“Thank you.”
I let Eric’s hand drop, completely forgetting I had had it in the first place. It was weird how used to something I was, even after years of not being together. I almost hated how easy it was to fall back into our routine.
I locked eyes with him, tilting my head to the side. “For what?” I asked.
“For believing in me,” he said, “even when no one else did. Hell, there was a moment when I didn’t know…” He let his voice trail off.
“No, Eric.” I shook my head.
This time, I shoved my hands behind so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch him at all. I didn’t want to offer him comfort. I was too afraid it would turn into something more, and I didn’t know if I was ready for that just yet.
“Granted, I’m not going to tell you I automatically believed you,” I continued. “I didn’t think you were capable of such a violent act against a woman, but people change. But you hired me to do a job and I promised you I would see it through until the end, no matter what I found.”
“Was that it?” he asked, reaching out to curl a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I leaned into his touch before I could stop myself and he swallowed slowly. “You helped me only because I hired you? No other reason?”
I didn’t want to do this. Not now. Maybe not ever.
“What do you want me to say, Eric?” I asked.
I avoided his eyes, tugging at my fingernail. Part of me wanted to rip it off and flick the nail away. The other part wanted to leave it alone because if I ever wanted to walk into a nail salon without being embarrassed, I needed to stop picking at them when I was uncomfortable.
“I want you to tell me the truth,” he said.
At that moment, someone poked their head out of the locker room.
“Five minutes, Foresburg.”
Eric nodded but didn’t acknowledge him otherwise. His eyes were firmly on me, as though nothing else mattered.
I waited until the player went back into the locker room, giving us slightly more privacy.
“The truth about what?” I asked.
“Us.” He took a step towards me. Every instinct in me screamed to take a step back, to get away from him, but I couldn’t. I was rooted in place. “What happened between us, Meeks. I want you to tell me –“
“What?” I interjected, throwing my arms out. I clamped my mouth together and glanced around. The last thing I wanted to do was attract attention. “What could you possibly want to know?”
“I want to know if you still have feelings for me.” Another step. He was closer. I was suddenly hit with a sense of déjà vu, how this was nearly the same position I had been in with Beech after IPD arrested Kevin. “I want to know if you feel something between us. I want to know if you still care.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why do you need to know? Why do you care? You broke up with me.”
“It was the worst mistake I ever made,” he said. I knew from the glint in his blue eyes that he was sincere. He wasn’t lying. “I told you this. I was hoping that maybe you felt the same way you did then. About me. About us. I was hoping that you might want to try things again. Start over. I know I don’t exactly deserve it. But I thought maybe, if there was a chance you might still want to, we could try and make it work.”
I looked away. Eric was not one to talk and he had already said more words now than he had in three of his last interviews combined.
I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t know how I felt. To be honest, this came out of nowhere. I wasn’t prepared for it.
“Mika?” He reached for me.
I still didn’t move. I closed my eyes, wincing. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the caress. I wasn’t sure I could trust myself around him at all, especially if he touched me.
“Foresburg!”
I cracked open an eye. Eric dropped his hand to his side, craning his neck in the direction of the locker room.
“You should go,” I said, my voice soft. “They’re waiting for you.”
“Mika, I want to talk to you about this, about us.” He turned, heading for the locker room.
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I leaned against the rigid wall behind me, trying to make sense of what happened. It still boggled my mind that Kevin was responsible for everything. Sure, Ashley played her part but Kevin was the mastermind behind it all. I just –
A hand grabbed my face and before I realized what was happening, Eric’s lips were on mind. I stiffened, not expecting the kiss, not expecting anything from Eric at all. And yet, here he was.
Slowly, I relaxed in his arms. My eyes closed and I slipped back into the way I used to be when we were together. It was easy to kiss him because I knew exactly how to. Some things changed, sure, while others stayed the same.
I kissed him back, my lips parting for him. Everything about this was safe, comfortable. Even his smell took me back to all the good luck kisses he demanded from me before he went on the ice to warm up.
His kiss was gentle, almost tentative, like he wasn’t quite sure he should be kissing me at all. I didn’t know if he should, either. But I wasn’t pulling away and I didn’t know why.
After a moment – it could have been a second, it could have been an hour – but we were both more comfortable with the fact that we were kissing and relaxed into each other. I sighed and pulled back, but only to catch my breath.
I locked eyes with him and saw they darkened. He wanted me.
A sense of power washed over me and I wanted to make his eyes even darker and I wanted his eyelids to droop even further. I was about to tilt my head up, to kiss him again, when a voice interrupted us.
“For the love of all that is holy, Foresburg, I will bench you –“
My father.
We sprung apart. It amused me to see Foresburg, a grown man, shrink down at the sight of my father. I pressed my hand against my lips to keep from giggling out loud.
“Meet me here after the game,” he told me. “We can talk.”
Without another word, he headed for the locker room.
Finally, I was alone. I took a moment to catch my breath. I placed my hand over my racing heart, trying to calm it, trying to think sensibly.
But I couldn’t.
What I did know was I had every intention of meeting Eric here after the game.
What I didn’t expect was meeting George Probst, the Buccaneer’s key enforcer instead, asking for help.
What I didn’t expect was Eric not showing up at all.
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Acknowledgments
My family
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My friends
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Heather Marie Adkins - for the amazing cover
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Lea for your amazing edits!
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Hockey
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My husband
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My children
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And last but not least, my readers
Also by Heather C. Myers
The Slapshot Series: A Sports Romance
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Blood on the Rocks, Snapshot Prequel, Book 1 Her grandfather’s murdered and she’s suddenly thrust with the responsibility of owning and managing a national hockey team. That, and she decides to solve the murder herself.
Grace on the Rocks, Slapshot Prequel, Book 2 A chance encounter at the beach causes sparks to fly...
Charm on the Rocks, Slapshot Prequel Book 3 When you know it's wrong but it feels so
right
The Slapshot Prequel Box Set
Exes & Goals, Book 1 of the Slapshot Series Most people have no regrets. She has one.
Black Eyes & Blue Lines, Book 2 of the Slapshot Series He drives her crazy - and not in a good way. But she can't get him out of her head.
Lip Locks & Blocked Shots, Book 3 of the Slapshot Series He's the last person she should fall in love with and the only one that ever stood a chance.
Positives & Penalties, Book 4 of The Slapshot Series One gorgeous hockey player plus one night of passion equals two pink lines...
Rumors & Roughing, Book 5 of The Slapshot Series Rumor has it NHL bad boy Alec Schumacher is a criminal...
Trainwrecks & Backchecks, Book 6 of The Slapshot Series It's not pretend when feelings get involved...
Brutal Love & Stanley Cups, Book 7 of The Slapshot Series Passion, regret, and destroying sofas all in the name of love.
Wedding Rings & Champions, Book 8 of The Slapshot Series One night. That's all it takes and Natalie Bowman finds herself married to a professional hockey player.
Also by Heather C. Myers
The Bad Boys of the NHL Series
The Darling She's everything he wants. The only problem is she's his stepsister.
The Captain He has a thing about possessions.
The Enforcer I can’t stop staring at my best friend’s barely-legal daughter.
The Defenseman I like to think I'm a nice guy. I’m not.
The Goalie I hate my sister's best friend. I hate that I want her even more.
Also by Heather C. Myers
Historical romance
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To Pillage a Pirate A Robin Hood pirate captain encounters a saucy barmaid with a dark secret that threatens to ruin both of their lives.
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To Believe a Buccaneer A cheating boyfriend. A naked pirate. A curse to be reckoned with.
* * *
To Marry a Marauder A timeless treasure. An unexpected alliance. A scorned pirate who wants revenge.
Also by Heather C. Myers
Modern Jane Austen Retellings
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Four Sides of a Triangle Matchmaking is supposed to be easy. But Madeline is going to learn that love can't be planned when she starts to fall for the last person she ever thought she would, who also happens to be the man her best friend claims to love as well.
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Four Sides of an Attitude When fire meets ice, steam is supposed to form. Instead, Ronnie and Aiden produce puddles.
Also by Heather C. Myers
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Save the Date As daughter of a man in charge of the CIA, Gemma knew her father was overprotective. She just never thought he would assign a man she couldn't stand to be her bodyguard under the rouse of a fake marriage.
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On Tour with the Rockstar Holly Dunn didn’t know that when she began studying at a rock concert, the lead singer would call her out on it. Tommy Stark didn’t know he’d be intrigued by her odd sort of ways, which was why hew invited her to go on tour with him.
* * *
Foolish Games She was everything he didn't want in a woman and everything he couldn't resist. She thought he was arrogant on top of other things.
* * *
Falling Over You She wasn't supposed to see him, hear him, or feel him because he was dead - a ghost. She wasn't supposed to fall in love with him because she was engaged.
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Hollywood Snowfall It's getting cold in Hollywood, so cold, there's a good chance the City of Angels will finally get snow.
Also by Heather C. Myers
Dark Romance
A Beauty Dark & Deadly He’s the most beautiful monster she’s even seen
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A Reputation Dark & Deadly Logan Jeffrey has a reputation
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A Corruption Dark & Deadly Jericho is the nicest criminal Annie Brennan has ever met.
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A Diagnosis Dark & Deadly Olivia Goodson breaks up with her abusive boyfriend and hooks up with her boss the same night.
Also by Heather C. Myers
Young Adult Novels
Trainwreck Detention is not the place where you're supposed to meet your next boyfriend, especially when he's Asher Boyd, known pothead and occasional criminal. But he makes good girl Sadie Brown feel something she hasn't really felt before - extraordinary.
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