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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Holy tears, I couldn’t see the words clear half the time while reading this book! This is the first read for me by this author and it certainly won’t be the last one I read from her. I didn’t realize this was a standalone in a series of family/friends, but even better cause a lot of the secondary characters were very intriguing and I wanted more of a background on them. This book was definitely unscripted and not just a love story and made you appreciate the life you have and to not take this for granted as much as we do at times. Your heart breaks for Zack, Jack and Denise throughout the story, but oh your heart breaks a different way at the end. Ahh, so what I was hoping for!
Zack was married to a monster of a women and boy did I want to smack her each time she was portrayed in the book. Evil and heartless aren’t even the words to describe her. He may have been on the road all the time being in the NHL, but never did he not once raise that handsome little fellow we all fell in love with. You gasp in the beginning and then sad gasp again when you find out what no parent/child should have endure in life. The decision to move to NY to go on a new team in the NHL to leave behind the monster and to help Jack is one of the best decisions Zack ever made and I’m sure you will agree after reading the story.
Denise our heart breaks for you in a different way, but you didn’t let your past define you and you are one of the best oncologist in NY and your heart is with those little patients of yours. From the moment you met both of them your heart beat just like it does for your other patients, but this heartbeat was a little different and so cherishable. That bond between you to was cute and you didn’t care that he wasn’t from you, you loved him unconditionally. What you gave up for him to get the help needed just shows you how much of a heart you have. Total heart and laughter moment is your brother when it came to the jersey’s. It felt good to laugh after so many tears shed while reading this story. The banter between the guys was funny and a true hockey family.
While you are reading you just keep praying that this isn’t going to go the opposite of how you are hoping cause not all can win is how I will best say this. Love that Charity and actions portrayed by everyone including the Hockey Teams. Talk about more unscripted and you got not only the story going completely off script, but so much more unscripted that you will just need to read and find out for yourself why you need to grab your tissues and read this book. This book will touch anyone with a heart and will become one of your favorite reads in 2018. Sometimes life needs to be so unscripted to get where you are today in life and with the bad comes the good!
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