Rookies Touch It Better: Book 4 in The Minor League Mayhem Series Read online

  Rookies Touch It Better

  Book 4 in The Minor League Mayhem Series

  Heather C. Myers

  Contents

  1. Connor

  2. Juliette

  3. Connor

  4. Juliette

  5. Connor

  6. Juliette

  7. Connor

  8. Juliette

  9. Connor

  10. Juliette

  11. Connor

  12. Juliette

  13. Connor

  14. Juliette

  15. Connor

  16. Juliette

  17. Connor

  18. Juliette

  19. Connor

  20. Juliette

  Did you like Rookies Touch It Better?

  Acknowledgments

  1

  Connor

  “I don’t understand.”

  Seraphina Hanson looked especially pretty today, Connor noticed, even under the lighting of her office. Her cheeks were puckered, her eyebrows were scrunched, and there was this wrinkle in her nose that made her look…cute.

  It wasn’t a word he tended to use very often, and moving here from Alabama after being drafted had helped mute some of his southern drawl, it sure as hell didn’t soften him to feminine vocabulary.

  But right now, in this moment, cute was an accurate statement when it came to Ms. Hanson.

  “I don’t either,” he admitted, running his fingers through his hair. “That’s why I’m here. I’m not sure who else to go to about this, and I felt like I needed to talk to someone before I did anything or signed anything.”

  It was abnormally hot for February, and considering where he was from, he should be used to it. Maybe it was the fact that he wore a suit to what was supposed to be a casual business meeting. A suit that was going to have sweat stains underneath his arms thanks to the fact that Ms. Hanson’s office didn’t seem to have AC. Or maybe it was just broken. The suit definitely didn’t help.

  “Yeah, it’s always good to know what you’re signing before you sign anything,” she agreed, flipping the page and scanning the next one. She pursed her lips again.

  The phone rang but she ignored it.

  Connor, on the other hand, did not. His eyes lingered, almost like he was trying to figure out if he wanted to be interrupted or not. In truth, he still wasn’t sure what he felt about the paperwork, about why Jules had dropped it off to him earlier that day.

  Well, that wasn’t exactly true.

  He knew why, he just wasn’t sure how he felt about it. And that was why he had asked for an emergency meeting with Seraphina Hanson the same day. She would know what to do. She always seemed to know what to do.

  Part of him thought that maybe he should be embarrassed. This wasn’t exactly being young and stupid, was it? Marriage was something that should be taken seriously, should be given the respect that it deserved. At least, that was how he felt thanks to the twenty-six years of marriage his parents had that constantly reminded him there was such thing as a good marriage.

  Would Seraphina Hanson release him from his contract because she disagreed with how he handled things? Could she do that?

  She could do whatever she wanted, a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his dad pointed out. Contracts were bought out all the time, especially in the NHL. There was nothing that said she had to keep him if she didn’t want to, if he didn’t represent the values of the Irvine Mayhem.

  His heart started to palpitate. He rubbed his palms on high thighs, trying to wipe off the slickness that accumulated there. Maybe he shouldn’t have come here. Maybe he shouldn’t have even brought this to Ms. Hanson’s attention in the first place.

  “Yeah.” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He tensed the muscles in his body, trying not to squirm. For some reason, he felt like he was a kid in the principal’s office. “Look, I know what you probably think -”

  “I’m not here to judge you, rookie,” she said, lifting up her chin and catching his eyes. He opened his mouth but there was something in her emerald stare, something that caused him to slowly shut his mouth. “Look, I had to see Alec Sinclair for something. Think about that for a second. This...this is a kid who got drunk in Vegas and got married. I mean, it happens all the time, right?”

  “You’re joking,” he said, his back stiff, waiting. Waiting for some kind of sign that this was, indeed, a joke.

  Seraphina smiled. “Yes.” She flipped over another sheet of paper. “About the last part. I’m not joking about the fact that I’m not here to judge you or that anything that has to do with Alec Sinclair is way worse than what you’re thinking.”

  “Oh.” He was relieved, but only slightly. He shifted in his chair, curling his fingers around the arms of the chair. “Okay.”

  “The question you have to ask yourself is whether you want a divorce or not,” she said.

  “Divorce?” Connor shot his eyes to the contract. “So, that’s what she wants from me? A divorce?”

  Seraphina tilted her head to the side, rubbing her lips. “Well,” she said. “What did she ask you for, specifically? Like...when she gave this to you? What did she say?”

  “She handed me the papers.” Connor furrowed his brow. “Actually, she randomly showed up at my place. I didn’t even know she knew where I lived. Anyway, that’s besides the point. She just handed me the paper, said we both knew this wasn’t going to last, and asked me to sign.”

  “So, she didn’t ask you your opinion or what you wanted?” Seraphina frowned and began to click her pen. “She didn’t talk to you about why she might want this?”

  “I mean, it’s not like we live together,” Connor admitted, wincing as he did so. “It wasn’t like we were in love before this happened. I can admit that we were both reckless, maybe careless. We were caught up in the moment, you know? I was drafted. You just drafted me. And I wanted to celebrate, and there she was, you know? The most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I think she had been dragged to a party. She didn’t even want to be there. But she was. And we had fun. We got drunk, and, well, when we woke up, we had matching rings and matching hangovers.”

  Seraphina’s lips twisted into an amused smile. “Did you talk then?” she asked.

  Connor racked his mind. Truth be told, that night was a bit of a blur. He couldn’t remember much after Seraphina herself called his name at the draft that night.

  Except Juliette. He remembered her like he remembered his Psalms.

  “I don’t actually know,” he said. “I mean, I think we did. She had to get back to San Diego for something, I don’t know, that had to do with her dad. She had to leave fast so we barely exchanged contact information. I have her number but she never reached out and I got swept up in rookie training camp and the like, so…” He let his voice trail off and reached up to cup the back of his neck, wincing slightly. “Look, ma’am, I know this wasn’t a smart decision. I do. But it happened, and now I need to figure out what to do about it. And I’m coming to you because, well, because in all honesty, I don’t have anyone else I can talk to. And I just, she’s here and I don’t know what to do.”

  Seraphina’s eyes widened slightly. “She’s here?” she asked. “As in, in Orange County? Did she give you the papers herself?”

  Connor nodded. “Said something about wanting to get the signature herself,” he admitted. “I think I threw her off when I told her I needed some time to think about it. I expect she assumed I would just sign it and be done with it.”

  Seraphina leaned back in her chair, pressing her lips together. She was silent for a moment
. Connor couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about. There didn’t seem to be anything critical in her face. When she said she wasn’t judging him, it was clear she was being honest about that, which he appreciated. On the other hand, he wasn’t quite sure what seemed to be weighing her down now.

  “Well, cowboy,” she said, referring to Connor by the nickname the mayhem had given him the first day of training camp when they heard his drawl. “What do you want out of this?”

  He blinked once. “What do you mean, ma’am?”

  “Well, I think the question is pretty straightforward,” she said, swiveling in her chair lightly. “What do you want to get out of this? Do you want to stay married? Do you want a divorce?”

  Connor sighed, dropping his hand back into his lap. She made it seem so simple. And maybe it should be. But he felt the question was more complicated than it seemed.

  “I’m not sure what I want,” he admitted, listing his shoulders into a shrug. “I know it sounds crazy, especially since I don’t even know Juliette that well. Or, at all. I get that. But at the same time, I can’t help but wonder if I’m giving up something good without knowing it’s good.” He wrinkled his nose. “Am I…does that make sense?”

  “It makes sense,” Seraphina allowed, “but I feel like something’s blocking you from being honest with yourself. At the end of the day, you shouldn’t worry about what I want or what anyone else wants. Not even your family. The only thing that should matter to you besides this girl’s opinion of the situation is your own. Even if it is crazy. Even if you think it would be difficult for anyone else to understand. We aren’t in your shoes, you are. And whatever decision you make, you’re going to have to live with that.”

  Connor dropped his hands from the arms of the chair so they rested on his knees. Seraphina wasn’t actually wrong. In fact, what she did say was enough for him to think on everything. At the end of the day, he needed to figure everything out. He needed to figure out what he wanted. The problem was, he didn’t know what he wanted. And he wasn’t sure he knew how to figure it out.

  “Well?” Seraphina asked, bunching her shoulders up to her ears before dropping them down. “What do you think?”

  Connor glanced up at her. “Yes, ma’am?” he asked.

  “What do you want?” she asked. “Look, you’re almost twenty. That’s pretty young to commit to a person for the rest of your long life. Granted, it happens, but still. I just don’t want this to affect your game in any way. You are a promising forward, and the last thing I want is something as distracted as marriage or divorce to inhibit your ability to play with your natural confidence.”

  Connor opened his mouth, ready to argue with her, ready to assure her without a doubt that nothing was going to mess with his confidence, but one look from Seraphina silenced him.

  “Don’t try to argue with me,” she said. “Things like this affect people regardless of who they are or what they do for a living. I deal with grown adult men, and you’d be surprised what distracts them and gets them out of their own focus. This...this is a big deal, Connor. Do you need a couple of days to take for yourself so you can figure this out? Because I’m not going to tolerate any excuses, and neither will your coach. Do you understand?”

  Connor nodded immediately. “Of course, Ms. Hanson,” he said. “Absolutely. It’s just, I wouldn’t know how to figure out what I want.”

  Seraphina arched a brow. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I mean, I know it sounds stupid, but how do I even know what I want?” he asked. The words started to come out fast and loose, and he couldn’t stop them, even if he tried. “I haven’t actually been married to her. Like, I am, but I haven’t spent that time with her to figure out if I want to be married or not. I’m not one of those guys who shirks marriage or commitment. I’m not. I want to give this a chance. I want to give us a chance.”

  Seraphina’s eyes dropped to the paperwork. “It doesn’t seem like she feels the same,” she stated gently.

  “Yeah.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “I don’t want to force her to stay married to me if she doesn’t want to. But I don’t think it’d be right if, you know, I just gave up either.”

  Seraphina was quiet for a moment. “I guess the best thing you can do, Connor, is to talk it over with her and see what her perspective is,” she said. “Maybe her reason for divorce has nothing to do with you. Maybe there’s another reason for it.”

  “And then what?” he asked. “After we talk?”

  “You both make a choice,” she said. “And then you put that choice into action. Because I don’t want this to distract you, Connor. Because the truth is, it will.”

  2

  Juliette

  “This is so annoying,” Juliette muttered, attempting to slam the door to her hotel room. The door was already heavy, so instead of getting that satisfying slam, it slowed down until it clicked into place.

  “Uh oh.” Hera was still splayed on the bed on her stomach, flipping through the television channels, exactly where Juliette had left her older sister. In truth, Juliette had no idea why Hera had even wanted to come with her to Irvine from Las Vegas in the first place, but Juliette could admit that it was nice to have the company. “That look does not resemble someone who was successful in her mission.” She turned the television off and sat up, leaning her back against the headboard. “What happened?”

  “He said he was going to think about it,” Juliette said. She plopped on the edge of her bed, bracelets tingling against each other. “What is there to think about? I want a divorce. I thought for sure he wanted one too. Why won’t he just sign the papers?”

  “Does he, I don’t know, love you?” Hera arched a brow.

  Juliette scoffed. “What’s there to love?” She stood up and began to pace. “We barely knew each other. We spent one night together, that’s it. He had just been drafted and was celebrating a little too hard. I don’t even know where he got the alcohol. But he was cute and he had this little drawl…” She let her voice trail off. The last thing she wanted to do was reminisce about a husband she barely knew. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I want a divorce. That’s it. And, for some odd reason, he won’t give it to me.” She locked eyes with Hera, pausing momentarily. “Honestly, I thought he’d be relieved.”

  “Relieved?”

  Juliette shot her sister a look. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought her here in the first place. Hera always did have her head in the clouds. Not because she was romantic - though she was - but because she thought some of the strangest things were possible.

  Like, Connor Lucas - NHL player, Connor Lucas - loving her when they barely even knew each other.

  When they were so drunk, they did something wreckless and stupid, something that only happened in the movies.

  But it worked.

  It was way easier than she expected.

  She thought getting married would be...complicated. But it hadn’t been complicated at all.

  And since then, she had kept the whole thing from her family, friends...Hell, Hera only found out because Hera had this uncanny way of sniffing out secrets. It was annoying. Luckily, Juliette trusted her older sister. She knew Hera wouldn’t tell anyone. More than that, she wouldn’t judge, either.

  Juliette brought her fingers to her temples and began to rub them in little circles. Closing her eyes, she let out a low breath.

  “I don’t know, Jules,” Hera said. “Maybe he’s one of those guys that believe in the sanctity of marriage and wants to stay married.”

  Juliette’s eyes snapped open. “What?” she asked flatly.

  There was no way Connor Lucas wanted to stay married. Why would he? He was a nineteen year old kid, about to start a lucrative career as a professional hockey player. That was a big deal. There was no way he would want to stay married when he had a chance to be single so he could hang out and hook up with whomever he wanted. A huge commitment at such an early age...that was stupid. Irresponsible. r />
  “He’s from the south, right?” Hera asked, shrugging her shoulder. She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a black binder and flipped it over. “Hey, do you want to get room service tonight? I’m thinking I want a burger, but I’m so tired of the fast food garbage.”

  Juliette blinked once, twice. “Hera? Can we focus please?” She smoothed out the wrinkles of her plaid shirt. “You said he was from the south. What does that have anything to do with being married?”

  She flipped open the page. “You know,” she said without looking up at Juliette. “They have manners or something. They’re taught about, you know, how precious marriage is and how sacred and all that. Maybe he feels obligated to stay married to you?” She shot her sister a look over the menu before flipping another page. “You know, there’s this burger that’s called the San Diego burger because they put an onion ring in it. Can you believe it? I mean, clearly these people have never been to San Diego.” She clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth, shaking her head. “I might have to check it out, though.”

  Juliette dropped her head in her hands. “It’s been a few hours since I dropped off the paperwork,” she said. “Why hasn’t he texted me, saying that he’s signed it?”

  “Maybe because he hasn’t signed it,” Hera said. “I think I’m going to get sweet potato fries. What do you think? Will you share them with me?”

  “I can’t even think about eating,” Juliette said through a groan, keeling over and wrapping her arms around her stomach. “I just, I need this done. I don’t know what’s going to happen if Daddy finds out.”