Forced Proximity

A Spicy Brothers Best Friend Hockey Romcom

By: Kate J. Blake

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

One cabin. One impossible connection. One chance to rewrite the rules.

Pia
I came to the mountains to clear my head, finish my thesis, and maybe breathe for the first time in years.
I didn’t expect him—my brother’s best friend, NHL golden boy, Liam Mitchell.
Older. Brooding. Off-limits.
He’s supposed to be a summer complication. A distraction.
But then he touches me like I’m the only thing keeping him grounded.
And I’m starting to wonder… maybe I am.

Liam
I came here to disappear.
Anxiety, burnout, pressure I can’t explain—hockey used to be my escape. Now it’s my cage.
Then Pia walks back into my life.
Brilliant, beautiful, way too off-limits—and suddenly, I can breathe again.
She sees through the noise.
But when summer ends, so does the bubble.
And I’m terrified I’ll lose the one person who made me feel whole again.

What happens when love shows up at the worst possible time… and feels like the only thing that’s ever made sense?