The Player’s Promise (London Hearts #3)

Prologue Liam

Prologue

Liam

“Wait, so how long have you and Ma been together?” Finn asks, opening the lid to the forest green jewelry box. The square cut rubies flash in my periphery as Finn holds them gently under the sunlight while I drive.

Today marks eight years with Tash, so I’m dropping Finn at his mate’s place for a sleepover to give us some alone time. Coach even gave me the rest of the day off training so I can put together a special meal for her, giving our cook the night off.

I smile. “Eight years, bud.”

His eyes flare wide. “That long? I’m not even eight!”

I nod. “I know. You were born a year after we got together.”

His mouth falls open. “Whoa. So you’re like, super old then, huh?”

I lean over, keeping a steady hand on the steering wheel, and ruffle his hair. “Thirty-two isn’t old, lad. Just wait till you’re my age.”

He scrunches his little nose and I huff a laugh. When I sneak another glance at him, he’s brushing a finger over the precious stones.

“What do you think?” I ask, cocking a brow.

He nods. “They’re grand, Da. She’ll look so pretty wearing them.”

“She will,” I agree.

He clamps the lid shut with a dull thwack, passing the box back to me. I drop it in the center console and mentally tick off items on my checklist.

Earrings? Check.

Eye fillet steak? Check.

Vegetables? Check.

Condoms? Double check.

I even got the ingredients for a bread-and-butter pudding—Tash’s favorite.

We reach the other side of Dublin in decent time. I pull into Finn’s mate’s driveway, cutting the engine.

“Do you want me to walk you to the door?” I ask.

“No, Da. I can do it,” he says, gathering his duffel bag and swinging the car door open. He makes to step out but I catch his elbow in a soft grip.

“Oi,” I say, amusement in my voice. “You’re not getting off that easy, lad.” I point to my cheek. “Come here.”

“Daaaaaaa,” he says, rolling his eyes, but I don’t miss the curve of his lips. A wide grin splits his face and he dips in, planting a quick kiss on my cheek.

“Love ya, bud,” I say.

“Love you too, Da.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning, all right?”

“See you tomorrow!” he says, slamming the door and running up the front steps. I stay parked until he makes it inside, his mate’s ma waving at me from the doorway.

My pulse kicks up on the way home. I’m getting every damn red light and they aren’t doing a thing to help my nerves.

I’ve had tonight planned out for the last few weeks.

Tea lights on every surface, rose petals leading from the front door to the living room, and, in the background, that classical playlist Tash is always humming along to.

The dashboard lights up with a call from my cousin, Roman.

“Hey, mate,” I say.

“How are you?” I can already hear the grin in his voice.

“Terrified I’m gonna mess up the dessert, to be honest,” I admit.

“Ah, you’ll be grand. Just use the recipe I sent you. Everything will be good.”

The light changes to green and I step on the accelerator.

“Thanks.”

“Good luck! Enjoy your night.”

“Appreciate it. I’ll ring you in the morning. Tell Zoey I say ‘hi’.”

“Will do. And Liam?” he adds.

“Yeah?”

“Happy anniversary, mate.”

“Cheers.” I pull up at the curb, my brows furrowing at Tash’s car in the driveway. She’s not supposed to be home for another couple of hours. Shite.

Killing the engine, I pocket the jewelry box, gather my other items, and make my way up the front path. The door’s unlocked so I let myself in. The sound of hangers scraping against the wardrobe rail floats into the hallway from the bedroom.

“Tash?” I call out, ducking around an archway to stash the bags.

The rustling stops abruptly.

I take another step, my heart a thumping baseline as alarm sets in. Fuck. I don’t want to spoil the surprise. I try her name again. “Tash?”

“Liam?” Her voice is pitched higher than usual. Her face pales as she appears in the doorway and I can immediately tell something’s off. Her eyes are dull and empty… sad almost.

“You’re home early,” I say, my eyebrows drawing together.

She steps back as I move forward, like she’s trying to block my view of something.

“I—I wasn’t feeling well, so I—”

I smooth my expression and cradle her face. “You could have called me, babe. I would have come and got you.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. It’s then I notice what’s behind her. My body turns numb.

Her face crumples as she steps out of reach, wringing her hands in front of her.

My gaze locks on to the open suitcases on the bed—suitcases, plural—before it bounces back to Tash. The bags are full.

A lump claws its way up my throat.

“I can explain,” she whispers, lifting a hand to rub her collarbone.

“Baby, I’m beginning to panic,” I say, my voice rough.

Her eyes glisten as she opens and closes her mouth, stammering.

My stomach drops to the floor and the jewelry box in my pocket suddenly feels like a lead weight. She’s leaving. I shake my head, closing the space between us. “Tash—”

“I’m leaving, Liam.” Her words are a whisper. A tear brims and falls, tracing a path down her cheek.

Without a second thought, I bundle her into my arms. Her body begins to shake with sobs and I pull back to catch her tears with my thumbs.

“What happened?” I ask, my voice breaking. “Did I do something wrong? Say something wrong?”

She chokes on a breath as she rips herself away from me and my arms fall limp.

“Tell me what happened so I can fix it. I’m so sorry—whatever it is, I’m so sorry,” I beg. “We can talk about it. We can work through anything, can’t we?”

She shakes her head, backing away until her legs hit the bed. “You didn’t do anything. It’s me… I—” she cuts herself off, glancing away.

“Tell me,” I whisper. “What happened?”

For what feels like an eternity, she stands frozen, staring at the wall.

My voice splinters. “Help me understand.”

“I slept with someone,” she whispers.

My blood runs cold and I blink, certain I’ve misheard. “You slept with someone.”

She sucks in her bottom lip as she regards me, her eyebrows slashing together.

But she isn’t really looking at me anymore.

At least, not the way I’m used to. Not with the same wonder as when we found out she was pregnant.

Or the pride when I won my first football final.

Or the excitement when we got the keys to our first house together.

Something’s changed. Now there’s nothing. Just vacant blue eyes staring through me. My Tash isn’t there anymore.

“Who was it?” I ask, my heart cracking with each beat. Silence stretches between us. “Who was it, Tash?” My voice is harder now, the shock morphing into something darker.

She shakes her head, fresh tears falling. “It doesn’t—”

“Matter?”

Her jaw tenses and she nods.

“You’re packing suitcases and telling me it doesn’t matter?”

Her lip trembles as she turns away again.

“Was it just the once?” I ask, desperately hoping that this was a one-off mistake. A lapse of judgment. A moment of weakness we could work through together.

More tears fall as she whispers, “No.”

“How many times?”

She blinks.

“How. Many. Times?” Each word is clipped.

She waits a beat before finally answering. “A year.”

Jesus Christ.

“Who is he, Tash?” I lift my chin.

“It doesn’t make any difference—”

I smack my hand against my chest. “It makes a bloody difference to me, Tash! And to Finn!”

When she doesn’t answer, I release a long, resigned breath. “Please. I have to know who it is.”

“It’s Adam,” she whispers.

No. No, no, no. Please don’t be the Adam I think it is.

“Adam who?”

She shakes her head, refusing.

“No, no.” I advance on her. “You don’t get to do that. You’ve come this far—you might as well keep going,” I say through a bitter laugh.

“Keogh.” She squeezes her eyes closed. “It’s Adam Keogh.”

My nostrils flare and I ball my fists so tight my knuckles crack.

Adam Keogh. My teammate. My friend.

My jaw pops. She’s struck a match and lit a damn inferno.

“Adam,” I repeat. “Right.” I turn and march out the front door.

Tash chases after me, stumbling over her feet. “Please, no! Whatever you’re going to do, just stop!”

I halt in the front garden, spinning to face her. “You’ve been fucking my bloody friend!”

She squares her shoulders but I see the way her hands shake. I can detect the quiver in her voice. “I love him, Liam.”

My eyes thin to slits. “You love him?”

Her nod is small. “I couldn’t help it. Neither of us could… it just happened.”

“You’re leaving me to go play happy-fucking-families with my teammate?”

“You can keep Finn!” she says, wiping her tears.

“KEEP FINN?” I throw my arms out wide. “He’s not a bleedin’ dog, Tash! He’s our son! He’s your son!”

Her eyes harden. “I want to be with Adam.”

I let my arms drop to my sides. “Jesus Christ, Tash. Is that what you were doing in there?” I point at the house. “Packing a suitcase to just… disappear?”

Her slender throat bobs as she swallows.

“And what? Were you going to leave us a bloody note? What exactly did you plan on telling your seven-year-old child?”

Her head bows as shame pinkens her cheeks.

“Oh, you’re joking. You were actually going to leave a note?” My voice strains with disbelief. “What the hell am I supposed to tell Finn when he asks where his ma went?”

Her jaw tenses. “Tell him I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? Eight years, Tash! Eight bloody years we’ve been together!”

“Finn was an accident, Liam. We probably wouldn’t have lasted if it weren’t for him.

You were noble for sticking by me when I fell pregnant, but we were so young.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Finn. I do. But I don’t know who I am outside of being his mother…

I never got the chance to find out. He’s always loved you more, anyway. ”

I just stare at her. An accident? How can she stand there and say that? Finn’s our world—my world.