“Half the qualifiers and a lineswoman in Luxembourg,” Gwen said, perfectly straight-faced.
Kate snorted. “Christ.”
Then Gwen’s tone softened. “Jokes aside, I did hear he had kind of a shitty upbringing.”
I paused, reluctantly intrigued. “Really?”
Kate nodded, her psychologist brain whirring. “Yeah. Jordan mentioned something about it. He gets so riled up when he plays. I don’t know the full story, but I think one of his parents was an alcoholic? Said it made sense he’s got a bit of a temper. Could be some childhood stuff,” she continued in her psychologist tone.
“Oh Jesus, have a day off, Dr Kate,” Gwen said, elbowing her.
Kate rolled her eyes. “I just mean…the persona, the flirting, the fines—it’s all probably covering something deeper.” She was in the zone now. “Look, every behaviour has a reason. I saw it constantly in my old job. The loudest, most chaotic ones were always the ones screaming for connection.” She smiled softly. “It would take the right person to dig under all that bravado and figure out what’s actually going on.”
I met her gaze, thoughtful now.
I mean, it made sense. Way more sense than I wanted it to. Maybe the cocky American act was just a mask. But I didn’t have the bandwidth for complicated. Not again. Not after Josh. I’d done my time trying to fix someone who didn’t want saving, so Tyler Reed could flirt until he was blue in the face, but I wasn’t signing up to be anyone’s redemption arc.
“There you go,” Gwen said brightly. “Give him a blowjob and ask him about his childhood.”
They howled with laughter.
“Fuck off, both of you,” I muttered, hiding my grin. “And pass the prosecco.”
I poured the bubbles into a glass each whilst Gwen was still laughing, Kate wiping tears from her eyes, her face flushed and happy in that post baby glow way that pulled at something awkwardly in my chest. These were my girls but I felt that old pinch of envy. Not for the rings or the men who’d chosen them, but the ease. The security. The feeling of being chosen and staying chosen.
I smiled, sipped, and let the sound of their laughter drown out the noise in my head.
For the first time in a long time, it felt good to belong to some company again.
Chapter 10
Orla
Wimbledon Men’s Quarter Final, Reed v Cortez
Wednesday
I gotdown to the locker room early to set up, my hands moving with a precision my brain didn't currently possess. Knowing Tyler, he’d be late, even to a bloody Wimbledon quarterfinal. I’d do what I could with whatever time he left me, and if his hamstring gave out mid-match, that was on him.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
In reality, my thighs felt like liquid, a slow, insistent heat blooming between them every time I thought of him.
I had no idea what was wrong with me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the big American idiot. Maybe it was what Kate said last night about his past, about all that bravado being a mask. I’d been trying my best to brush him off, but then he’d shown up with coffee yesterday and ruined all my resolve in one paper cup.
Still. It was probably just part of the act. One of a hundred tricks he used to reel women in. I wasn’t special, just new. A challenge he hadn’t conquered yet. Or ever would.
Except…the way he’d looked at me yesterday didn’tfeellike a performance. It felt like recognition. Like he saw through my own act the same way I did with him. And that scared the hell out of me.
As I busied myself setting up, I heard him, an unmistakable, class-clown racket echoing down the tunnel. Too loud and unbothered. Toohim. Goosebumps prickled down my arms, and much to my annoyance, absolutely none of them repulsed in the slightest. I hated that my body was having such visceral reactions to this man. Was it not listening to my brain?
He strolled in grinning, looking like the match was already a foregone conclusion. “There she is. The woman lucky enough to rub me down on the daily.”
I rolled my eyes, fighting the twitch of a smile; he was insufferable, but those bloody dimples were a hazard on my health.
“Just get on the bed,” I said stiffly.
He raised a brow like he wanted to fire back but…didn’t.Huh, strange. And a little unsettling.
