Fuck. The way his voice cracked at the end…
“What about your training? Your new team obligations?”
“Pre-season doesn’t start until July. I’ll have some training with the team, and meetings and stuff, but we’d still be able to spend plenty of time together.”
“I don’t know,” I said finally. “Prolonging the inevitable will only make it harder when I have to leave you.”
His face fell, but he tried to hide it by turning away. “Yeah. Probably a stupid idea,” he mumbled, and fucking hell, I felt like a monster for upsetting him.
Reaching out, I gently squeezed his thigh. “I’ll think about it,” I said.
Part 2
England
The New Season
23
Jude
Rory’s assistant, Sunita, showed me into his office with a smile. “He’s been waiting for you. Be prepared to be bombarded with information.”
Stopping dead, I clasped my hand to my chest. “Nooo, Sunita. Why did you have to tell me that? I’m too jet-lagged for this.” She laughed, and I shot her a bright grin as I entered the room. “Thanks for the warning.”
“There he is! The newest Glevum FC signing.” Rory rose from his chair and rounded his desk to clap me on the back. “How was the flight? Any jet lag?”
“Long. I’m still a bit jet-lagged, but I’m mostly over it. It’s good to be back.” It was. There was no place like home. Except now there was an emptiness inside me that hadn’t been there before I’d left. Before I’d stumbled across a certain grumpy, hot-as-fuck hockey player.
Rory nodded as he popped the cork on the bottle of champagne sitting in an ice bucket on his desk. “It’s good to have you back. Ready for a belated toast to your new contract?”
“Always.”
Pouring the champagne into three flutes, he called Sunita into the room, and we clinked our glasses together before she leftus alone again. Rory moved back behind his desk, and I took the seat across from him.
“Let’s get down to business,” he said, tapping the stack of papers in front of him. “Everything’s been signed off, ready for the official announcement by Glevum. I have a note here from the medical team—they were impressed with your fitness levels. Said you were in better shape than most players coming back from an injury.”
“Oh. Uh. Yeah. That’s good.”
Rory’s brows lifted. “Canada must have agreed with you.”
Orrr…maybe it was the Canadian hockey player. I quickly changed the subject. “When do they need me?”
“Let me see… There’s a meeting scheduled for this afternoon with management if you’re feeling up to it. Pre-season training starts Monday. Nothing too heavy, don’t worry. They’ll ease you into it.” He paused to slide a set of keys across the table to me. “These are the keys to your flat in Cheltenham. It’s a short-term let, so you can leave anytime if you find somewhere you want to put down more permanent roots.”
I took the keys, grasping the cool metal in my palm. “I can do the meeting. What time? Will I have time to check out the flat first?”
“You have until 3:00 p.m. Jordan and Theo are going to be there, too, if they can make it. Harvey thought it might be nice for you to meet some of the players before training starts properly.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
“Welcome to the club.” Harvey Raines, Glevum FC’s manager, shook my hand firmly. “It’s good to have you here.”
“Thanks. It’s good to be here. Thank you for the opportunity. I won’t let you down.”
The light over the reception desk gleamed on the top of his bald head as he stepped back, nodding towards one of the staff members hovering in front of a side door. “I know you won’t. Alright. We have time for a quick tour of the facilities before the meeting.”
The tour of Barnwood Park, Glevum’s ground, was quick but thorough—training pitches, gym facilities, treatment rooms, dressing rooms, and of course, the pitch itself.
