Lachlan’s reputation runs ahead of him. He is the fan favorite at the rink, the projected number-one draft pick, the man people want to be or be with. Lyla is the exception. She meets his attention with disdain, ignores the performance, and stays out of reach.

Unavailability becomes obsession. When he finally has her, the future looks clean: championship, draft, Lyla beside him. Then she leaves without warning. Three bitter years follow. He finds her again, and the reunion is not soft. She owes him more than an explanation. He intends to become her problem.

Hockey as status, not only sport

Fairview’s rink is a stage. Lachlan’s value is public — stats, draft talk, campus desire. That publicity is why Lyla’s refusal mattered. She was not another person auditioning for proximity to the star. The romance starts from that refusal and from his inability to accept it as final.

After the disappearance, the same status becomes fuel for a different story. A man used to being chosen has to live with being left. The three-year gap is not a gentle slow burn. It is anger with a calendar.

Second chance with teeth

Published framing emphasizes revenge and an obsessed hero as much as reconciliation. Readers should not expect a soft apology arc in the opening premise. Lachlan returns with a debt ledger. Lyla returns with whatever reason made vanishing the only option. The dual perspective keeps both sides of that ledger on the page.

Sports romance readers will recognize the NHL-prospect pathway. Contreras uses it as pressure: a career about to go national, a private history that can still derail the man who thought the hardest part was the draft.

Who this book is for

Until I Get You is for readers of new-adult hockey romance who want possession and second-chance tension rather than a light locker-room comedy. It is series openers for Fairview Hockey. Darker themes are flagged in the book itself; readers who need soft romance only should check those warnings first.

A short note

Three years is a long time to rehearse a reunion. The premise that he spent them bitter rather than healing is what gives the title its edge: until I get you is less a promise than a threat he has had time to perfect.