He only wished it hadn’t been so clearly unpleasant for her.
“Well, I’ve got a lot of work to do.” Miriam lifted a shaky hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Greg wanted to make sure I came by and introduced myself to the new players, and now I have. I think that it’s time for me—” She glanced at the fanboy to her right and cleared her throat. “Forusto get back to the office.”
Harris peered down at Miriam with concern. “Are you—”
She pursed her lips and avoided his gaze. “Can we please just go?”
Harris nodded. “Of course.”
Silas narrowed his eyes at the eagerness in the younger man’s voice. Fan or not, he wasn’t what Miriam needed.
She released a loud sigh. “Thank you.”
Miriam didn’t give Harris, Silas, or any of the other players another glace before she turned toward the exit and high-tailed it off the field.
“It was really nice to meet you,” Harris said to the new players, though his brows lowered slightly when he looked at Silas. “Looking forward to the upcoming season.”
With that, he turned and jogged to catch up with Miriam who was already halfway across the field. Everyone was quiet until the pair was out of sight.
Once they were gone, Finn was up in Silas’ face. “Are you blind or just stupid?”
Silas wasn’t blind. He’d seen the looks Finn had given him. He’d also seen Miriam looking just as beautiful as he’d remembered—maybe more so. No, Silas was just plain stupid.
When he didn’t answer right away, Finn lifted his arms. “You deaf too?”
“Easy, man.” Bastian walked over and put a hand on Finn’s chest. “I’m sure Silas has a good explanation for what happened.”
Bastian turned to face Silas. His eyes practically screamed, “Please have a good reason for acting like such an idiot.”
Silas shrugged. “I couldn’t help myself?”
Finn shook his head. “Of course, you couldn’t. Just like you couldn’t help leaving us for tons of money to play for the Wolves. I don’t know why Greg let you sign on with the Storm again.”
Silas almost laughed. Wasn’t it obvious? It was because Greg was as competitive as he was. The general manager wanted to win. As arrogant as it sounded, Silas knew that he was the missing puzzle piece for that dream. He couldn’t single handedly win a season, but he would bring something to the Storm that was missing.
Silas opened his mouth to respond, but Coach walked into the group. “Alright guys, break’s over. Let’s get out there and work on agility.”
Silas sighed. The mess with Miriam would now make it twice as hard to get the team to trust him again. Had it been worth it to have her in his arms again, even for just a second?
The scent of jasmine lingering in the air made his heart scream a big, fat “yes.”
He shook his head. What’s done was done. He could only choose to do better, not change the past. Time to do what he always did—put his whole self into the game and show everyone why he was here.
Miriam
As awkwardas that surprise hug from Silas had been, it wasn’t nearly as awkward as the drive back to the office with Harris.
He’d asked if she was okay no less than ten times, refusing to believe her reassurances that she was fine. Maybe it was the tears that lingered in her eyes without actually falling that tipped Harris off to the fact that she was lying, but she was not about to talk about her disastrous romantic past. Not when the entire team had practically growled and bared their teeth at Silas.
While it had felt wonderful to know the guys had her back, Miriam needed at least one person who didn’t look at her with a weird mix of curiosity and pity at Silas’ return. So Harris would not be getting the full story anytime soon.
Now, back at her desk, she rested her head in her hands and relived the brief, intimate moment between her and Silas. Harris had been gearing up for a total fanboy moment when Silas had wrapped his arms around her.
What had that idiot man been thinking? And why had she leaned into him when she should have sprinted in the opposite direction? She was sure it was partly because of the delicious mix of pine and sweat and man that had hit her when he pulled her close. With it, brought a rush of happy memories that made Miriam’s heart warm for the briefest of moments.
But then came the memories of heartache, and she’d pushed him away.
Had it been a pity hug? Something merely platonic?
