8. Michael
Practice and trainingafterward were brutal.
All I wanted to do was get home and see Ava.
She was all I could think about all day, wanting her scent on my tongue.
Wanting to hold her.
I couldn’t tell the guys what was happening, especially not Liam. Not that I wanted to talk to my new brother-in-law and hear about his sex life with my sister anyway.
Of course, I couldn’t be that lucky to avoid him all day.
Just as I was leaving the stadium, bag slung over my shoulder, I heard him yell my name.
Shit.
I guess the big embroidery with my number on my bag was a dead giveaway. It was me, and I couldn’t pretend I was someone else.
I slowed down a bit until he was walking in step beside me.
Liam was a few inches taller and broader than me. He was the dictionary definition of ‘tall, dark, and handsome,’ which is probably why my little sister fell for him so quickly.
Not that I wanted to think about that or what they were doing now that I’d moved out.
“You did good at practice today, man,” he said, cupping my shoulder.
“Yeah, thanks. You called some good plays,” I muttered.
“Where ya headed? Do you need a ride?”
“It’s not too far of a walk,” I muttered.
He smiled. “To the pub or to Ava’s place?”
“Technically, it’s both our place since I pay half the rent.”
“Ah, so you are going right home and not to the pub. The guys were right.” He clapped his hands.
I whirled around, my fists clenched at my sides as I narrowed my eyes. “What? What are the guys saying?”
He laughed. “Well, that answers just about every rumor going around the locker room about you fecking the publicist.”
“Don’t fucking talk about Ava like that,” I growled, taking a step closer.
Liam stepped back, his arms raised in surrender. “Whoa, calm down, buddy; I was just repeating what I heard.”
I took a deep breath, stepped back, and raked my fingers through my hair, which was still wet from the shower. “Sorry.”
“You really do have it bad for her, don’t you?”
“Maybe,” I grumbled, not wanting to talk about my love life with my teammate, especially when I had no desire to know about his.
“If you do love her, then you need to tell her.”
“Who the hell said anything about love?” I barked.
He laughed. “You did when you gave me that reaction.”
He clasped my shoulder. “Hey, man, some people might not understand it. But sometimes love hits you faster than a flanker with a grudge.”
I wanted to protest, to tell him to fuck off. But I knew, deep down, he was right.
“Thanks, man, I appreciate it,” I muttered under my breath.
He laughed. “Hey, that’s what brothers are for.”
I winced at the term ‘brothers,’ but I knew he was right.
He wasn’t just my teammate or my brother-in-law; we were in this together. Brothers.
Now, I just hoped his brotherly advice was good enough because my heart sank when I got home to an empty apartment.
“Ava?” I called, slowly walking around the living room and kitchen, even though the place was small and only took me a few long strides.
I knocked on her door and then burst in when there wasn’t an answer.
The bed was still made, and no Ava.
No one in the bathroom either.
Pulling out my phone, I grabbed her contact and sent a quick message.
Michael: Hey, I just got home, and you’re not here. I can go grab dinner if you’re working late.
I waited for the three dots to appear, but after a minute, I decided to distract myself by plopping down on the couch and scrolling through my phone.
Five minutes passed. Then, ten minutes. Then half an hour.
Still no message and no Ava.
I was about to send her another text when the door handle jingled, followed by a slew of curses as the other locks opened.
When Ava burst through the door, I jumped out of the seat, practically skipping toward her.
“Why the hell did you lock all of these?”
“Because someone has to show you how to take care of yourself, obviously,” I said, gripping her face and pulling her toward me, savoring her sweet kisses and the taste of her cherry ChapStick.
“Michael, Michael,” she chanted as I kissed down her neck.
“Michael, please, stop; we need to talk,” she said, letting out a sigh and putting her hands on my chest, separating us.
My heart sank again.
Shit.
Needing to talk was never a good thing.
“How about we eat first? I know what I want for dinner,” I said, running my hand down the front of her blouse.
She sighed, pushing past me and heading into the living room. Her shoulders slumped as she kept her back to me.
“How many people did you tell about us at the stadium?”
I gulped. “About us or living together?”
I slowly walked around her, seeing her eyes slowly open. “Both.”
“Well, Liam kind of guessed at our relationship, and the guys were razzing me about living with my sister and Liam, so I told them I moved out.”
She sighed, plopping down on the couch. “Anna in HR came to my office today.”
I frowned, taking the seat next to her, but not too close, even though I just wanted to wrap her in my arms and take away whatever was hurting her away. “That bitch who writes reports on everyone.”
At least I got a small smile out of Ava with that one. “She’s just a rule follower, so much so that she looked at the manual and said that according to the rules, we can’t live together.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I guess because I’m considered higher up than you and it would look like favoritism if we were living together and I gave you more press.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Wait until they hear we’re sleeping together then.”
She swatted my arm, and though it did nothing for pain, I still winced. “I’m serious. They could fire us.”
“Well, what would make it so they couldn’t fire us? I mean, I could move out, but if they found out we were dating…”
She looked down, picking at her nail beds. “Ella did make a suggestion, but it’s really silly.”
“Well, tell me,” I said, putting my hand on her knee.
She let out a deep breath. “No, I mean, it’s really crazy.”
“I like crazy,” I said, squeezing her kneecap.
She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She said we should just get married, and then all of HR’s rules would be out the window.”
I thought back to what Liam said about how love hits you quickly.
I knew I loved Ava, and if this was the way we could be together, then why the hell not?
My heart pounded in my chest as I brushed my fingers under her chin, forcing her watery eyes to mine.
“Then let’s get married.”
“Wha-wha-what? That’s crazy,” she said, opening her mouth and closing it again.
“Why? I love you, and I think you love me. If it worked for Liam and my sister, why can’t it work for us?”
She smiled slightly. “Do you know how crazy this is?”
I leaned forward. “You keep saying that, but you should also know how crazy I am about you. I love you, Ava. Let me marry you or at least stay engaged to you until HR gets off our backs and see where this goes.”
I leaned in even closer, breathing into her lips. “I promise we can take it slow, and if ever you think it’s not going to work out, just tell me. But I know I don’t want to lose you.”
“It will work out between us because I love you, too, Michael. So yes, this is crazy, but I will marry you.”
She sealed her words with a kiss, and my heart pounded so hard in my chest that I was afraid it was going to break through.
We were definitely crazy.
But we were mostly in love.