Collide by Bal Khabra
Off the Ice #1
Contemporary Romance
May 14, 2024
Berkley

About the Book:

An ultimatum from her professor thrusts Summer Preston into an unexpected collision with hockey captain Aiden Crawford. She’s caught in a delicate balance between fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a sport psychologist and veering far away from this god-awful sport.

For Aiden Crawford, being the captain of the college hockey team has its perks, except when a reckless mistake by his team threatens to jeopardize their entire season. Consequently, his coach nominates him as the subject of a research paper. It’s the last thing he wants to do, especially since the girl leading the project looks like she could wield his skates as a weapon.

Summer can’t stand his blasé approach to life, and Aiden doesn’t understand her uptight, scheduled one. They are off to a rocky start, and provoking each other is what they do best, but defeat isn’t something either of them is willing to accept.

Excerpt:

COLLIDE by Bal Khabra

Berkley Trade Paperback | On sale May 14, 2024

Excerpt

She’s holding a gun to my head.
Well, figuratively at least.
The gun in question: hockey. The woman holding it: Dr. Laura Langston, Ph.D.
“Hockey?” I repeat. “You want me to do my grad school application on hockey?”
Langston has been my grad school advisor for the past year, but I’ve been working under her
wing since I started at Dalton University.
She’s everything I want to be, and I’ve obsessed over every academic paper she’s written. She’s
kind of my celebrity crush in the nerdiest way possible. With her Ph.D. in sports psychology,
countless papers published, and experience with Olympians and athletes around the world, she’s
inspirational.
Until you get to know her.
When they said Don’t meet your heroes, they were talking about Laura Langston. She’s the
human equivalent of an angry swarm of wasps. There are plenty of professors who treat their
students like total garbage and think their fancy piece of paper means they can be tyrants, but
Langston is a different species. Her brilliance is undeniable, but she is patronizing, dismissive,
and purposely difficult when she knows you need her help.
So, why the hell did I choose her as my advisor? Because her success rate in getting students into
Dalton’s prestigious master’s program is too enticing to ignore. It’s the number one program in
North America and students vetted by her are guaranteed acceptance. Not to mention she
chooses who will be eligible for co-op-a competitive program that allows one student from our
cohort to work with Team USA. It’s been my dream from the age of eight, so I’ll suffer through
her monstrous dictatorship if it means I’ll soon have my own master’s degree in sports
psychology.
“You need to start using your resources to your advantage, Summer.” She surveys me above the
rims of her glasses. “I know you hate hockey, but this is your last chance to submit a solid
application.”
The word hate slips past her lips as if my aversion to the sport is completely fabricated.

Considering she’s one of the few people who know why I stay far away from the icy rink and the
similarly icy men skating on it, I barely keep my composure. Sticking me right in the center of
that blue circle with an empirical research study that determines the fate of my future is pure evil.
An evil only Dr. Langston and her molten heart can manage.
“But why hockey? I’ll choose football. Basketball. Even curling. I don’t care.” Does Dalton even
have a curling team?
“Exactly. You don’t care. I need you to do something you care about. Something you feel
strongly about. Hence hockey.”
I hate that she’s right. Sweeping aside her overall ominous nature, she is a smart woman. I mean
she didn’t get her Ph.D. for nothing, but being her student is a double-edged sword.
“But-“
She lifts a hand. “I won’t approve anything else. Do this or lose your spot. The choice is yours.”
It’s like the universe sent me my very own Fuck You in the form of my professor. Years of
working my ass off in undergrad only to be told hockey is my saving grace. What a joke.
Clenching my fists, I swallow the urge to scream. “That isn’t much of a choice, Dr. Langston.”
“If you can’t do this, then I overestimated your potential, Summer.” Her voice grows sharp. “I
have four students who would kill to have your spot, but I took you under my wing. Don’t make
me regret this.”
She didn’t exactly choose to take me under her wing. I had a 4.2 GPA and killer reference letters.
Not to mention the extremely difficult advisor’s exam she implemented last year to pick out the
best students. I got food poisoning from the campus cafeteria that week, but I still dragged
myself to the exam. I beat every student, and I’ll be damned if they take my spot now.
“I understand what you’re saying, but as you know, I’m not very fond of hockey. For good
reason, might I add, and I doubt my research will be an accurate representation, considering
that.”
“Either you get over your apprehension or lose what you’ve worked for.”
Apprehension?
Ignoring the pointed jab feels like trying to ignore a bullet lodged in my sternum. “There’s no
reason why I can’t choose basketball. Coach Walker would happily let me collaborate with one
of his players.”
“Coach Kilner has already agreed to allow one of my students to work with his players. Get me

your completed proposal by the end of the week or forfeit your spot, Ms. Preston.” Her dismissal
is clear when she twists away from me in her chair.
If I could commit one crime and get away with it, I have a feeling it would include Dr. Langston.
“Okay. Thank you,” I mutter. She’s typing aggressively on her computer, probably making
another student’s life a living hell. I imagine she goes home and crosses off the names of students
she has successfully tormented. My name and the doll she sticks pins into are at the top of that
list today.
I’ve successfully avoided everything to do with hockey for the past three years, only for it to be
my front and center for the next few months. I’m beyond screwed, and I have to suck up my
distaste for the sport of my Canadian ancestors.
I use all my willpower to not slam her door on the way out.

Excerpted from Collide by Bal Khabra Copyright © 2024 by Bal Khabra. Excerpted by
permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.

About the Author:

Bal Khabra is a Canadian writer and book lover. Before she decided to jump into the romance pool, she spent her time gushing about books on social media. When inspiration strikes, she is found filling her Notes app with ideas for romance novels. She loves reading about love, watching movies about love, and now, writing about it herself. There really isn’t much else that gets her heart fluttering the way HEAs do. She fell in love with writing and hopes to continue living out her romance author dreams.