I wasn’t just surviving anymore, was I? I was living.
Jude raised his head to look at me. “Believe it. We’re gonna build so many amazing memories here.”
“Yeah. We are.” Ididbelieve it.
Ross dropped into the free chair next to us. “While I’ve got you here…Abbie mentioned that I talk to her about all the amazing things happening at Cheltenham Storm, but perhaps I don’t always tell the right people. So I just wanted you to know that having you come to work with us has been transformational. Not just for the kids, not just for the team, but for me personally, as a manager. I feel as if we’re finally building something sustainable.”
Next to me, Jude found my hand, sliding his fingers between mine and squeezing. The light pressure grounded me, and I was finally able to reply around the lump in my throat. “Cheltenham’s lucky to have you, Ross. You’ve got a great vision, and I know you’ll achieve it.”
He smiled. “We’re lucky to have you. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with the team. You have a home with us for as long as you want it.”
37
Jude
Istepped back to admire my handiwork. Giant picnic blanket spread out on the lawn. Check. Battery-powered fairy lights. Check. Extra blankets and pillows. Check. Lube… Check. Now, all I needed was Cody.
I found him in the kitchen, stacking the empty bottles on the countertop, ready to be rinsed and recycled. Sliding my arms around his waist, I kissed the back of his shoulder. “We survived the night.”
He huffed out a laugh. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
In Cody-speak, that meant he’d had a great time. I smiled. “It was good. I told you that you’d be able to host a party. Now the housewarming’s over, we’ll have to find an excuse to host another.”
Turning to face me, he eyed me with raised brows. “Do you need an excuse?”
“No, but you do.”
“Maybe.” His gaze flicked up to my head, and he frowned, his hand sliding into my damp hair. “Did you shower?”
“Yeah. Just a quick one. Reuben spilled beer on me, and I didn’t wanna smell like a brewery all night.”
He hummed, his fingers curving around the back of my head, pulling me closer. Dipping his head to my throat, he trailed his nose across my skin. “You smell good.”
“Mmm. So do you. Hey. Can you come with me for a minute?”
“Where?”
“Just—” A buzzing sound cut me off. Cody reached behind him, grabbing his phone from the counter and then swiping at the screen.
I automatically glanced down, seeing Petrov’s name before I averted my gaze. I didn’t want to invade his privacy.
“It’s okay. You can look.” Cody tilted my chin up, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “There’s nothing I want to hide from you.”
“Same. We’ve done enough hiding.”
Together, we read the messages that had come through within seconds of each other.
Petrov:
The youth coaching scheme is officially going ahead
Davis:
First sessions start in September. Me & Petrov are doing two sessions a week each with your kids, and the guys from the summer camp are taking care of the new signups
Petrov:
Since you started this whole thing and you’ve financed most of it, we thought it was only fair that you got the credit
