Spiral (Off the Ice, #2) (106)
Sean shouts my name and runs right to us.
Aiden and Summer engulf him in a hug first and hand him a small blue box. “Open it!” Summer urges.
Sean glances at my smiling face before pulling off the cover on the gift box.
“Keys?” He turns the silver keys in his hand.
“They’re the keys to the off-campus house. We want you to stay there when you head to Dalton.”
When Aiden told me he wanted to pass down the keys to Sean, instead of selling the house his grandparents bought him when he started at Dalton, I didn’t know what to say. Instinct made me want to refuse because we’ve never had a place to call home, but knowing Sean can have that without relying on another institution for housing made my heart crack in two before it bound itself back together.
Sean blinks rapidly in an attempt to stop his flow of tears. Aiden laughs and pulls him in for a hug that we all join in on. An overwhelming feeling of belonging pokes at my heart. Because this is how I like it.
Just us, and our little family.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sometimes in life, you meet the type of people who make you wonder where the heck they’ve been your whole life. I’ve had the privilege of meeting those people through my author journey.
Nina, your belief in me is the only reason I made my deadline for this book. Thank you for keeping up with my sounding boards, even when I developed insomnia and would wake you up at ungodly hours to talk about this book. It was all worth it when you cried reading the epilogue. You’re a once-in-a-lifetime friend, and I’m so glad I met you in this one. In case you didn’t already realize it yet, Elias is for you.
Peyton, our invisible string will always be my favorite part of this publishing journey. I’d like to think there isn’t a universe out there where we don’t meet. It would truly be a tragedy if we weren’t friends in every single one. We’ve lived a dozen lifetimes this year alone, but I’m eternally grateful that I got to do it all with you, even if it meant watching our teams tank in the playoffs while we finished (read: procrastinated) our drafts. Thank you for saving me from spiral-ing, and here’s to saving each other from more in the future.
Carlyn, for sending me daily screenshots of your favorite scenes from Collide. Hopefully, this one will tide you over until Dylan’s book.
Shayla, can you believe this?
Kristine, Mary, and the amazing editors at Berkley, thank you for transforming this book from an incoherent brain dump into something I can be proud of. Jessica and Stephanie, thank you for your hard work in making sure I get to see my books everywhere. Darcy, Anna, Beth, Grace, and Maisie at Bloomsbury, thank you for rooting for me since day one. Deborah, Natasha, and the team at PRH Canada, thank you for making this series feel so special. Jessica and everyone at SDLA, thank you for making this all possible.
Last, because you all deserve to close out my first fully traditional release, thank you to my readers. I don’t think you even realize what an impact your words have. There are days when imposter syndrome fights to win, but then a sweet message from you makes it all flutter away. You are the only reason I get to do this. I’d go through all the hard parts of this journey over and over if it meant that at the end of the day, I still had all of you. Thank you. Like, a lot.
Keep reading for a preview of Summer and Aiden’s love story in
COLLIDE
available now!
ONE
SUMMER
SHE’S HOLDING A gun to my head.
Well, figuratively at least.
The gun in question: hockey. The woman holding it: Dr. Laura Langston, Ph.D.
“Hockey?” I repeat. “You want me to do my grad school application on hockey?”
Langston has been my grad school advisor for the past year, but I’ve been working under her wing since I started at Dalton University.
She’s everything I want to be, and I’ve obsessed over every academic paper she’s written. She’s kind of my celebrity crush in the nerdiest way possible. With her Ph.D. in sports psychology, countless papers published, and experience with Olympians and athletes around the world, she’s inspirational.
Until you get to know her.
When they said Don’t meet your heroes, they were talking about Laura Langston. She’s the human equivalent of an angry swarm of wasps. There are plenty of professors who treat their students like total garbage and think their fancy piece of paper means they can be tyrants, but Langston is a different species. Her brilliance is undeniable, but she is patronizing, dismissive, and purposely difficult when she knows you need her help.
So, why the hell did I choose her as my advisor? Because her success rate in getting students into Dalton’s prestigious master’s program is too enticing to ignore. It’s the number one program in North America and students vetted by her are guaranteed acceptance. Not to mention she chooses who will be eligible for co-op—a competitive program that allows one student from our cohort to work with Team USA. It’s been my dream from the age of eight, so I’ll suffer through her monstrous dictatorship if it means I’ll soon have my own master’s degree in sports psychology.
“You need to start using your resources to your advantage, Summer.” She surveys me above the rims of her glasses. “I know you hate hockey, but this is your last chance to submit a solid application.”