I couldn’t believe it. Ari was about to have a baby. I didn’t know anyone who’d had a baby. All my friends were stubbornly single and a million years away from reproducing, which knowing my friends, was a damn good thing. If they were anything like Jax and Dana, they could barely take care of themselves let alone a baby. Hell, I knew I wasn’t ready. I just hoped Ari didn’t expect me to babysit any time soon.
Grabbing her bag, Josh helped her waddle down the stairs towards the exit. In all the excitement, we’d missed another goal being scored. Thankfully it was for our team. I just hoped it wasn’t Luca. He’d understand if we all missed it, but I’d still feel like shit.
The whistle blew again and it was already half time.
I don’t even know how that happened. Between Luca’s goal and Ari’s water breaking, it’d been an eventful first half.
“Anyone want a drink?” Jax offered, bouncing to his feet.
“I’ll come,” I told him, grabbing my stuff.
While I stood clutching my ticket waiting for my hot donuts, I shovelled handfuls of potato chips into my mouth.
“Nervous?”
“No.”
“Liar.”
They called me over, and I picked up the paper bag full of hot, sugary goodness. Trying not to inhale all twenty-four donuts, we headed back to our seats. Reluctantly, I shared them, trying not to smack Phoebe’s fingers when she reached for her third.
“Here they come again,” Angelo said.
Gabriella’s head was buried in her phone. No doubt she was keeping tabs on what was happening with Ari.
“If you wanted to go, I can bring the boys home,” I offered stupidly.
The last thing I wanted to be responsible for today was a handful of rowdy kids, but I felt like I had to offer. It was the right thing to do. When Gabriella turned me down, relief flooded me.
“Uncle Luca!” Phoebe gurgled around a mouthful of donut.
Looking up, I saw him standing there staring at the stands, his hands on his hips. Damn I hoped he got to keep the uniform. It mightn’t be a cop uniform or even a fireman’s, but damn he knew how to make it look good. And I wasn’t the only one that thought so. Jax’s silence said it all. Well, his silence, and the fact that when he lifted his drink to his lips, he missed his mouth.
“I called dibs,” I teased, bumping my shoulder with his.
“Party pooper.”
“Sorry, sweetie. But if Luca ever switches teams, I’ll make sure to send him your way,” I placated.
Another goal and the crowd was pumping. Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ was blasting through the speakers, and everyone was on their feet and singing along. Even the opposing teams’ fans had joined the party.
The teams reset and the game got underway again. I don’t know if it was the score line or the fact it was the last game in the season, but instead of everything moving in slow motion, it’d been supercharged. The kicks were faster, the tackles more aggressive. It was like both teams had had a rocket put up their butt at half time, but it was making a much more exciting spectacle. Thank God.
I was looking at my phone when a groan reverberated around the stadium. Looking up, I could see a Wolves player lying on the ground. Gulping down the lump in my throat, I desperately scoured the field for Luca. It couldn’t be him. It just couldn’t. That would be so unfair.
“It’s him,” Izzy whispered behind me.
Although I’m pretty sure she was talking to herself, I found myself leaning so far forward on my plastic chair, I almost flipped myself right off.
“What’s wrong with Uncle Luca?” Rowan, one of Ari’s kids, asked.
Rising from my seat, I didn’t say a word as I walked down the steps, my eyes set on the middle of the ground where an overweight man had just crouched down beside him with ‘Doctor’ emblazoned on his fluoro yellow vest. This wasn’t good. Not fucking good at all.
Around him players from both teams gathered, blocking my view completely. If I could just see his face, I’d know he was okay.
I reached the fence and leaned as far over as I could, ignoring the dirty looks from the security guard sitting only a few metres away. If I didn’t get some information soon, I’d be jumping this fence and running on to the field. I wouldn’t give a shit about being fined or even arrested if it meant someone told me what the fuck was going on. Overhead, the announcement confirmed what we already knew.
Luca Conti was down.
