Erin’s eyes narrowed when they met Lia’s. They narrowed further when she saw Maisie. Hell, she was probably about to storm over and say no kids allowed.
And storm over she did. “What’s going on here?”
Lia smothered the immediate feeling that crept up, the feeling that she was doing something wrong. “I—”
Maisie straightened, her hair a mess and her cheeks pink. “I was just getting her autograph, Auntie Erin. Seeing as you didn’t let me get it at the game on Sunday.”
Maisie was Erin’s niece? Erin willingly watched her sister’s daughter? Lia couldn’t imagine her around children. Not with her general demeanour. It took some time before she was able to form words. “You were at the game on Sunday?”
Puffing out her chest, Maisie nodded. “I come to them all. Well, as long as I’ve done all my homework and my mum can bring me. But now I can come with Auntie Erin because she’s not playing.”
Erin winced.
“Look, I found some paper. And this one’s blank.” Maisie handed it over, along with a pen.
Bending to lean on her thigh, Lia hastily scrawled a quick message.
“We’re going to play football in the park now,” Maisie said once she’d tucked the paper into the front pocket of her jacket. “Do you want to come with us?”
“I’m sure Lia has a busy afternoon ahead of her.” Erin’s voice was clipped, one of her hands resting lightly on Maisie’s shoulder.
Watching TV didn’t exactly count as busy, but Lia read Erin’s tone well enough. It was clear from everything about her stance that she did not want to spend another second in Lia’s presence.
Maisie threw Erin a frown before turning her pleading eyes on Lia. “It doesn’t have to be for long. Please?”
“Maisie.” Erin’s voice was a low hiss. “No is a full sentence.”
“But Lia didn’t say no.” Maisie folded her arms. “You said it for her. And you can’t play football properly right now without the doctor getting cross.”
Pain rippled across Erin’s face.
Lia, goddamn her, felt a flutter of sympathy.
“Please?” Maisie glanced between Erin and Lia. “Please, please, please?”
Erin slid her gaze across to Lia. “Are you busy?”
The look in Erin’s eyes was pleading with her to say yes. The problem was, Maisie’s eyes were pleading with her to say no. And Lia had never been good at letting people down, despite years of practice with her stepmother. “I can spare half an hour.”
* * *
What has my life become? Erin could feel her own glare as Lia and Maisie raced over the grass at a small park halfway between Park Lane and her—their—apartment block. Maisie’s giggles carried over to where Erin sat, arms folded, on a nearby bench.
At least one of them was having a good time.
Well. Lia looked like she was enjoying herself, too, an easy smile on her mouth and a flush high on her cheeks. They were attracting interest from a handful of other children playing nearby, and when they asked to join in, Lia started them on some drills Erin recognised from their own training sessions.
Miserable as it was to watch them all having fun, Erin couldn’t provide Maisie with this much entertainment on her own. Apparently satisfied that they were all occupied, Lia jogged back over to where Erin sat and reached for the bag she’d discarded near Erin’s feet. She crouched and pulled out a bottle of water.
“Thank you,” Erin said begrudgingly. “I know this isn’t how you planned on spending your afternoon, but Maisie loves you. She’ll be talking about this for months.”
“She loves you.” Lia played with the lid of her bottle. “She hasn’t stopped talking about how good you are.”
“Well, she spent the whole game on Sunday singing your praises.”
“Kids can have more than one favourite player, you know.”
Erin needed to do better at remembering that.
