Lily Kane had always believed love would find her the way hockey had—unexpectedly, intensely, and when she was least looking for it.

She met Nathan Harper in her sophomore year at Denver, in a sports marketing class she almost dropped because the professor had a reputation for brutal group projects.

Nathan sat two rows ahead, dark hair falling over his forehead when he leaned over his notebook, always wearing a quiet smile that made the room feel a little brighter. He ...