On Loverose Lane (Return to Dublin Street #1)

17. Callan

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CALLAN

T here were pros and cons to anything in life. Including life as a professional football player. The biggest pro was the euphoria after a win. The sound of the crowd singing the team’s song, “Caledonia” by Dougie Maclean, as we celebrated our victory. And on the opposite side of that coin was the biggest con.

Losing felt fucking horrendous.

Because we didn’t only carry our own disappointment as a team, we carried the disappointment of thousands of people. Listening to thousands of Dalmarnock fans chant “You’re not singing anymore” to our fans was the worst sound in the world as we’d walked off the pitch yesterday afternoon.

Dalmarnock had annihilated us. On our own pitch, 4–1. Then after we’d showered and changed, the locker room subdued despite the gaffer’s attempt to fire us up for next week’s game against Perth United, word had reached us there had been an altercation between Dalmarnock and Caley fans not far from the grounds. Two people had ended up in hospital and three others had been arrested.

I knew from the look on Baird’s and the other lads’ faces that they felt the weight of that on their shoulders too.

Shoulders heavy and a black cloud hanging over me, I’d driven home wanting to do nothing but slump in front of the TV and watch something mindless to distract me from the game and all the things me and my teammates had done wrong during it. Beth had let me into the apartment building, and I couldn’t even bring myself to speak, let alone swap insults.

We had a day off training the next day, but Baird, John, and I decided to do some of our own training, including a thorough workout at the gym. Our moods hadn’t improved since the loss, and I was still feeling the burn of it as I returned to my flat.

The sight of Beth walking across the car park of our building with some bloke made me inwardly groan. When they stopped at our building entrance, the bloke bent his head to hers for a kiss, and my stomach twisted.

Until Beth jerked back from his kiss with a nervous laugh. As she glanced away from him, she caught sight of me.

A different kind of tension joined the tension already riding me when her eyes widened and she turned back to the guy. “I’m so sorry, Samuel, I have a boyfriend.”

I didn’t hear what the bloke said.

But I did see Beth gesture behind him to me and squeak out, “And he’s coming right over.”

What the fuck?

The guy whirled around, eyes narrowed as I slowed to a stop beside them. They were blocking the entrance.

“Captain!” Beth’s eyes were wide with pleading as she leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth. My skin tingled at the touch, and the smell of her perfume lingered even as she pulled back. “How was training?”

I stared at her confused and incredulous.

The pleading in her eyes turned desperate.

Even after everything, I couldn’t leave her hanging. Plus, this guy could be harassing her for all I knew.

Sliding my arm around her waist, I pulled her into my side and tried to ignore how good her soft curves felt pressed against me. “It was shite,” I answered honestly. “Still stinging from Dalmarnock practically violating us yesterday.”

Beth smoothed a hand over my chest, drawing my gaze down to her. She looked up at me, expression genuinely sympathetic as she said, “I’m sorry.”

The bloke, Samuel was it, cleared his throat.

I reluctantly dragged my gaze from Beth’s gorgeous face to him. He was clean cut, preppy, and I supposed good-looking. He also wore a pissed-off expression as he took in my arm around Beth. A strange possessiveness filled me and my fingers flexed on her curvy hip.

“Who’s this?” I asked, somewhat belligerently.

No one else might recognize the nervousness that tremored ever so slightly in Beth’s words, but I did as she gestured to the guy. “Callan, this is Samuel Green. He’s the son of a hopefully soon-to-be client. Samuel, this is my boyfriend Callan Keen.”

Samuel eyed me in displeasure. “I was unaware Beth had a boyfriend. She never mentioned you.”

“I’m sure I did.”

“She’s got a lot on her plate,” I covered for her, beginning to understand the situation.

“Interesting.” Samuel shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d be so amenable to my girlfriend going to dinner with another man.”

I smirked at the fucker. “I’m a pretty secure bloke.”

“And it was supposed to be dinner with your mother,” Beth pointed out. “She couldn’t make it.”

At the look in her eyes, I narrowed mine. Had this guy manipulated Beth into a date?

“Been dating long?”

“Years,” Beth answered before I could. “We’re practically engaged, aren’t we, Captain?” She poked my chest jokingly. “This one can’t get rid of me now. Glued to him for life.”

Wow. She really did not want to date this guy. Trying not to laugh, I squeezed her closer.

“I see.” Samuel straightened his shoulders. “Thank you for dinner, Beth. I’ll let my mother know how accommodating you were.” He cut me a sly look as he emphasized the word accommodating, the insinuation being something had happened between them. What a wanker.

“Thank you. Thanks for dinner. Good night.” Beth grabbed my hand, and I took advantage of the moment, threading my fingers through hers as she led me over to the entrance. She let us in and Samuel didn’t walk away until the building door closed behind us.

“Did something happen between you two?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Beth tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears. It suddenly hit me that the prick I’d helped chase off might have touched her in ways I’d never gotten to. I’d never get to. And I remembered she thought there was something so wrong with me she’d rejected me (someone who would never dream of hurting her) for these absolute wankers she seemed to end up with.

“Of course not,” she snapped. “He’s a client’s son. I was being polite when she asked me to help him find places to take clients while he was in the city … but he lied and said his mother wanted to have dinner tonight. I got there, and it was him there instead of her. And the guy is a mind-numbingly pretentious arsehole. I want this client, but I don’t want to shag her son just to land her. I thought pretending I had a boyfriend would be the most diplomatic way out of it. Thanks, by the way, for just going with it.”

“I thought maybe he was harassing you.” I started climbing the stairs. “Not that you were being nice to the poor bloke to get to his mother.”

“That’s not how it was.” She followed me up. “So, that’s why you went along with it?”

“Why else?”

“Thank you.”

Instead of answering, I kept walking.

“Callan.”

Weariness dragged through me, but I stopped and looked back. “Aye?”

“I mean it. Thank you. I owe you.”

I gave her a gruff nod.

“I mean it, Captain,” she repeated. “If there’s something I can do, let me know. If you need social media management, I could help out for free.”

Suddenly, I was annoyed. She was acting like she didn’t want to be in my debt. “You owe me nothing, princess,” I snarled the endearment, which was really more of a gibe. We owed each other nothing. I marched upstairs and this time when she called my name, I ignored her. Because the last thing I needed was to get dragged into Beth Carmichael’s orbit again.

It was hard for me to admit, even to myself, but last time I’d let myself get swept up in her, she’d left a mark.