Ten years ago, on a bitter Valentine's Day, Ava Monroe watched her first love walk away. Jax Carter chose a rising NHL career over the life they'd planned. She stayed in Willow Creek, built a quiet routine, and raised her young son on her own. The past went in a box. The lid stayed shut.
Now Jax is back, sidelined by injury and skating in a hometown charity game. When their eyes meet across the rink, the cold air bites and old feelings surge anyway. Late nights on empty ice bring back shared jokes, the scrape of blades, the closeness they never forgot. A touch lingers. A look says too much.
Ava isn't the girl he left. Jax knows one mistake could cost him everything. Family needs pull one way. Career pressure pulls another. What they didn't say before presses in now.
They have to face the truth they avoided and the damage that followed. Jax says he's ready to stay. Ava needs more than words.
Can time apart become the test that finally tells the truth?
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Part of the steamy Cupid's Arrow contemporary romance series where love always finds its target.
In the Cupid's Arrow series, love doesn't announce itself. It shows up fast, messy, and right on time. One minute it's a snowed-in gala with wet coats by the door, the next it's a fake date that starts to feel real. These contemporary romances follow strong-willed women and confident men who clash, tease, and circle each other before giving in. Billionaires with too much control. Athletes used to winning. Firefighters, bosses, and men who don't like being challenged. The tension builds in quiet looks, late nights, and conversations that linger longer than planned.
Each standalone story unfolds over one charged Valentine's season, where attraction grows, lines blur, and choices carry weight. There's heat, sharp banter, and moments that linger long after the door closes. Every story ends with a hard-earned happy ending and a love that feels chosen, not handed out.
What happens when the arrow hits and nobody ducks?
