Hockey Romance #6

 The Long Game by Rachel Reid 

This was heartbreaking and so much more emotional than the previous books! It also shares a timeline with book 5. Ilya and Shane are together, in secret. Ilya is playing for Ottawa and the team sucks. Shane is still at Montreal and just won another Stanley Cup. Ilya is having mental health issues but refusing to talk about them. Shane and Ilya are really refusing to talk about a lot of things. Ilya is tired of hiding, but they have a plan so he is going to stick with it. Troy gets traded to his team and Ilya makes a friend, which helps some. Then, Ilya decides to start going to therapy. The commissioner calls Shane in for a meeting and basically tells him: don't come out. Shane panics. Ilya invites him to a party with his team and Shane refuses. They fight and Shane leaves. Then, Shane realizes he's been selfish and a bad boyfriend. It takes days before Ilya returns his call and they start talking about it. Shane proposes and it's beautiful but he got the wrong ring size so Ilya wears it on his necklace. Hayden accidentally outs them when he is recording a fan message and Shane and Ilya are in the background making out. The commissioner calls them both in and gives them a prepared message claiming it was a prank. Shane stands up to him, tells him they are getting married, and there's nothing he can do about it and if he tries they will sue. They leave and Shane tells Ilya not to worry because he recorded the entire meeting. Ilya's team handles the news well. Shane's team does not. They face each other in the playoffs and it comes down to game 7; Shane trips and Ilya scores. Shane's team accuses him of throwing the game for Ilya. Shane's contract is up and he signs with Ottawa. They get married in Ilya's (now their) backyard. This was so emotional. It was nice to return to some previous characters and see where they are.