“Can’t wait.” Family had always been Erin’s reason for wanting to succeed. The desire to make her dad proud—and to pay him back for everything he’d given up for her and Jessica. He might not have been able to emigrate to Spain to be with Isobel without Erin’s help, and she wouldn’t have been able to support Jessica and Maisie.
Not that they needed much help anymore, now Jessica was working as a junior lawyer. But nine years ago, after becoming a mother at eighteen, had been a different story.
And it hadn’t been easy. When Erin had started out, few female players were professional, and those who were weren’t exactly high earners. But, in the years since, progress had been made, and Erin had been one of the drivers of that movement, smashing records the way she had.
“Here’s your cake!” Maisie bounded back over to the couch, a plate in each hand.
Jessica trailed a few steps behind with a much smaller slice of her own.
Erin turned back to her laptop screen. “I’ll let you go so you don’t have to watch us eat it. Speak to you next week?”
“Of course.” Her dad and Isobel waved goodbye to them all before hanging up, and Erin returned her laptop to the coffee table so she could eat, the chocolate ganache melting on her tongue.
“Auntie Erin?” Maisie peered at her, chocolate smeared around her mouth. “Can I stay here tonight?”
Behind Maisie, Jessica shook her head. “You’ve stayed here three nights already this week. Your Aunt Erin is going to be sick of the sight of you soon.”
“Impossible.” As much as Erin loved her own company, she loved spending time with Maisie more. Soon the day would come when she didn’t see Erin as cool anymore and wouldn’t want to spend every waking moment talking her ear off about football. “She’s more than welcome to stay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Erin let Maisie snuggle closer into her side. Jessica worried sometimes that she asked for too much; Erin was often the emergency babysitter whenever Jessica had to work unexpected hours, especially now she wasn’t playing regularly. But Maisie’s summer holidays would be over soon, and Erin wouldn’t see her as often once school started. “You know I don’t mind.”
“Okay, then.”
“Yay!” Maisie wrapped her arms around Erin’s waist and squeezed her tight but made sure not to jostle her too much. Ever since the injury, she’d been careful, her worried eyes widening whenever Erin had winced. After the surgery, Maisie had refused to leave her side whenever she wasn’t at school or her own football practice, dutifully playing Erin’s nursemaid. It was nice to see her smiling again.
Erin hoped it wouldn’t be too much longer until she’d be that happy again, too.
* * *
Lia’s hands trembled so much that she could barely jam the key into the lock of the house she and Hannah shared.
Or used to share. After the conversation that was about to take place, Lia had no intention of coming back other than to grab her things. Had she done this the right way around, or should she have confronted Hannah before Carol? Would Carol have had the chance to warn Hannah that Lia knew about their affair?
As she pushed the door open and stepped inside, Lia’s stomach churned.
The pitter-patter of claws on the wooden floor reached Lia’s ears, and Hannah’s Spaniel looked at her with big, brown eyes as he rounded the corner of the hall. “Hey, Charlie.” Lia crouched to stroke him, managing a laugh in spite of herself when he licked her cheek.
Burying her face in his fur, Lia drew in deep breaths as she fought the urge to cry. Hannah had stolen so much from her: the last four years of her life spent on a relationship that Hannah had thrown away for a sliver of attention from their coach; the team that Lia had spent all of her adult life as a part of; the teammates that she’d thought would be her friends forever but who had kept their silence so they didn’t rock the boat; and her home.
Not just her physical home, either, but her home on the pitch.
“Lia? Is that you?” Hannah’s voice echoed from the living room.
Moment of truth. Wearily, Lia pushed herself to her feet and trudged down the hall. Inside the living room, Hannah sat on the sofa.
Hannah hiccupped as her eyes met Lia’s, tears spilling from her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“At least you’re not going to deny it.” Lia sagged against the door-frame, every ounce of strength leaching out of her as she looked at the woman she’d thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. “Why, Hannah?” The question that Lia had been asking herself, over and over again, since she’d seen the messages on Hannah’s phone. Things between them had been good—or so Lia had thought. They rarely argued, despite spending most of their days together. And okay, maybe they hadn’t had sex in a few weeks—or was it months?—but that was normal, wasn’t it, in a long-term relationship once the honeymoon period had ended? “What did she give you that I couldn’t?”
“It wasn’t like that.” Hannah rose to her feet, moving toward Lia like she wanted to reach for her.
Before she could, Lia reared backwards, unable to stand the thought of Hannah touching her. “What was it like, then?” She barely recognised her own voice, sharp and brittle, one step away from breaking entirely. “Explain it to me.”
“I don’t…I don’t know how to do that.”
“Well, you didn’t trip and fall into bed with her, did you? There must have been a reason!” A reason why Lia wasn’t enough for her. A reason why she’d risked throwing everything they had away. “Did she pressure you? Coerce you into something?”
