Her reasons sound very similar to mine at the beginning of the relationship with Elias, so I don’t fault her for it. But looking at what I’ve been able to have since then, I feel like she’s being unfair. Mostly to herself, because she could have something so good if she just got out of her own way.
“Ifyouwere the one waiting at home, I think he’d be here more often than not.”
She rolls her eyes. “A part of me is always going to be in love with him and I can’t help but relive that night over and over. What if he breaks my heart again?”
“I’ll beat him up for you,” Elias offers and we jump. “My brother can be an idiot, but if he’s making an effort, it means something.”
Tamara stares at him and shakes her head. “I want to believe you, but I can’t.”
“I get it. Don’t not give him a chance because of your history, though.”
She sighs, staring out at the dark garden before turning to me. After a brief hug and a squeeze of Elias’s arm, Tamara walks back into the house.
“Is the match over?”
“Yeah. Two-nil,” he says with a wide grin.
“Seriously? That’s amazing!”
I wrap my arms around him and rest my chin on his shoulder. “Are you really going to beat up your brother if he hurts Tam?”
He chuckles. “Maybe. I think they could be good together. Besides, Tamara is a national treasure.”
“You should have said that while she was here. She would have put that on a T-shirt and told everyone about it.”
He smiles, turning to me. “Now you, my beautiful girlfriend. You are the best thing to ever happen to me.”
“Better than the ICL trophy or Player of the Tournament?”
“So much better.”
I fake a swoon. “What ever did I do to deserve such a sweet talker?”
“You appeared in a sports bar full of cricket fans and yelled at the bartender to change the channel. That’s when I knew that you were going to change my life.”
“Stumped you, huh?”
“From day one, peaches.”
