The Fly-Half (Lincoln Knights #2)

Epilogue

SEVEN MONTHS LATER

Devon

“Have we got any more burgers?” I asked as I opened the fridge door and scanned the shelves. “I thought I’d gotten enough out but apparently not.”

We were celebrating the start of our summer break with a barbecue, but despite the massive amount of food we’d bought from Tesco and the local butcher, I was starting to doubt we’d have enough for all our friends who’d descended upon us. I knew we all ate a lot but I hadn’t realised quite how much until we’d been trying to squeeze everything into the fridge.

When I’d seen the head of England catering talking about how many tons of potatoes they used during each campaign, I’d thought he’d been joking. Apparently not.

“Bottom shelf,” Jonny called from the other side of the kitchen where he was sorting out sides and salads. “Should be another couple of packs. And can you grab some more sausages too, please?”

“Found them!” I spotted the burgers hiding away behind a small mountain of sausages and grabbed both, glad that we’d decided to buy a second barbecue because otherwise it’d take hours to get them all cooked. Especially since we’d also got some lamb koftas and a couple of varieties of chicken kebabs that Ryan had made, plus some halloumi to grill.

And that wasn’t even counting the mountain of sides we’d got too.

Luckily, we’d tasked everyone with bringing drinks and they’d been more than happy to oblige with cases of beer, cider, wine, fizzy drinks, and Peaches bringing all the ingredients to make a couple of pitchers of cocktails.

“I’ll take these out and then I’ll come back in and give you a hand,” I said as I headed towards the back door. We only had a small garden, and it was mostly paved over with the addition of some large plant pots Ryan had planted roses in on a whim in the spring and a few pots of lavender I’d added because I’d missed the smell. We had a bit of garden furniture, but we’d had to hit Argos to get some more chairs for today as well as borrowing some from West and Rory, and Clive and Alan.

I still wasn’t sure we had enough, but it’d have to do.

Nobody seemed to mind the slight shortage of chairs, and the garden was filled with happy chatter and the smell of sizzling from the two barbecues, which were both under Ryan’s and Mason’s careful eyes. Apparently, neither of them trusted Jonny or me, which wasn’t very fair since they were just as likely to get distracted.

But I supposed when you accidentally set the smoke detector off by turning bacon to a charred husk because you’d started kissing, then maybe that suspicion was justified.

Although I maintained that it wasn’t completely my fault because Jonny was very easy to get distracted by.

“I’ve brought more supplies,” I said, putting the meat down on a plate resting on the table between the two barbecues. “And Jonny’s just sorting the sides. Where are we going to put everything?”

“We were just talking about that,” Mason said, waving a pair of tongs. He was wearing his “Sorry for having great tits and correct opinions” T-shirt and a pair of shorts that were barely on this side of decent, and every so often Ryan’s eyes wandered to his ass, a smirk on his lips. “I think it might be easier to put everything out on the dining room table and people can go and grab whatever they want. There’s not enough room out here.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I’ll tell Jonny and we’ll sort everything out. Do you two want anything?”

“Nah, we’re good,” Ryan said. He gestured at the garden where everyone was happily drinking and chatting. “Besides if we need anything, we can grab one of that lot to get it.”

“By the way,” Mason said, lowering his voice and beckoning me towards him. “I have a question.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on with Aiden, Hunter, and Bailey?” I followed his gaze to the corner of the garden where the three of them were all sat close together. Aiden was sandwiched between our two teammates, his thighs pressed against theirs. Any closer and he’d have been sitting in their laps. But the way they were looking at him didn’t suggest they were uncomfortable, especially not when Bailey put his hand on Aiden’s thigh.

“I don’t know,” I said quietly, looking away before I got caught staring. “I thought Hunter and Bailey were… but when Aiden came up at Christmas…” I shook my head. I had vague memories of getting up in the night to go to the toilet after our team night out at Christmas and hearing voices from Aiden’s room, but I’d also been drunk, so I thought I’d been imagining it. Especially since I’d gotten used to tuning out the sounds of other people having sex.

“Do you think?” Ryan asked as they turned some chicken kebabs over, the spicy-sweet smell of the marinade making my mouth water. “Maybe?”

“Maybe,” I said. “But I don’t know. Aiden’s kind of cagey about his sex life. He keeps telling Jonny he’s too busy for relationships.”

“Yeah, but fucking them isn’t the same as dating them,” Mason said, flipping a couple of burgers over before pointing at them with the tongs. “These will be ready soon.”

“I’ll finish getting things out. Then I’ll come and get what’s ready and you can summon the hordes,” I said. “Also, let me know what you two want to eat and I’ll make sure you get first dibs.”

I left the two of them to it and wandered back into the house but not before stealing a couple of glasses of whatever Peaches had made. It was a pretty peach colour and smelled very sweet, but knowing Peaches it would also be fucking lethal because apparently he didn’t believe in measures.

“How’s it going out there, angel?” Jonny asked as soon as I stepped into the kitchen. I didn’t know how he’d known it was me from my footsteps alone, or whether he’d assumed since everyone else was outside enjoying the sunshine.

“Good. Everyone seems to be having fun and Mason says the first burgers will be ready soon,” I said, walking over to him and leaning up for a kiss. A year ago, I’d never dreamed of being able to do this and now I got to do it all the time. It was almost unbelievable, and I kept waiting to wake up, only I never did. Because this really was my life. “I think we can put everything out on the table in here. There’s no room outside anyway.”

“Makes sense,” Jonny said as I handed him his drink. He looked at it suspiciously. “Did Peaches make this?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to add some extra orange juice,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m not getting blackout drunk this early in the afternoon.”

I snorted. “It’s not that bad,” I said, taking a sip and sucking in my cheeks. “Yeah, actually maybe some orange juice would be good.” Jonny grinned as he walked over to the fridge and pulled a carton out of the door to add to our glasses. “Do you know anything about Aiden, Hunter, and Bailey?”

He frowned as he poured. “No, why? Did something happen?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe?” I took another sip of my cocktail, which no longer tasted like it was going to have me dancing on tables if I drank more than one.

Jonny shrugged as he finished topping up his glass. “It’s Aiden. I love him, but if something is happening, it’s not going to be serious. If they want to have fun, it’s nothing to do with us.”

“True,” I said. “But—”

“But you kind of want to know anyway.”

“Guilty.” I grinned as he plucked the glass from my hand and set it down on the counter beside us before wrapping me in his arms. His kiss was slow and deep, the sort of kiss that stole my breath and made me melt. “Mmm, you shouldn’t kiss me like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re going to distract me. And then we’re going to get in trouble.”

“That’s because Mason is a bossy spoilsport,” he said with a mischievous smile. “If we’re not careful, he’ll start snapping his tongs at us.”

I laughed and rested my head on his chest. “I’m going to miss them, though, when we move out. Even if we still see Mason every day.”

“I’m going to miss them too,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “But I’m excited to have you all to myself.”

“Possessive bastard.”

“You love it.”

“I do,” I said, exhaling slowly. “I really do.” I listened to the beat of his heart and inhaled the scent of him. He’d started using my bodywash and being so close meant my cologne had started clinging to him and everything he owned, so there was a hint of lavender and French vanilla under the warm woodsy smell I’d always associated with him.

We’d found the perfect house to rent, not too far from the training ground and only a few streets over from West and Rory, and I couldn’t wait to get the keys next week. Ryan and Mason were moving too, although their house was closer to the centre of town so Ryan could easily walk to The Court when they needed to. It felt like the end of an era in a way, even if it was the start of something so much greater. A new chapter in our lives, but one that would still be familiar.

We had about four or five weeks to move in and get everything settled, sorted, and maybe even start on decorating before we went back to training for next season. After the high of this year, we were more fired up than ever. Although I wasn’t sure anything would top winning the Six Nations with England, Jonny stood beside me as our captain lifted the trophy. It was one of those moments I knew I’d never forget, but I was determined to make sure it wasn’t the only time we experienced that high.

After all, it was only another year until the World Cup.

And now Jonny had learned to channel his jealousy and possessiveness, he was virtually unstoppable.

“There you are,” Mason said, sticking his head into the kitchen. “Stop canoodling and make yourselves useful!”

“Canoodling? What are you, eighty?” Jonny asked, not letting go of me as a laugh rumbled through his chest.

“We’ll all be fucking eighty before we get any food at this rate if you stand about doing nothing.” Mason jabbed the pair of tongs he’d been holding in our direction. “One of you come and get stuff and the other one put everything on the table. I’ll send West in to help you. Now get your asses moving!”

“You know,” I said as Mason stomped off muttering about us. “If Matty decides to step down at some point, I think Mason would make a great captain. He’s bossy enough.”

“Do you think Matty will?” Jonny asked as he slowly released me.

“I don’t know. I guess it depends on how long his body holds up.” I leant in for another kiss before I started following orders, because otherwise Mason would be back and bossier than ever. “You know, when we’re all moved in, we’ll have to do this again. Get everyone round.”

“I’d like that,” Jonny said. “Although next time everyone can bring something too, save us trying to do everything.”

“Perfect.” I kissed him one last time. For now at least.

I could have more later.

And tomorrow.

And every single day.

Because neither of us was going anywhere. It was going to be the two of us for as long as we lived.

I’d be Jonny’s, and Jonny would be mine.

I still couldn’t believe I was getting everything I’d ever dreamt of, but I wasn’t going to doubt it.

The world was our oyster, and I couldn’t wait for us to walk through it together.

The End