Twenty-Five Seconds to Love

Synopsis

Twenty-five seconds into the Boston–Lakeridge game, Kai Maddox takes a brutal hit from Brock Tillman and crashes chest-first onto the ice. His heart stops. Vadim Cherkov, captain of the Boston Glaciers and Kai's longtime rival, watches in horror as the love of his life lies motionless on the rink. For seven years, Vadim has buried his feelings deep, a love he never allowed himself to confess in a language Kai could understand. Now, as medics perform CPR on Kai's lifeless body, Vadim's carefully constructed walls collapse. In front of twenty thousand screaming fans and every camera in the arena, he shoves through officials, drops to his knees, and sobs out the truth he swore he'd never tell. Six minutes later, a defibrillator brings Kai back. But the damage is done: their secret is out. Kai wakes up to a world that knows their secret. His teammates are confused. His parents are shocked. The league is silent. And the only thing that feels certain is the man who refused to leave his hospital bedside, the man who risked everything to scream his love over Kai's still body. No more hiding. No more silence. Whatever comes next, they'll face it together.