Title: Something So Unscripted
Author: Natasha Madison
Genre: Sports Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2018
Cover Design: Melissa Gill at MGBookCovers
Zack
Finding my teammate in bed with my wife made the decision I had been fighting with for years easier.
It’s time to move on.
A fresh start and a new NHL team in a big city. Most importantly, it’s my son Jack’s best shot.
It would be both of our best shots.
Denise
After a bad childhood, I made sure I would succeed, so I lived for my job.
The problem is I die a little with each patient I lose. It’s part of my career at Hudson Children’s Oncology Hospital, but it doesn’t make the sting of loss any easier.
Seeking anything other than a life saved isn’t on my agenda until a NHL player walks into my hospital with his son.
We’re officially off script the moment we meet.
If this love is anything, it’s unscripted.
“Zack.” I hear her voice and just look at my wife. The woman who said she would love me in good times and in bad yet is currently holding a sheet to cover her naked body. The four-carat engagement with matching eternity wedding ring glistens in the light. “It’s just ...” she starts to say, and I look over at the man in bed next to her. In our bed.
“It’s over.” I say the two words I swore I wouldn’t say no matter how hard it got. No matter how much I saw her push me away, no matter that I always suspected she was cheating on me. Then I look over at the man who I called a brother, the man who stood by my side on and off the ice. “You’re scum.”
“It just happened,” Colton says, getting out of the bed. At least he’s wearing boxers. His knee is still wrapped from the operation he had last month, which is why he wasn’t on the road with us, which is how I surprised them.
We were on the road for the whole week and due back tomorrow, but I hightailed it out of there to get home to my family and my son. “It just so happened you walked into my house and slept with my wife?” I ask him, and I have to wonder why I’m not more pissed, why I’m not more angry with them. “You come here and sleep with my wife with my son under the same roof.”
“Zack,” my wife says, and I look over at her again. Tears are rolling down her cheeks, her perfectly made up face now streaked with the black mascara she always wears. “Please let’s ...”
I shake my head, putting my hands in my pockets. “Let’s what? Let’s talk about this?” I throw my head back and laugh. “Let’s talk about the fact that our son is in his room dying. Let’s talk about the fact that instead of helping him, you’re just helping yourself. Let’s talk about the fucking fact that instead of being there by his side with me, you chose to escape the fucking reality that our son won’t make it to six years old.”
“No.” She shakes her head, and I know that I’ve about had it.
“I’ll give you an hour,” I tell them both. “One hour and I want you packed and at the door when I come back.”
“But—” she says.
“But nothing, Chantal. You did what you had to do for you, and now I’m doing what I need to do for our son.”
I turn and walk out of our bedroom, then down the winding staircase that leads to the big brass front doors. Once outside in the warm Arizona air, I take my phone out of my pocket and call the only person I know who has my back no matter what. My agent and best friend, Jamie.
He answers after one ring, and it doesn’t surprise me he sleeps with his phone in his hand. “What’s up?” he says, his voice sleepy since it’s four a.m. in New York.
“I want out of Arizona, make the trade. Call the powers that be; I want out,” I tell him, getting into my Range Rover.
“You can’t just demand that,” he says, and I hear sheets rustle.
“Just walked in on Colton fucking my wife, so you can bet your ass I can. Make it happen. Call New York because it’s the only place I’ll go. I don’t care if I take a pay cut.”
“That fucking scumbag,” he says. “I’ll call them now.”
“Jamie, there is a top-notch doctor who specializes in cancer in New York. Max Horton’s sister,” I tell him quietly and slowly drive out of my gate.
“I’ll make it happen,” he says softly. “I’ll let you know what they say.”
“Jamie, I’m leaving here in a week regardless of what they say,” I tell him and disconnect the call.
“One week,” I say to myself. “One fucking week.”
“It’s over.” I say the two words I swore I wouldn’t say no matter how hard it got. No matter how much I saw her push me away, no matter that I always suspected she was cheating on me. Then I look over at the man who I called a brother, the man who stood by my side on and off the ice. “You’re scum.”
“It just happened,” Colton says, getting out of the bed. At least he’s wearing boxers. His knee is still wrapped from the operation he had last month, which is why he wasn’t on the road with us, which is how I surprised them.
We were on the road for the whole week and due back tomorrow, but I hightailed it out of there to get home to my family and my son. “It just so happened you walked into my house and slept with my wife?” I ask him, and I have to wonder why I’m not more pissed, why I’m not more angry with them. “You come here and sleep with my wife with my son under the same roof.”
“Zack,” my wife says, and I look over at her again. Tears are rolling down her cheeks, her perfectly made up face now streaked with the black mascara she always wears. “Please let’s ...”
I shake my head, putting my hands in my pockets. “Let’s what? Let’s talk about this?” I throw my head back and laugh. “Let’s talk about the fact that our son is in his room dying. Let’s talk about the fact that instead of helping him, you’re just helping yourself. Let’s talk about the fucking fact that instead of being there by his side with me, you chose to escape the fucking reality that our son won’t make it to six years old.”
“No.” She shakes her head, and I know that I’ve about had it.
“I’ll give you an hour,” I tell them both. “One hour and I want you packed and at the door when I come back.”
“But—” she says.
“But nothing, Chantal. You did what you had to do for you, and now I’m doing what I need to do for our son.”
I turn and walk out of our bedroom, then down the winding staircase that leads to the big brass front doors. Once outside in the warm Arizona air, I take my phone out of my pocket and call the only person I know who has my back no matter what. My agent and best friend, Jamie.
He answers after one ring, and it doesn’t surprise me he sleeps with his phone in his hand. “What’s up?” he says, his voice sleepy since it’s four a.m. in New York.
“I want out of Arizona, make the trade. Call the powers that be; I want out,” I tell him, getting into my Range Rover.
“You can’t just demand that,” he says, and I hear sheets rustle.
“Just walked in on Colton fucking my wife, so you can bet your ass I can. Make it happen. Call New York because it’s the only place I’ll go. I don’t care if I take a pay cut.”
“That fucking scumbag,” he says. “I’ll call them now.”
“Jamie, there is a top-notch doctor who specializes in cancer in New York. Max Horton’s sister,” I tell him quietly and slowly drive out of my gate.
“I’ll make it happen,” he says softly. “I’ll let you know what they say.”
“Jamie, I’m leaving here in a week regardless of what they say,” I tell him and disconnect the call.
“One week,” I say to myself. “One fucking week.”
When her nose isn't buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she's in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It's a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn't listen to her...
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Elizabeth's Review
5 Stars - One of the Best
Review Copy Provided by Author
I think this might just be my favorite Natasha Madison book since her debut. I have loved her hockey bad boys and seeing their stories of redemption, but seeing one of these guys be awesome from the start was just fantastic.
Our heroine - Denise - is someone we met in Something So Irresistible as Max's sister. Here we get to know the smart doctor with a heart of gold much better. He love interest is Zack (and his son Jack) who move to New York with a dedicated purpose of meeting her so she can treat Jack's cancer.
This is a story that reached in and grabbed my heart. Zach is the most amazing Dad! From the minute we meet him, it's easy to see that his child is his world. He even treats his soon to be ex-wife with way more dignity than she deserves given their situation. I appreciated the slow burn of the Zack/Denise relationship and how the focus was on treating Jack and everything else just evolved.
Matthew and Max (from the previous 2 books in the series) added an element of comedic relief in their secondary cast roles. The parallels to Irresistible definitely made me chuckle, especially since Matthew was ribbing Max the whole time.
Well written and fairly fast paced, this is a book I ended up reading in one day because it was just so hard to put down. The Something So books are all standalone efforts, but there is significant crossover in characters. While it is not necessary to read them in order, I would definitely suggest it as the story lines are sequential and if you were to read this one first, there would be spoilers for the prior books. Four books in, this is a series that is going strong and I am curious to see where Ms. Madison takes us next.
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