Tough Guy - Rachel Reid

A tender, emotional hockey romance about finding joy, love, and the courage to be vulnerableOn the ice, Ryan Price is built to intimidate. Off the ice, he’s barely holding himself together.

As a professional hockey enforcer, Ryan has spent years playing the role everyone expects from him—the tough guy, the fighter, the man who never flinches. But beneath that image, he’s struggling with anxiety, loneliness, and the exhausting pressure of always having to seem strong.

After being traded to Toronto, Ryan hopes for a fresh start. Instead, he finds something far more unexpected: Fabian Salah, a vibrant aspiring musician from his past who still remembers the almost-kiss they shared in high school.

Fabian has never cared about hockey, but that doesn’t stop him from being drawn to the big, guarded defenseman with the ginger beard and quiet sadness behind his eyes. And as the two reconnect, the chemistry between them becomes impossible to ignore.

Fabian introduces Ryan to a different side of life—dance clubs, queer community, art, freedom, and the possibility of happiness. For the first time in a long while, Ryan begins to feel something he thought he’d lost: joy.

But hockey has shaped every part of his identity, and the role he plays on the ice is taking a serious toll on his body and mind. If Ryan wants a real future with Fabian, he may have to make the hardest choice of all—walk away from the life he ha
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