“Rugby is the national game.”Gerard kept his voice low.“Two women slugging it out makes for salacious reading.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Maia snapped.
Gerard’s impish wink didn’t mollify her.
“Stop teasing my girl,” Henry said.
They reached the dressing room door.
“We’ll wait outside until the team is ready to leave,” Henry said.
“Thanks.”She was ready to take ten minutes to chill and run over the game plan.
Maia pushed inside to excited chatter, the scent of liniment, and women braiding their hair.She sucked in a ragged breath and grasped for calm.
“Maia, I’ll braid your hair for you,” Jill, their captain, offered.
It was a new team ritual, started after they’d made it to the quarter-finals.They’d kept winning, so the braiding continued.
Maia nodded, her butterflies massing.Nerves were invaluable, but she veered on the edge of panic because not one of the team’s set plays popped into her head when she focused on their game plan.
It didn’t help that the Black Fern selectors were revealing their team selection tonight.After the debacle with Amanda, they’d postponed their announcement.They didn’t want the franchise dragged into the public mess Amanda had caused.Several of her team had attended the training camp with Maia, so the tension was palpable.Everyone wanted to play the game of their lives.
“I see that sexy man of yours is hovering outside,” another of her team said.
Maia suppressed her instinctive wince.That was another thing that bothered her.Henry had gone into super protective mode and refused to let her go anywhere alone.Despite her attempts to talk to him, he insisted his responsibility was to keep her safe.She loved him.She did, but he was smothering her, and if he didn’t ease up soon, she’d explode.
Maia said none of this, however.“He worries, and the press isn’t helping.They won’t leave me alone.”
“Take your hands off me,” a woman snapped.
“Ah, yes.The reporter that got shot,” Jill said, cocking her head to better listen.
“Ma’am, this is the team dressing room and not available to outsiders,” Gerard said in a placating voice from the other side of the door.
“Who said?”The reporter sounded much closer.
“The team manager,” another voice said.“Please escort her to the exit.”
“My pleasure,” Gerard said.
“You can’t do this,” the reporter protested.
“We can,” the manager said.“It’s an important game today, and you’re interrupting my players’ preparation.”
Gerard must’ve propelled the reporter away because her protests grew fainter.
The door opened, and Penny, their assistant coach, poked her head inside the dressing room.“Everyone decent?James wants a word before you head out to warm up.”
Jill tied Maia’s braid and glanced around.“All safe.”
And it was true.They were ready to run onto the field.
James, Penny, and their manager entered the dressing room, and silence fell.
“Everyone knows the game plan.You’ve worked hard and deserve your place in the final.I want you to go out there, do your best, and enjoy the moment.You’ve already gone further in the competition than we have before, but I think you can shock this Auckland team.Remember that.They might have a home-team advantage, but we have fans, too,” James said.
“We know you’ll each give one hundred and ten percent.You always do,” their manager said.“But I want you to know that whatever the result, we are proud of your accomplishments.We couldn’t have asked for more of you.”
