Black Eyes & Blue Lines: A Slapshot Novel (Slapshot Series Book 2)

by Heather C. Myers

  Seraphina’s lips curled up into a knowing smile. “Exactly,” she said, and then she gave her sister a playful wink.

  Katella blinked, dumbfounded. “Um, what?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

  “You just made my point, Kat,” Seraphina said. There was a smug smile on her face and it was starting to drive Katella crazy. “If you trust Negan enough to be with him and love him even though his previous history might cause anyone in their right mind to question it, why not trust him with who you are? Why not trust him with your behavior – which, by the way, isn’t even that weird.”

  “If Thorpe got into a fight during a game, you would go check on him?” Katella asked.

  “Well, Thorpe is a little different,” she pointed out. “He’s a goalie so any fighting penalties he wouldn’t serve himself. The only time I’d probably check on him was if he was thrown out of the game. But Kat, you’re allowed to be concerned. He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?” She perked her brow, asking the question in silence.

  Katella slowly allowed herself to smile. “Yeah,” she said with a nod. “Yeah, he is my boyfriend. Negan is my boyfriend. Negan. Is. My. Boyfriend.”

  Seraphina laughed. “Okay, okay,” she said. “We get it, you weirdo. So, treat him like your boyfriend. Give him time. Just because a guy is frustrated with you doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to be with you, Kat.”

  Katella pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “You’re right.”

  “I mean,” Seraphina continued, her eyes dropping down to her planner on her desk. “At least you have these problems. At least you have someone to worry about. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself because I made my choices, Kat. I own them; they’re mine. But don’t take for granted that you have someone who loves you, who wants to be with you.”

  “So do you,” Katella told her sister. She didn’t have too much of an attitude with Seraphina, but just enough to show her sister that she was being serious. “The only difference is you know this and you still don’t do anything about it.”

  “I told you,” Seraphina said but Katella quickly interrupted her.

  “That’s an excuse, Sera,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Put yourself out there. Do something to get his attention, then. Force him to ask you out. Do something. I-“

  A knock on the door interrupted the sisters. Katella stopped and looked over her shoulder. The door was closed but the blinds were open, giving both sisters a decent view of who was at the door.

  “What the hell is Matt doing here?” Seraphina asked, sliding her eyes over to Katella.

  “You’re asking me like I have any idea,” Katella responded.

  “Kat, you need to fix this,” Seraphina told her suddenly. “I know this drama that’s going on isn’t your fault. Maybe I shouldn’t have allowed Matt to come back. That’s on me. But the team isn’t synchronizing like it has been. Whether that’s adding Matt to the lineup, I don’t know. But I need there to not be any tension between Negan and Matt, at least professionally.”

  Katella opened her mouth to respond but Seraphina didn’t give her a chance to. She stood up and waved Matt in before cutting her eyes over to her sister.

  Fix this, Seraphina mouthed once more as Matt opened the door and headed inside the suddenly small office.

  Chapter 25

  What did Matt want?

  Katella narrowed her eyes at Matt, clenching her jaw in order to keep herself from saying something untoward. Stupid. Just plain mean. At the very least, he looked sheepish, what with his hand cupping the back of his neck and his shoulders slumped forward.

  “Hey.” His voice was tentative. Unsure.

  Good. Maybe he should be concerned. He had been a jerk the past couple of weeks and she wasn’t sure where they stood. She didn’t want things to be awkward between them, especially now that she had finally moved on with someone who was in every way her match. As she looked at him, she realized there was no bitterness, no resentment. She didn’t even feel her heart flutter at the sight of him. Sure, he was still attractive but she wasn’t attracted to him.

  “Do you want to talk in my office?” she asked.

  Katella rarely utilized her office but she felt that Matt wanted privacy, and to be honest, she wanted it to be as well. Hell, Seraphina probably didn’t want them there, either.

  “That would be great,” he murmured, his eyes sparkling with eagerness.

  She nodded but didn’t say anything else. She headed out of Seraphina’s office and walked down the long hallway. She didn’t turn to make sure Matt was following her; he knew the way to her office. In fact, they had broken it in a few times, after ensuring the door was locked and the blinds were closed.

  When she reached the door, she pushed it open. Matt closed it as she flipped on the lights.

  “What’s up?” she asked, spinning around and leaning against her desk, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn’t offer him a seat, which was probably rude but she didn’t feel too badly about it.

  “Listen,” he said slowly. He met her eyes but Katella could tell it required a lot of effort. “I want to apologize for everything.”

  Katella pushed her brows up and she felt herself soften. But just a little. This wasn’t what she was expecting at all. In fact, she almost didn’t trust him. However, she bit her bottom lip and kept her questions to herself. Instead, she waited for him to explain.

  “I’ve been a jerk,” he said, taking the words out of her mind. “I know I have. I just, I’m going through a lot. And that’s not an excuse. I’m not trying to justify my behavior; regardless of my issues, I shouldn’t treat you this way – or Negan, for that matter.”

  Katella still remained silent. In fact, she had to press her lips together to ensure she didn’t speak just because she didn’t want to interrupt. She actually wanted to hear what he was going to say.

  “I’m going to be honest, Kat,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I did love you – as much as I could at the time. More than I’ve cared about anyone else. It wasn’t a lie to me, what you and I had. Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but it meant everything to me.

  “When your grandfather died, it did things to me. I ran, Kat. And I know that. That’s on me and I will never forgive myself for leaving you like that.

  “I didn’t even consider that you might be going through your own issues. Which was stupid because that’s your grandfather and I know he raised you since your parents died. I just…” He shook his head. “I guess what I came here to say was I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way things ended between us. I’m sorry about how I treated you. I’m sorry for not being able to love you enough. To love you the way you deserve to be loved. And yeah, maybe I was a little jealous about Negan, even after everything we’ve been through because he can give you what I can’t and I hate that I can’t because you’re perfect. You’re perfect. You just aren’t perfect for me.”

  Katella had no idea why there were tears in her eyes. This wasn’t particularly sad and she already knew a lot about this. Still, it was nice to hear it confirmed.

  “When I saw Negan go after Guzman last night, I realized I should have done something to defend you,” he continued. “Guzman didn’t know we weren’t together. He thought we were. He was saying really bad things, Kat.”

  “I know,” Katella murmured, pushing up from her desk to take her own seat. It was an unspoken invitation to sit down. Matt took it and all but crumbled into the chair. He looked exhausted. “Negan won’t even tell me what was said.”

  “That’s probably for the best,” Matt told her. “He was saying all of the things he was going to do to you. Obviously, off the ice, the guy is super nice and I wouldn’t take what he had to say seriously. His job is supposed to get people off the ice. But…” He pushed his brow up and shook his head. “I guess it worked, didn’t it? Negan not only got two for instigating, he got five for fighting and a ten-minute misconduct which automatically threw him out of the game. We were already down a guy a
nd then we had five on three for forty-three seconds. Thorpe’s a fucking badass between the pipes to not have let anything in.”

  Katella opened her mouth, ready to respond, but decided to close it. Matt was rambling, something he didn’t do. Typically, if he had nothing to say, he wouldn’t say anything at all. It was one of the things she liked about him – he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

  “Anyway,” he said, picking his head up to lock eyes with her. “I should have done something. But Negan went after him. You saw it. It was bad. Vicious. It almost seemed like Negan wanted to kill Guzman. Granted, I was pissed but I knew what Guzman was trying to do.”

  “What’s the point, Matt?” Katella asked. She hadn’t meant to be rude about it but there were things she needed to do and she didn’t really want to hear Matt talk about Negan reacting to what was said about her while refusing to go into detail about what that was.

  “I realized how much Negan cared about you,” he explained. “And, at first I got really defensive. I know I’m with Melanie now, and I’m crazy about her, but we have a history, Kat. You were there for me when I really started to come in my own and I can’t just forget all the time we spent together. But I also can’t take it further than that. And Negan… he loves you in a way I never could.”

  “No one will love her the way I do.”

  Both Matt and Katella stopped their discussion so they could look at Negan, who had appeared in the doorway of her office. Katella instantly tensed, not because she thought she had been doing anything wrong, but because she didn’t want Negan to think she had been having a private discussion with Matt and make assumptions accordingly. But looking into his dark brown eyes, Katella realized that thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. The brown irises were filled with earnest intensity and he didn’t even bother to look at Matt. His eyes were reserved solely for Katella.

  Matt cleared his throat but didn’t immediately leave. “Hey Negan,” he said, his voice somewhat tentatively. “Listen, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to apologize.”

  Negan’s brow shot up in surprise but he didn’t immediately dismiss Matt’s outstretched hand.

  “I got defensive of Kat,” he explained. “I can’t explain… Logically, I know she’s great. She is. I just couldn’t bring myself to give her what she deserved. And when I saw you – the epitome of everything I’m not – I got threatened and defensive. And that’s on me. So I apologize for everything, for my behavior. Maybe, maybe we could start over.”

  Negan said nothing which was a typical James Negan response. However, he shook his hand and brown clashed with brown.

  “You fucked my girlfriend,” Negan told him. “We can’t ever be friends. But we can be teammates.”

  Katella and Matt both blushed respectively but Matt nodded.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I did. I’ll definitely miss what she does when-“

  “I will fuck you up,” Negan threatened, tightening his grip on Matt.

  “Kidding!” Matt exclaimed. “Kidding. I’m happy with what I have. I am. Just…” He was serious now, his eyes locking with Matt’s. “Just don’t take her for granted, okay? Don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

  Negan rolled his eyes. “I already did with someone else,” he said. “I don’t have to make those same mistakes again. Not with her.” His eyes finally found Katella’s and the corners of his lips quirked up into a small smile.

  “Okay, well, I’m going to go,” Matt murmured, but nobody was paying attention, even as he slinked off and shut the door behind the two.

  “He just showed up while I was talking to Seraphina,” she explained. “I didn’t actively seek him out to talk or anything.”

  “I know,” he said with a small grin.

  “Oh.” She nodded once. “Okay.”

  “I trust you, Kat,” he told her. “I’m not threatened by Peters or anyone. If anyone disrespects you, I’m going to do something about it, but I trust you entirely. I may not be comfortable with everything but I trust you.”

  Katella nodded, biting her lip to keep from saying anything even though she had a lot of words piling up that wanted release as quickly as possible.

  “I wanted to apologize for yesterday,” he continued. “I’ve never had to deal with something like that before.”

  “You mean someone like me?” Katella couldn’t help but ask.

  “I mean someone who has such an effect on every piece of who I am,” he said softly. “My mind, my body, my soul. I…” He shook his head. “I won’t get into it again. But it boggles my mind that hockey took a backseat to defending you. And it scared me. Being with you didn’t but I didn’t realize what it would mean. I don’t know if I’m making any sense. This has never happened to me before and it’s taking me a while to fully process this.”

  Katella gave him a half smile. “It’s okay, Negan,” she said, and then thought better of it and said, “James. People are going to say whatever they want to get under your skin and get you off the ice. I thought that there was an unwritten rule about talking about the girlfriends and wives but…”

  “Who told you that?” Negan asked. “Let me guess. Peters? That guy was a liar. I bet you they said some pretty bad shit about you that he didn’t want to tell you.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t see you telling me anything, either,” Katella pointed out slowly.

  “Because whatever they say is irrelevant,” he explained. “Half the time, we’re going to be cordial off the ice. Sometimes, we’re friends. I’ve said bad shit before, too. It’s part of the game. Maybe there should be a line but there typically isn’t, and even if there was, there would be some guys who would cross it.”

  “Like you?” she guessed, quirking a brow.

  He grinned. “Possibly,” he admitted. “I’m sorry for pushing you away, though. It’s not your fault that they chirp about you. And it’s not your fault that I reacted to it a certain way. You were just checking on me, and I’m sorry for not letting you do that.”

  Katella shook her head. “No,” she said. “No, that’s okay. I’ve never seen that before. Even with Matt. The thing is, I wanted you to know I was with you. But I also don’t want to push you to talk if you don’t want to talk. I just want you to know I’m here.”

  He grinned. “I do,” he said. “And I appreciate it. It’s refreshing to not feel forced to talk about things. But, just so you know-“ He paused so he could take her hips in his hands and pull her toward him. “-you can always come and check on me. Always. Even if I’m not ready to say anything, just being around you makes me feel better.”

  “I feel the same way about you,” she told him. “To be honest, I was worried I had ruined things before we really got a chance to begin.”

  He cut her a look. “Kat,” he told her. “I want you to be comfortable enough to tell me how you really feel. But I want you to trust me enough to know that just because we disagree doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you. You’re my girl. For as long as you’ll have me.”

  Katella felt herself smile and nod. “You’re right,” she murmured. “You’re right.”

  “Of course I am,” he told her with a wolfish grin. “Now, let’s break in your office. You look so good in that shirt I want to see what it looks like on the floor.”

  Want to know when Book 3 comes out?

  Lip Locks & Blocked Shots: Book 3 in the Slapshot Series will be released June, 2017.

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  Did You Like Black Eyes & Blue Lines?

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  Acknowledgments

  This book wasn’t even supposed to exist, if I’m being honest. It wouldn’t be here without my betas - Angi, Kelly K., and Summer. They’re amazing id
eas, insights, and edits have made this novel even better than it would be - but helped design it in the first place.

  The Anaheim Ducks because they’re my team no matter what.

  My family

  My friends

  The work squad

  Susanna Lynn, for your beautiful cover. It’s amazing and stunning and perfect!

  Frank & Kylee, Josh & Jacob, for your continued love, support, and understanding

  Also by Heather C. Myers

  Other Works by Heather C. Myers

  Also by Heather C. Myers

  The Slapshot Series: A Sports Romance

  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 Snapshot Series He drives her crazy - and not in a good way. But she can't get him out of her head.

  Also by Heather C. Myers

  Modern Jane Austen Retellings

  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.