Mom, I am so glad that you gave me the gifts of writing and of reading. You mean the world to me and I love you so much. Thank you for always supporting me and telling me I can do anything I put my mind to.
Noey, HA! THIRD PORN BOOK! WHAT?! And this one is hot, read it, you might learn something … lol. I love you, bubba. Thanks for being there for me and being proud of your big sis.
Dad, and Kristina, I love you both very much. Thank you for being proud of me.
Nortis, my sister, I love you, Boo! My life wouldn’t be right without you and I’m so proud to call you my best friend.
Jackie and BB, I love you two so much! I am so blessed and lucky to have two people in my life who mean the world to me.
Tara, my sister from another mother. Who would have known this relationship would work so well? I adore you, girl, I really do. Thank you so much for being right there with me. Supporting me, listening to me cry, and being the person I needed through this whole experience. I couldn’t have done it without you. I love you so much!
Althea, I love you, girl. I never thought I would be able to connect with someone the way I have connected with you. I love you so much.
Lisa, my partner in crime. I adore ya, babe. Thank you so much for being there for me and reading my book. I will miss your “bitch” texts but it’s okay, ’cause hockey season is coming up! I love you so much!
Beth and Karen, thank God I have you two. I am sorry that I am the worst speller in the world, that my grammar is horrible and that I write very graphic sex scenes. I love you two so much for being there with me and fixing them. I’ve enjoyed this run with you and I can’t wait to do it again with the next one! Love ya!
Susie, Tabby, Shannon, Mary, Kaci, Jodi, Kristi, Maxine, my girls! Thank you so much for being my beta readers and telling me what you liked and didn’t like. I love each of y’all so much and each of you know why. Thank you so much again. Y’all are fantastic!
My fans, wow. Who would have known? Three books later and y’all still love me? Heck yes! Hehe. I love all of you and you know I do. Every e-mail, every Facebook post, every tweet, I answer. I care so much about every single one of you that it brings tears to my eyes to know that I have done this and y’all support me. It blows my mind. Know that all of you hold very dear places in my heart.
Thank you so much for reading Taking Shots, Trying to Score, and now Empty Net. I hope to see y’all again for Piper’s story, Blue Lines.
Love, Toni Aleo
“I’m sorry.”
Oh God, his voice was butter, thick with a Boston accent. Elli swore she came at the sound of it.
“I got new contacts and they are bugging the hell out of me.”
“Someone get Adler another pair!” somebody yelled as he pinched the little lenses out of his eyes, throwing them down on the ice.
“We can do this without them, right?”
Elli just nodded. Gosh, he was gorgeous! He tried to make eye contact with her, and it was obvious that it was hard for him to see.
“I won’t be able to see your beautiful face for a little bit, but I’ll have a new pair soon. Then I can stare some more.”
Elli stood there blinking.
Was he flirting with her?
Did he just call her beautiful?
She turned without a word and went back to work. When it came time for Shea Adler to skate off, he ran into the goal, then the wall, before making it to the bench. Everyone was in a fit of laughter except for Elli. She was still in shock.
Shea Adler had called her beautiful.