Vegas Baby — Katie Kenyhercz

As captain of the dance team for the NHL's Las Vegas Sinners, it's Miranda Evans' job to make sure a quality product goes on the ice between periods whether it's choreographed numbers or short scrimmages, but she's not blind. Her squad gets eye rolls and applause in equal measure. The chance to start a community intramural hockey league is her shot at legitimizing the Lady Sinners, but there's a catch. To maximize good press, Miranda has to work with a retired Sinner who's shut himself off from everyone in the organization. He's stubborn, broken, and unwilling to say the least, but in unguarded moments she can see the man underneath, and he might just be worth fighting for. Ben Collier's NHL career came to a crashing halt a little over a year ago when a monster hit paralyzed him from the waist down. Feeling is coming back at a mind-numbingly slow pace. He's attacking rehab to the point of obsession. All he wants is to be left alone to focus on his three goals: walk, skate, play hockey. He absolutely doesn't need the distraction of the beautiful cheerleader who won't give him a moment's peace, but her optimism rubs off when he's not looking. Despite himself, the glass is starting to look half full for the first time since his injury. And that's terrifying. To love something means to accept the risk of losing it, and he's not sure he can do that again.