Penalty Box: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Love in the Arena Book 1)

by Kayla Tirrell

  Penalty Box

  Love in the Arena: Book One

  Kayla Tirrell

  Contents

  Also by Kayla Tirrell

  Get a Free Short Story

  Preface

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Silas

  Miriam

  Thanks for reading!

  Want more sports romance?

  Looking for more sweet adult romance?

  Acknowledgments

  About Kayla

  Also by Kayla Tirrell

  Copyright © 2020 by Kayla Tirrell

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Proofreading: EditElle

  Also by Kayla Tirrell

  Varsity Girlfriends:

  Courtside Crush

  Game Plan

  Wedding Games:

  The Bridesmaid & The Jerk

  The Bridesmaid & The Ex

  The Bridesmaid & Her Surprise Love

  Shelfbrooke Academy:

  Tessa

  Boys of Summer:

  Beauty and the Beach

  Mountain Creek Drive:

  Chasing Love

  River Valley Lost & Found:

  All The Things We Lost

  All The Things We Found

  All The Things We Were

  Collection of Sweet Shorts:

  Home For Christmas

  Carnival Wishes

  The Art of Taking Chances

  Disastrous Dates:

  Disastrous Dates: The Complete Series

  Children’s Chapter Book:

  Help! My Parents Are Zombies!

  Get a Free Short Story

  Sign up for my newsletter and get this short and sweet YA romance for free.

  BLUE CARD:

  In arena soccer, blue cards are given for causing a severe injury. Offending player must spend time in the penalty box.

  Miriam

  Miriam felt a tap on her shoulder.

  “I have something you want.”

  Her fingers stilled over the keys on her laptop before she swiveled around in her seat. There, standing in front of her, was Harris with a bright smile on his face as he held one of his arms behind his back.

  Miriam smiled and stuck out a hand for whatever he was hiding. When Harris didn’t pull it out from behind his back, she lifted a brow.

  His smile turned teasing.

  Miriam groaned. “You’re going to insist on polite conversation first, aren’t you?”

  Harris’ answering laugh was warm. “You know I am.” He leaned against her office wall and ran a hand through his blond hair, making the front spike up even more than usual.

  Miriam pouted, though it was mostly for show. Harris had been super chatty since day one in the office. At first, it had been lessons in how arena soccer differed from the outdoor sport most people knew, but it had quickly turned into a friendship that made Miriam thankful to have Harris hanging around the office. Other than Allie, Harris was probably Miriam’s best friend—with the bonus that Harris actually enjoyed arena soccer.

  She playfully rolled her eyes. “Fine. How are you doing today, Harris?”

  “I’m good. Thanks for asking.”

  Miriam paused long enough to see if Harris would consider that enough. When he didn’t, she added, “And did you do anything fun this weekend?”

  Harris tapped his chin with the forefinger of his free hand. “Well, I went and saw a movie with a friend from work.”

  A corner of Miriam’s mouth lifted into a smile. “Did you have a good time?”

  “Other than my friend stealing all my popcorn? Yeah, I had a lot of fun.”

  A small giggle escaped Miriam. “I had fun too. Thanks for going with me.”

  “And thanks for indulging me.” Harris pulled his hand from behind his back. In it was a small stack of papers.

  Miriam’s eyes zeroed in on it, and her pulse sped up. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “See? I knew you’d be excited.”

  “Excited? That’s a bit of an understatement.” Miriam hopped up out of her chair and reached out greedily. Her fingers barely brushed the papers when Harris pulled his hand back. She gave him a death stare. “Seriously?”

  Harris laughed again. “Fine. Here are the new trades that haven’t been announced publicly yet.”

  Miriam did a little happy dance. As the community outreach manager for the Storm, she needed to know who else would be on the roster this season. Greg Martin, the general manager of the team, would eventually have a meeting with everyone to make sure they were all aware of the new players, but Miriam had never been patient.

  While knowing exactly who could attend the public appearances that she scheduled was helpful for her job, that wasn’t her main motivation for bribing the info out of Harris early. Miriam wanted to know who the new players would be because she was a Storm fan through and through. She’d been watching them play since they’d first established the team just six short years ago. Now she knew enough about the league to have her own wish list of new players that she wanted Greg to acquire this season.

  Waving off Harris with a squeal of thanks, she settled into her chair and took a deep breath. Her hands shook in excitement when she looked at the first page with the name, picture, and short bio about their first new player.

  She let out a sigh of relief.

  Vinny ‘The Box’ Nelson. Dark hair, olive skin, and a sweet smile that was deceiving. Vinny was one of the biggest hotheads in arena soccer. Some games he got so many blue cards that he spent more time in the penalty box than on the field. He was a loose cannon who liked to use any means necessary, including pushing and tripping, to win. But he was also a great defender when he kept a level head. Miriam could see why Greg picked him and knew the team would be better for it as long as the coach could keep him under control.

  She flipped the page and frowned.

  Grant Vaughn. She hadn’t heard that name before. He looked young, and his blond hair was long enough that it brushed his blue eyes. She scanned his page—midfielder, fresh out of a D1 school and star of that team. He wasn’t seasoned like Vinny, but a quick peek at his stats showed that he had a lot of promise. As long as he was able to get used to being a rookie instead of the big fish in a little pond, she was sure he would be a good asset to the Storm.

  She turned the page eager to see who else he’d chosen, doing a little happy dance in her chair. When her eyes fell on the next player, however, she stopped mid-shoulder shimmy and nearly dropped the stack of paper.

  Silas Jenkins.

  Her breath caught at the sight of his piercing green eyes and the teasing smile that revealed a small dimple of his left ch
eek. She set the paper down. She didn’t need to read any of the stats on his page. She knew them better than anyone.

  Though he’d spent the last two years playing for the Wisconsin Wolves, Silas had been in the league for five. He played forward and had the second highest number of goals of all the players in the Eastern Conference last season. Any team would be happy to have him.

  So why did it have to be this team?

  Miriam took a steadying breath before she opened her eyes and looked at Harris. “Is this some kind of joke?”

  Harris’ blue eyes went wide. “What?”

  “Silas Jenkins.”

  “I know. I couldn’t believe it either. I’m not sure how much Greg promised to pay him to get him back, but I can’t wait to see what it’s like having him play for us instead of against us.”

  Miriam stood up and shoved the papers at Harris’ chest before stomping down the hall. She ignored his questions and barged into Greg’s office without turning back. Greg looked up in surprise at her sudden entrance, but quickly smoothed his face out into a patient grimace. Miriam stopped in front of the dark mahogany desk and crossed her arms across her chest.

  Greg closed his laptop. “Harris showed you the list of new players.”

  She nodded once.

  “Do you want to sit down?”

  “No.” She gave him a tight smile. “I want to know why you brought him back.”

  Greg sighed and took his glasses off. He set them on top of the laptop and rubbed his temples. “I know that you and Silas have a complicated history, but—”

  Miriam snorted loudly. Complicated was one way of describing it. Train wreck was probably a more accurate word to encompass the total heartbreak she’d lived through.

  “But,” Greg said with a warning glare at Miriam, “my responsibility is to this team. To its sponsors. To its fans. You know more than anyone how badly we’ve worked in the office to get people excited about the Storm, and the league in general. We’ve got public appearances, themed nights, hashtags...”

  “Which are all really good.”

  “Yes.” Greg nodded. “But we still need to fill those stands. The best way to do it? We need to give them a winning team.”

  “This year’s team is great. Vinny and Grant are going to be great assets to the Storm.”

  “And so will Silas.”

  Miriam groaned. “Silas isn’t the only player out there.”

  Greg shook his head. “You’re right. But he’s got a great record that even you can’t deny. And for some reason, he wanted to come back now that his contract with the Wolves is done.”

  Some reason? You mean a giant fat paycheck. Miriam didn’t even want to think about how much Silas demanded to return to the Storm. She put her hands on her hips and stared at Greg.

  He threw up his hands. “What was I supposed to do? Say no to one of the best players in the league?”

  Miriam flopped down in the leather seat in front of her and closed her eyes. “I don’t know. I just wish it could have been anyone but him.”

  The silence stretched between them as Miriam kept her eyes—and mouth—shut. While she’d always had a good relationship with Greg, and she considered him a friend, he was still Miriam’s boss and the general manager of the team. She was the community outreach manager, who had no say in the team or its players.

  Miriam had overstepped, but she’d been blindsided by Silas’ stupid face that was now etched in her mind. She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes to try to clear the image and all the painful memories it brought with it.

  Greg cleared his throat. “Look, I can understand it might not be, ah, easy to deal with him, but I need to know if you’re going to have any trouble doing your job.”

  Miriam dropped her hands and her eyes snapped open. “What?”

  “You’re responsible for bringing these guys out into the community. You need to make them look good. I know you’ll do a great job with most of them.” Greg rested his arms on the desk between them and leaned forward. “But you’re not going to be the only one who has a hard time welcoming Silas back. There were a lot of fans who felt betrayed by his leaving for Wisconsin. I need to know I can count on you to make everyone fall back in love with the golden boy.”

  She leaned back, crossed her arms over her chest, and mumbled, “Golden boy, my—”

  “Miriam.” His voice was firm. “Can I count on you?”

  She bit her bottom lip. Spending time with Silas wasn’t going to be easy, but Greg was right. She had a job to do. Two years was a long time. She’d changed since then, gotten stronger, and wiser. Plus, she was really good at her job. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she thought it would be. She nodded. “Yes. Of course.”

  Greg leaned back in his chair. “Great. Then I’d like you to head down to the arena to meet with some of the new guys and introduce yourself.”

  Her heart dropped into her stomach. “Right now?”

  He nodded.

  “Will Silas be there?” She tried to keep the tremble of dread out of her voice. Seeing his picture was one thing, but she thought she’d have a bit more time to prepare before facing him.

  More time, as in, forever.

  Greg nodded again. “You know he will be.”

  Miriam sighed, closed her eyes, and counted to ten. You’re a professional. You can do this. She opened her eyes. “Then I guess I’d better get my game face on.”

  “I knew you could do it.” Greg smiled. “We really are so lucky to have you as a part of the team.”

  Miriam didn’t feel lucky. She gave Greg a tight smile in return before she got up and walked out of his office.

  It was amazing how quickly this day had gone from the best to the worst.

  She grabbed her purse on her way past her desk and started shoving the essentials in it—her phone, a couple of loose business cards off her desk for Vinny and Grant, a candy bar from her super-secret stash. Each item was handled roughly as if they were the offending party who brought Silas back to Waterfront.

  “Hey.” Harris appeared beside Miriam. “What’s going on?”

  Miriam slung her bag over her shoulder. Harris was one of the few people who hadn’t worked at the office two years ago. He didn’t have a front row seat to the Miriam-Silas drama, and she wasn’t about to rehash it with him right now.

  “Nothing.” She moved to push past him.

  Harris reached out and grabbed her arm. “Doesn’t sound like nothing. You went from being excited about the new contracts to walking out of Greg’s office looking like you’re about to cry.” He paused. “Did he fire you?”

  Miriam shook her head in quick, jerky movements. “No. Why would he fire me?”

  “Then what’s going on?”

  She yanked her arm free and started walking toward the front door. “Nothing.”

  Harris followed behind her. “Where are you going?”

  Miriam growled. “Geez, Harris. Why do you care so much?”

  Hurt flashed across his face. “Because I’m your friend.”

  Miriam instantly felt like a jerk and stopped her irritated stalk to the door. It wasn’t Harris’ fault that Silas was the Storm’s new forward or that he’d broken Miriam’s heart into a thousand pieces. “I’m sorry. I was just a little...unprepared for the list you showed me. And now Greg wants me to go meet with the players, and I have a bunch of businesses to reach out to and will be totally behind schedule.”

  It wasn’t a complete lie. She was supposed to be spending her afternoon reaching out to people in the community to try to schedule appearances. But even if she didn’t have to go to the arena, she’d still be behind schedule. How was she supposed to focus on work right now?

  “Let me help.”

  Miriam looked up at Harris.

  “I can drive you out to the arena. That way you can work on the way and not lose any time.”

  A rush of warmth spread through her. It was nice to remember not all guys were total jerks. “And what about yo
u? Won’t that put you behind?”

  A corner of Harris’s mouth lifted. “I’ll catch up later. Besides, I kind of want to meet Silas Jenkins.”

  Miriam’s stomach dropped. “Wait, are you a fan?”

  Harris ducked his head. “Yeah. I know I probably should have hated him since he scored so many goals on Finn last season. But—”

  “Come with me.”

  Harris’ head shot up. “What?”

  “You can drive me out to the arena and meet your hero in the meantime.” And keep him away from me.

  “You’re not upset about my wavering loyalties? I thought your reaction meant you’re just as mad at him as the rest of the Storm’s fans.”

  Yes, but for a very different reason. Miriam waved a hand in front of her face. “Of course not. He’s part of the Storm now, so it looks like it all worked out in the end.”

  Harris’ face lit up and Miriam tried not to roll her eyes. She was counting on his fanboying to work in her favor. With Harris there to distract Silas while Miriam connected with Vinny and Grant, she would be able to hightail it out of there before any awkward moments with Silas. It was win-win.

  She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Allie while Harris grabbed his keys.

  Miriam: We need a lady date. STAT. Lots of ice cream!!!

  Allie’s response was immediate.

  Allie: Is everything okay???

  Miriam: Too much to text.