Chapter Forty-One
Rowan
She was right. I’m decidedly not pleased with this Isaac fella, and we’ve been at the Sports Therapy Center for less than two minutes. The moment we arrived, his eyes widened and his mouth split into a blinding grin.
“Alicia, what a surprise,” His voice is unnecessarily deep as he greets my lass.
When he opens his arms like he’s going to embrace her, I step closer and wind an arm around her back and place my hand low on her hip, pulling her into my side. She cuts me a look implying that she knows what I’m doing, but returns the gesture, looping her arm around my waist.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friend, darlin’?”
“Ro, sweetie,” she coos warmly, but her eyes are raging at me. “This is Isaac. His grandmother, Sondra, is with our Paddy. Isaac, this is Rowan, your temporary patient, and—”
“The boyfriend?” Isaac guesses, inspecting me from head to toe.
“Well, it’s a bit more than that, Ivan,” I say just to be a cunt then plant a kiss on Alicia’s temple and squeeze her arse. “What we have is the forever kind of love.”
Her hand slips down my back to pinch my arse. It takes more effort than I’d like to admit to keep from hollering.
“It’s Isaac,” he corrects, widening his stance and folding his thick arms over his equally muscular chest. I’m not a scrawny bloke, but this fucker is absolutely massive.
That polo he’s wearing is about to pop at the seams. And, fine.
He’s an attractive fella. “For a forever kind of thing, I haven’t heard too much about you. ”
I bristle, a feeling I buried years ago snaking its way into my chest. I want to fight this wanker. The urge to knock that smirk from his face is so strong, I have to put my free hand in the pocket of my gym shorts.
“Fucks sake,” Alicia mutters next to me, then addresses Isaac. “You haven’t heard much about him because we only met recently and have had half a conversation. And, like I told you then, we”—she points between her body and mine—“are exclusive and I have no interest in changing that.”
The finality in her voice has pride blooming until I realize that what Alicia isn’t saying is that he’s asked her out before. She must sense the storm brewing, because she tightens her arm around me.
“You’re right. I’m not trying to mess that up, just giving you shit. Anyway,” he turns back to me, clapping his hands together. “I really am honored to be helping out with your PT. I was watching the game when your injury happened, but I’d like to go over the details with you, if you don’t mind.”
I glower, but give him a quick nod. “Aye, appreciate that. I’ll meet you and doc over there in a moment.”
Isaac nods and retreats to where the therapist has set up.
“Hey,” Alicia whispers as she places a hand to my cheek and angles my face down. I drag my gaze from Isaac and find the sapphire pools I love to get lost in searching my own. “You good?”
“You never said he made a move on you,” I grumble.
“Ro, I’m a bartender,” she smiles indulgently. “Men make moves on me every day. It’s an occupational hazard, even though it shouldn’t be—”
“No, it bloody well shouldn’t.”
“Might I remind you that you were one of them for many years?”
I open my mouth to object, but realize she’s right. Hitting on Alicia was my favorite pastime whenever we went to Paddy’s.
“Wait, does that mean you treat every other fella like you did me?”
She rolls her eyes. “No, Gallagher. I’m only a snarky bitch to you. Now, quit being a baby and go fix your ankle.”
“Aye, alright, but kiss me first.” Without waiting for an answer, I swoop in and claim her mouth. She kisses me back but pulls away before I can deepen it, seeming to know that I planned on making a spectacle of it.
“You’re a troublemaker.” She smirks at me.
“But you love me.”
“Yeah, I do,” she concedes with a sigh.
* * *
By the end of therapy, I’m convinced that my ankle will never be normal again. What should be a simple stretch felt more like cutting the foot off altogether.
“Christ, that was torture, Doc,” I grouse, wiping the sweat from my brow with the bottom of my shirt.
“It will feel worse before it gets better. I’m sure it doesn’t seem like any progress was made today, but you were able to complete more exercises than what the majority of soccer players can at this stage.
That’s a good sign.” He hands me my crutches and waits for me to get them positioned before leading us toward the waiting area.
As we near, I see Isaac is talking to Alicia.
During the last ten minutes of the session, he claimed to have received a phone call and excused himself.
I didn’t think anything of it, because while he was going through the exercises with me, he was focused and thorough, guiding me through each routine like he’s been doing this for years as opposed to being a student.
I forgot that he tried to snatch my lass. Until now.
I’m about to make a scene when I realize that he’s not talking to just Alicia, but Bridget too. She was gone for school by the time I made my way out of the bedroom this morning so I missed seeing her.
“Mo stóirín!” I call out, smiling broadly at her. “What are you doing here?”
Bridget smiles back and stands to give me a hug. I soak it up, knowing that physical affection isn’t something she does often.
“Li said you guys were here, so I had a friend drop me off after school,” she explains, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.
She started her new school earlier this week and has had nothing but good things to say. I can already tell a difference in her demeanor just in the short time she’s been there. Her eyes are brighter and the smiles come easier.
“Yeah? Look at you, already making friends.”
She blushes and looks at her feet. I glance at Li, raising a brow and she winks. What the feck does that mean?
“When do you work at Paddy’s next?” Isaac’s deep timber grates along my nerves, especially when he’s stealing Alicia’s attention.
I start to open my mouth to tell him he can fuck right off and mind his own business when Bridget taps my arm. I glance down to find her green eyes flash with mischief.
“Hey, Ro?”
“Yeah, love?”
She’s fighting a smile. “Guess what I discovered today.”
“Hmmm.” I tap a finger to my lips. “Let’s see. Life on Mars?”
She rolls her eyes, and it dawns on me that I’m now living with two sassy lassies.
“You have a fan club at school.”
My eyebrows shoot up so high they might have actually left my forehead all together. “No kidding? What kind of fan club? Is it for my roguish good looks or my skills on the pitch?”
She grimaces. “It’s not for your looks.”
Frowning, I huff out an exaggerated sigh. “Probably for the better. Your sister would have them by the bollocks. And I don’t fancy being stalked by a group of teenyboppers.”
The low rumble of Isaac’s laugh has us both turning our heads in his direction.
“Fecking miserable pox,” I mutter under my breath.
Bridget snorts. “I take it you don’t like Isaac?”
I scoff. “I’d like him better if he’d pin his wandering eyes on someone else.”
“Can you blame him?” She asks. “Li’s gorgeous.”
Not in her usual black leather, she looks soft and carefree in cutoff shorts and a worn O’Nelly’s t-shirt, the pub’s logo over her left breast. Her hair is down in loose waves, and her face is free of makeup.
“Aye, she is,” I agree. “It’s not that he finds her attractive. It’s that he knows she’s taken, yet keeps crowding her.”
“There’s like five feet of space between them, Ro. Are you afraid if she gets too close she’s going to choose him?”
I give her a disgusted look. “Ach, no! He’s not that good looking.”
“Yes, he is,” she sighs dreamily.
“Fecking traitor,” I snarl, casting Bridget my most intimidating glare.
Her lips twitch and she covers her mouth with a hand to smother the laugh she’s trying to keep at bay.
“Keep it up, young wan, and I’ll teach Lou to shite in your bed instead of the litter box.” I threaten her, but we both know I won’t do a damn thing. “C’mon, then. Let’s go rescue her and get out of here before I do something rash.”
Bridget takes off toward her sister, interrupting whatever Isaac is saying. “Li, it’s time to go. Ro’s getting cranky.”
“Oy!” I call out, putting my crutches into gear. “Bleeding hallion! I’m doing no such thing.”
These two will forever keep me on my toes, never giving me a moment’s peace, but if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way.