Chapter 1 #2
“I’m okay.” She wasn’t, not fully, but she didn’t want him to worry.
He’d spent so many years of his life worrying about her already.
Left as a single father after his wife had walked out on their family, he’d worked two jobs to make sure she and Jessica were never hungry and that Erin always had everything she needed for football.
He shot her a look. “No, you’re not.”
With a wry smile, Erin grabbed her laptop and balanced it on her good knee, careful not to disturb the slumbering black cat snoozing on her lap. Not that Gerrard seemed to notice. “I will be. Promise.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t make it out to be with you in person, sweetheart.
” Behind him, the sun loomed high in the sky, lighting his apartment and making him and Isobel glow.
Or the glow could be due to being able to retire in sunny Spain.
“But Isobel wasn’t feeling up to travelling, and I didn’t want to leave her. ”
“I did tell him to go without me.” Isobel turned a stern glare her dad’s way. “But he wouldn’t listen.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Sensing the chance to change the subject, Erin seized it with both hands. She was tired of thinking about her injury; she didn’t want to talk about it, either. “How are you doing? A stroke trumps an ACL.”
Isobel waved a hand. “Oh, I’m fine, mija. Recovering well. We’ll definitely be out to visit you at Christmas.”
“Can’t wait.” Family had always been Erin’s reason for wanting to succeed.
The desire to make her dad proud—and to pay him back for everything he’d given up for her and Jessica.
He might not have been able to emigrate to Spain to be with Isobel without Erin’s help, and she wouldn’t have been able to support Jessica and Maisie.
Not that they needed much help anymore, now Jessica was working as a junior lawyer. But nine years ago, after becoming a mother at eighteen, had been a different story.
And it hadn’t been easy. When Erin had started out, few female players were professional, and those who were weren’t exactly high earners. But, in the years since, progress had been made, and Erin had been one of the drivers of that movement, smashing records the way she had.
“Here’s your cake!” Maisie bounded back over to the couch, a plate in each hand.
Jessica trailed a few steps behind with a much smaller slice of her own.
Erin turned back to her laptop screen. “I’ll let you go so you don’t have to watch us eat it. Speak to you next week?”
“Of course.” Her dad and Isobel waved goodbye to them all before hanging up, and Erin returned her laptop to the coffee table so she could eat, the chocolate ganache melting on her tongue.
“Auntie Erin?” Maisie peered at her, chocolate smeared around her mouth. “Can I stay here tonight?”
Behind Maisie, Jessica shook her head. “You’ve stayed here three nights already this week. Your Aunt Erin is going to be sick of the sight of you soon.”
“Impossible.” As much as Erin loved her own company, she loved spending time with Maisie more. Soon the day would come when she didn’t see Erin as cool anymore and wouldn’t want to spend every waking moment talking her ear off about football. “She’s more than welcome to stay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Erin let Maisie snuggle closer into her side.
Jessica worried sometimes that she asked for too much; Erin was often the emergency babysitter whenever Jessica had to work unexpected hours, especially now she wasn’t playing regularly.
But Maisie’s summer holidays would be over soon, and Erin wouldn’t see her as often once school started. “You know I don’t mind.”
“Okay, then.”
“Yay!” Maisie wrapped her arms around Erin’s waist and squeezed her tight but made sure not to jostle her too much.
Ever since the injury, she’d been careful, her worried eyes widening whenever Erin had winced.
After the surgery, Maisie had refused to leave her side whenever she wasn’t at school or her own football practice, dutifully playing Erin’s nursemaid. It was nice to see her smiling again.
Erin hoped it wouldn’t be too much longer until she’d be that happy again, too.
* * *
Lia’s hands trembled so much that she could barely jam the key into the lock of the house she and Hannah shared.
Or used to share. After the conversation that was about to take place, Lia had no intention of coming back other than to grab her things.
Had she done this the right way around, or should she have confronted Hannah before Carol?
Would Carol have had the chance to warn Hannah that Lia knew about their affair?
As she pushed the door open and stepped inside, Lia’s stomach churned.
The pitter-patter of claws on the wooden floor reached Lia’s ears, and Hannah’s Spaniel looked at her with big, brown eyes as he rounded the corner of the hall. “Hey, Charlie.” Lia crouched to stroke him, managing a laugh in spite of herself when he licked her cheek.
Burying her face in his fur, Lia drew in deep breaths as she fought the urge to cry.
Hannah had stolen so much from her: the last four years of her life spent on a relationship that Hannah had thrown away for a sliver of attention from their coach; the team that Lia had spent all of her adult life as a part of; the teammates that she’d thought would be her friends forever but who had kept their silence so they didn’t rock the boat; and her home.
Not just her physical home, either, but her home on the pitch.
“Lia? Is that you?” Hannah’s voice echoed from the living room.
Moment of truth. Wearily, Lia pushed herself to her feet and trudged down the hall. Inside the living room, Hannah sat on the sofa.
Hannah hiccupped as her eyes met Lia’s, tears spilling from her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“At least you’re not going to deny it.” Lia sagged against the door-frame, every ounce of strength leaching out of her as she looked at the woman she’d thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with.
“Why, Hannah?” The question that Lia had been asking herself, over and over again, since she’d seen the messages on Hannah’s phone.
Things between them had been good—or so Lia had thought.
They rarely argued, despite spending most of their days together.
And okay, maybe they hadn’t had sex in a few weeks—or was it months?
—but that was normal, wasn’t it, in a long-term relationship once the honeymoon period had ended?
“What did she give you that I couldn’t?”
“It wasn’t like that.” Hannah rose to her feet, moving toward Lia like she wanted to reach for her.
Before she could, Lia reared backwards, unable to stand the thought of Hannah touching her. “What was it like, then?” She barely recognised her own voice, sharp and brittle, one step away from breaking entirely. “Explain it to me.”
“I don’t…I don’t know how to do that.”
“Well, you didn’t trip and fall into bed with her, did you? There must have been a reason!” A reason why Lia wasn’t enough for her. A reason why she’d risked throwing everything they had away. “Did she pressure you? Coerce you into something?”
“No.”
Lia didn’t know whether to be relieved or upset. “Then why, Hannah?”
“I don’t have an answer for you, Lia. I liked the attention she gave me. It was new and exciting, and I got lost in the thrill. I never intended to hurt you. I kept telling myself that I’d stop it or I’d come clean and tell you, but I didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”
Once more, Hannah reached for her, but Lia flinched out of her grip. Numbness crept through her body, making it hard for her to stay upright.
“Is there… Can we fix this?”
Lia wrenched the diamond ring from her finger and hurled it toward where Hannah stood. “This is how we’ll fix it.”
Before Hannah had the chance to call out, to beg her to stay, Lia made for the front door, slamming it closed behind her. She didn’t have any of her belongings, but that didn’t matter. She could stay in a hotel for the night and come back tomorrow when Hannah was in training.
As she was walking down the street, her cheeks damp with tears, her phone rang in her pocket.
“Hey.” The voice of Lia’s agent was breathless on the other end of the line. “I think we’ve had a breakthrough on the transfer fee. How do you feel about signing the ink on a contract with Salford Albion first thing in the morning?”
“That fast?” Lia had expected to have to wait at least a few days. Though she’d never been part of a transfer saga before, she knew how they worked. It could take weeks to hammer out the details, even when both parties wanted a deal.
“That fast. They want you, Lia. And whatever you said to Carol, it worked. Wanderers are throwing everything they can at this to get a deal over the line.”
“I could be an Albion player as soon as tomorrow?”
“Uh-huh. What do you say? You sure about this? I promise it’ll be the last time I ask you that.”
Lia took a deep breath. Starting over somewhere new was utterly terrifying. What if she couldn’t settle in? What if she didn’t get along with her new coach? What if her new teammates hated her for the role she’d played in them coming in second the previous season?
What if Hannah snatched her career from her, as well as everything else?
Instead of letting the doubt get to her, Lia straightened her spine. She couldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t let herself drown, give in to the ache deep in her chest whenever she thought about what she’d lost.
“I’m sure. Tell them I’ll sign whatever they want me to.”