cutting out the fabric squares all week and today they were going to take turns sewing the quilt with the help of two parents. The quilt would then be auctioned off at an upcoming fundraiser. After school, the first grade teachers had a team meeting, which ran a little long and she had some errands to run that couldn’t be put off any longer. (The universe was constantly trying to teach her not to procrastinate, but the lessons weren’t taking.)
As a result, she didn’t get a chance to call the Dragons until she got home that evening. He belonged to her and damned if she was going to let anyone take him away from her.
Luckily, someone answered the phone. “Thank you for calling the San Francisco Dragons, how may I direct your call?”
“My name is Maggie Hudson and I need to talk to Spencer Corbett.”
“What is this regarding?”
“He has my dog. I saw on the video he found a dog and it’s mine. The dog he found belongs to me.”
“Yeah, you and about a hundred other women.”
Click and dial tone.
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