“Archie was at his house screaming blue bloody murder at the door that Jordan was sleeping with Mia. He’s lucky Jordan didn’t call the police on him.”
Oh fucking hell.I pinch the bridge of my nose, my heart doing a deeply unpleasant flip-flop in my chest.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“He’s not, is he?” Barry asks. “I can’t imagine Sumner’s the type, but-”
“No, no he’s not.”I bloody am though. I clear my throat, throwing the blanket off and swinging my feet to the ground. “Jordan and Mia are friends, good friends, there’s nothing going on there.”
“I didn’t think Mia was the type to cheat.”
That word has me swallowing hard. “No, she’s not.” I get to my feet to try and stretch my body and wake myself up. “Do we know where Archie is now?”
“He’s at my place, if you can believe it.” Barry laughs harshly. “Had to go round there and break it up otherwise our team captain would have landed in hospital and your son would have been spending the night in a prison cell. These young lads, I tell you what. Were we like that?”
“Yes, we were, Barry.” I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “Listen, I’ll go home and shower, get in some clean clothes and come to yours.”
“Where are you?”
Fucking. Imbecile. “I, uhhhh, Mia had an accident yesterday, so I was helping her friend Charlotte look after her. You know, running to the pharmacy and stuff.”
“Shit, is she alright?”
It occurs to me in that moment that Archie would have seen the bump on Mia’s head, the bruise around her eye. He knew she was hurt. And yet his first thought was still to go and beat theshit out of a man he suspected of sleeping with her. He hadn’t even told Barry about it when he’d calmed down.
“She’s fine,” I reassure him quickly. “Run-in with a bloody paparazzo. It’s sorted now. She had a few stitches and we made sure she got some rest.”
“Ahh, you’re a good dad, you are.”
I grit my teeth and huff out a breath. I wish everyone would stop bloody saying that. I know it’s my guilt talking. Fucking guilt and shame and everything else that’s bundled up with all the wonderful remnants of last night.
“Considering my son was out screaming down Chelsea at a teammate, I have to wonder,” I say with a forced laugh. “Anyway, I’ll be round in a bit.”
“Not a worry, I’m just out on a run to clear my head after last bloody night.” Barry groans as it sounds like he starts bouncing up some stairs. “I’ll see you soon, chief.”
“Yeah.” I hang up and am instantly overtaken by a swift feeling of nausea.What a mess. What a bloody fucking mess.
Mia’s head pokes around the corner and she gazes at me with wide eyes. “Morning,” she whispers, and tiptoes across the room. “Who was that?”
“Barry.” I can’t help but smile as she stands in front of me, her hair cascading down over her shoulders. “Trouble with Archie.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah. He went to Jordan’s and lost it because he thinks you’re sleeping with him.”
Her eyes widen even more. “Oh, shit.”
“It’s a mess.” I dip my head to plant a soft kiss on her lips, which she returns like it’s the most natural thing to do. “Don’t worry, I’m going to go sort it.”
“Is Jordan alright?”
I nod. “He’s fine. Barry came to the rescue.”
“Good.” She watches me as I head out to the hall, and slip on my shoes. “I, uh…” She trails off, biting her lip. “I’ll see you again soon, then.”
I smile at her as I shrug on my coat. “I bloody hope so.”
She returns my smile, and lunges forward to press another warm kiss to my lips. “Call me, yeah?”
