“This might be bigger than what I can do.”
“She needs a stepping stone.” Judith winks at me. “And I’m apparentlytoo oldto understand.”
“Kids these days,” I murmur.
“Indeed.”
She smiles.
I force one back.
We enter a deeper room inside the coaching complex while the tingling on my neck gets heavy enough that I want to scratch at it.
A gray-haired man sporting a look of utter frustration pulls away from a private conversation with one of the associate coaches, a smile briefly passing over his face as he spots Judith.
And then he spots me.
His brown eyes meet mine and a series of emotions flit across his face in rapid succession.
It would be comical if my heart wasn’t creeping toward anxiety territory.
This is the man who cut Fletcher from the team.
The coach who jerked the rug from beneath a man who thought he’d be able to rely on rugby forever.
“Oliver!” Judith steps smartly into the room, arms outstretched. “Pity about the match. You’ll get them next week. I wanted to introduce you to?—”
“Goldie Collins,” says Oliver Rafferty, head coach of the Nottingshire Leopards rugby club.
It’s the first time all week that I haven’t made myself smile while meeting someone.
Not anyone else’s fault for the rest of them—bruised-heart Goldie is not easy-smiling Goldie.
“You’ve met?” Judith says.
Rafferty doesn’t immediately answer her, so I make a leap in assuming why he’s staring at me the way he is.
“We have a mutual acquaintance,” I tell my boss.
Judith peers at me.
Rafferty doesn’t correct me.
“Goldie’s been a lovely addition to our staff this term,” Judith says. “I think she’s perfect for your situation too.”
He doesn’t look at me as he answers her. “Don’t bloody well think that’s a good idea.”
I haven’t known my boss long, but I suspect flabbergasted isn’t a look she wears often. “I—but Oliver—Goldie would be a lovely bit of support for Annalise. She’s been through her own relationship struggles, and she’s of an age to connect?—”
“I said no.”
Unease slithers through me. I know what Fletcher thinks of Rafferty after the way they parted.
The feeling must be mutual if I’m being denied an opportunity to help his daughter merely for the connection.
Am I reading this wrong? Is there another reason this coach wouldn’t like me on sight?
Judith frowns at him. “Or perhapsyoushould have a session or two with someone who could discuss your personal and professional goals.”
