16
He kept his eyes on the car longer than necessary.
“Oi,” Miko said, tossing a bundle of cones into the equipment bin. “You gonna help or just pine?”
Jack snorted and bent to grab a tackle bag. “Wasn’t pining. Just observin’.”
“Right,” Kelsey drawled, dragging a hose across the grass. “You were practically waving goodbye like a tragic wife at the docks.”
Liam laughed. Toby hefted a stack of balls like they weighed nothing, his mum already gone, the pitch slowly emptying of kids and parents. Noah stood a few meters away, quiet now, rolling tape back onto itself with unnecessary precision.
Jack wiped sweat from his neck with the hem of his shirt and glanced, once more, down the road. “You seen her walk away like that?” he said casually. Too casually. “Swear to God, put her in a bikini and half this town would forget how to speak.”
Kelsey groaned. “Here we go.”
“What?” Jack shot back. “I’m just sayin’. Long legs. Strong thighs. I bet she has gorgeous tits. You know she’d look unreal stretched out on the sand.”
Miko shook his head, amused. “You’re a menace.”
Jack grinned, unabashed. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
No one did.
He leaned his shoulder into a post, eyes distant now. “Bet she doesn’t even know it. All professional. Buttoned-up. But you can tell.” His voice dropped a notch, rougher. “Theres something there, mate.”
Noah’s face winced. He yanked the tape too hard; it snapped. “You done?” he asked without looking up.
Jack arched a brow. “What’s that, mate? Hit a nerve?”
“No,” Noah said, flat.
“Just cleaning up, besides you have your own lady to entertain.” Making a reference to the sun kissed blonde. “I’m sure she will look awesome in a bikini.”
“Not interested,” Noah flatly responded.
Toby cleared his throat, deliberately loud, and hoisted the last crate toward the shed. “Maybe keep it respectful, yeah? She’s staff.”
Jack pushed off the post, hands up in mock surrender. “Alright, alright. Respectful thoughts only.” A beat. Then a smirk. He knew that his thoughts were anything but respectful, but he had to say one more thing. “Still reckon she’d feel unreal beneath me, though.”
Kelsey lobbed a muddy sock at his chest. “You’re foul.”
Jack laughed, catching it and tossing it back. But as the noise settled and the sun dipped lower, his eyes drifted once more to where Claire had disappeared – aware, suddenly, that he wasn’t the only one standing a little too still, thinking a little too hard about the same woman.
Liam looked at the group, fingers touching the stringy hair under his nose. “Maybe we should go to the beach with the girls?” They were elated with this idea, even Noah. Who was now more than curious to see what he might find on the beach.
The girls had already claimed their stretch of sand.
Towels were laid out in a neat, sun-drenched row, bags kicked off to the side, wine poured into mismatched plastic cups. Sunglasses were tipped just right, paperbacks half-open and forgotten. The ocean hummed steadily in the background, and the late afternoon sun warmed skin and bones alike.
Claire wore a simple black bikini that fit her like it had been designed with intention rather than flirtation, the clean lines doing nothing to hide the long strength in her legs and the quiet curves of her hips and waist. Sunlight warmed her toned stomach and smooth shoulders, the kind of body that spoke of endurance and confidence rather than displayed.
It was effortless, natural, and impossible not to notice.
Claire lay back on her elbows, eyes closed, face tilted toward the light. And just like what seemed to be all day today, no one needed her for anything.
“This,” Tania said contentedly, swirling her wine, “I needed this.”
“Absolutely…” Claire agreed, leaning back.
They heard them before they saw them.
Deep voices. Laughter. The unmistakable clink of cans.
Claire cracked one eye open.
The men crested the dunes like a perfectly timed entrance, cooler first, then bodies. Massive ones. Sun-bronzed and already half-undressed, rugby shorts slung low on hips built for force and balance. Shirts were nowhere to be seen, tossed carelessly over shoulders or tucked into bags.
It was absurd how attractive they were.
Not polished. Not pretty.
Just… big. Broad backs. Thick chests. Arms veined and powerful, skin marked with the quiet evidence of years of contact with faded bruises, scars, tape lines ghosted onto wrists and fingers.
Miko, Toby and Noah had Māori tattoos on their arms, chest and legs.
Toby’s was the largest and most elaborate, swirling designs that went from his wrists to his chest, parting just where his belly button is, then stopping at his waist.
Claire knew that each one of those took a painstaking amount of time to design, and that each line meant something to his ancestry.
Jack walked at the front, beer already in hand, grinning lazy and dangerous. Kelsey followed, beard light red and full, giving him that rugged edge that made him look like he belonged in a lumberyard or on a magazine cover. Liam trailed beside him, fingers brushing his upper lip.
The mustache was… unfortunate.
Thin. Wispy. Uneven.
Miko eyed it immediately. “You still tryin’ to make that happen?”
“It’s comin’ in,” Liam said defensively.
Kelsey squinted. “Mate, it looks like it’s afraid of commitment.”
Behind them, Toby ambled along like a friendly mountain, carrying a paper bag stuffed with sandwiches.
Noah brought up the rear, quieter but no less commanding, thick thighs, powerful calves already dusted with sand, posture relaxed but alert, like he never truly switched off, despite the small smile on his face.
The guys stopped just short of the towels.
Jack tipped his beer in greeting and dropped a rugby ball at their feet. “Afternoon, ladies.”
Tania didn’t even look up from her wine. “You are still playing rugby?”
Jack blinked. “What?”
“All day,” she said, finally turning to him. “Every day. That’s literally all you think about.”
“That’s not true.” Miko dropped the cooler with a thud and popped it open. “Sometimes we think about food.”
“And beer,” Toby added cheerfully, handing out sandwiches.
“And guys,” Kelsey said.
“And women,” Liam said.
“Women,” the guys agreed in unison.
They settled in beside the girls without ceremony. A cooler full of beverages and food planted between towels, bottles and cans passed around, bodies dropping into the sand with heavy, easy confidence. The space instantly felt warmer, filled with familiar love.
The boys ran off to play beach rugby under the setting New Zealand sun. Tania snuck a peek in the cooler. Sandwiches and beer sat inside. Tania took out the one labeled Turkey Club and offered half to Claire. She accepted a sandwich, smiling.
“So… what about girlfriends? Or wives?” she asked casually, like she wasn’t suddenly very aware of how close half the guys were, playing in the sand.
Tania snorted. “Some’ve ‘em got girlfriends. A couple are married.”
Claire hesitated just a beat, then glanced sideways. “What about Jack?”
Tania laughed into her cup. “Jack? He’s got ladies all the time. I have never seen him like someone for more than… a month. Maybe.”
Claire absorbed that information and hummed thoughtfully, then whispered, “And Noah?”
Tania followed her gaze. Noah was standing the closest to the girls receiving a ball that Kelsey tossed over.
She shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t even think he likes anybody. The only thing that man seems to love is rugby.”
Noah didn’t look over.
But the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
Tania stood, stretching sand from her legs, hands on her hips. “You lot gonna hog the ball all evening, or are you actually going to let us play?”
Jack looked up from where he was toeing a line in the sand. His grin sharpened. “You sure, boss? You know that rugby’s not exactly gentle.”
Claire surprised herself by standing too, brushing sand from her thighs. “I think we can manage. You’ll have to teach me though.”
“Ok,” Liam agreed.
Miko tossed her the ball without warning. It smacked lightly into her hands. “Rule one,” he said, already backing away, “pass backwards.”
She laughed, startled, clutching it to her chest. “That’s it?”
Jack stepped closer, voice low and teasing. “Rule two, hit the guy with the ball.” He gestured past him, eyes lingering for a second too long. “I’ll show you.”
He jogged backward, inviting, and Claire took off after him, sand kicking up around her ankles. She didn’t make it three steps before Kelsey lunged, not hard, just enough to force her sideways.
“Ah!” she yelped, stumbling.
Jack caught her by the waist, hands firm, steadying her before she fell. “Careful,” he said, far too close now. “Gotta keep your balance.”
Claire’s breath hitched, more from proximity than exertion. “You always teach like this?”
“Only the fun students.”
“Pass it!” Liam yelled, mustache flapping uselessly in the wind.
Claire twisted, instinctively, and shoved the ball into Tania’s hands. Tania whooped and barreled forward like she’d been waiting her whole life for this exact moment.
“See?” Jack said, still too close. “You’re a natural.”
Noah had been watching quietly from a few meters away, arms crossed, with an amused smirk on his face. Tania passed the ball in a spiral to Jack. Noah moved then, quick and decisive.
“Nice spiral, Tania,” Jack called. “Gorgeous.” Jack’s eyes were on Claire, and Tania couldn’t tell if he was talking about her spiral, or a bathing suit clad doctor.
Jack barely had time to turn before Noah slammed into his waist, in a good clean tackle. It was enough to knock him clean off balance and straight into the shallows. Water exploded around him; the ball was released.
Jack came up sputtering; hair plastered to his face. “What the hell, man?”
Noah had that beaming smile that Claire dreamt about, and he splashed Jack with the waters of the ocean.
Laughter broke across the beach. Tania nearly toppled over from laughing so hard.
Claire stood there, pulse racing, watching Noah wade back toward them, soaking wet, laughing, water dripping from his calves. He met her eyes briefly – just long enough to make a point– then looked down toward the sand.
“Rule three,” he whispered to Claire as he passed her to get to his towel. “Don’t let anyone slow you down.”
And for the first time since she’d arrived, Claire felt like she was finally getting to see the team in their natural habitat.