Lia should have expected her to brush it off. “Well, thanks anyway. It was nice to see a familiar face.”
“Did you mean it?” Erin’s gaze was focused on Lia’s face, her head tilted to one side. “That no one else would have come if you’d called?”
Lia wished she hadn’t said that, but she’d been honest. “Yes. My family… We’re not on good terms. They don’t come to my matches. And I wouldn’t want them to, either, for that matter.” Where the hell was Joey? Lia hated talking about her family at the best of times. Talking about it with Erin, of all people, was odd.
“I thought you wanted to stay in Manchester because of your family.”
Did Erin remember everything Lia said? “I did. But my father, stepmother, and stepbrother aren’t my family—my grandmother is. She was the one who came to all my games.” Lia took a deep breath. “She has dementia, and her care home is here. I didn’t want to move her because I left Wanderers. Leaving Manchester was never an option for me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Erin had never sounded so sincere. “You don’t deserve that. Any of it—your family, your ex, what happened at Wanderers. No one does.”
“Thanks.” Lia let out a relieved breath when the gym door opened and Joey raced inside.
“Sorry I’m late! Traffic was hellish.” He waved at Erin and smiled at Lia. “Ready to get that ankle back to full fitness?”
“You bet.”
* * *
It was nice, having someone else in the gym.
Erin had gotten so used to solitude. And Lia was quiet most of the time. She didn’t chatter idly, too busy focusing on her own recovery. But she also pushed Erin in hers, too. Unsurprisingly, they made it into a competition—who could do the most reps, who could stretch the furthest, who could be the first to reach a certain point in their respective recovery plans.
Lia pushed her, and Erin had been missing that aspect of training.
Was she starting to like having Lia around?
One person who did like having Lia around was Maisie. It was the school holidays, and Jessica had been called into work unexpectedly, with too short notice to find any childcare. Enter Aunt Erin to the rescue—she was lucky that Albion were understanding and happy for Maisie to follow her around all day while she went through rehab.
“You’re supposed to be doing homework.” Erin used her best no-nonsense voice as she eyed Maisie from across the gym.
She sat on an exercise bike next to the treadmill Lia was jogging on and had been talking Lia’s ear off for the past ten minutes while Erin did her knee stretches under Gregor’s watchful eye.
“I’ve done it all,” Maisie said. “I didn’t have much.”
“Well, Lia might appreciate some peace and quiet.” Erin loved Maisie more than she loved anyone else in the world, but she could be a lot when she got excited. And around Lia, she operated at a higher-than-usual level of enthusiasm.
“Oh, it’s fine.” Despite fifteen minutes on the treadmill, Lia had barely broken a sweat. She wasn’t out of breath, either.
How long would it take for Erin to get back to that level of fitness? Yesterday, she had run for the first time, using an anti-gravity machine to take the weight off her knee, and it had left her exhausted.
“It’s nice,” Lia continued. “As much as I like having the place to myself, the apartment is so quiet sometimes.”
Maisie looked horrified. “You’re on your own? With your bad ankle?”
Gesturing downwards, Lia laughed. “It’s not exactly much of a hindrance, kiddo. I’m nearly back to full fitness already.”
Much to Erin’s irritation. Not that she wished for Lia to be hurt, or to be out for longer. But it was frustrating to see her get back so quickly when Erin was still months out from returning to the pitch.
“You should spend tonight with us!”
Oh. Oh no. Erin whipped her head around to Maisie, but she was too busy bouncing beside Lia to notice her ire. Just because she and Lia were civil around one another these days didn’t mean Erin wanted to volunteer to spend more time with her.
Their gym sessions were enough, thank you.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Maisie.” Slowing to a walk on the treadmill, Lia shot Erin a worried look. “I’m sure your aunt doesn’t want me over.”
Maisie turned to Erin. Those patented Finch puppy-dog eyes again. “Please, Auntie Erin?”
