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An hour later, when all the official documents are signed and I’ve cleared the air with Bridget, we’re standing in the media room waiting for the team to arrive.
“Nervous?” she asks as the door creaks open and players begin to file in.
“No,” I lie. “A little.”
She laughs. “Don’t worry, once she gets over the shock it’ll all be fine.”
“She?” I ask, but she doesn’t have time to respond before I turn and meet the shocked eyes of Natasha.
Chapter Six
Natasha
A bolt of what can only be described as lightning strikes me, rooting me to the spot.
“Natasha, is something wrong?” Coach calls out as the traffic jam I’m causing on the stairs get restless.
Luke recovers from his surprise long before I do, his features relaxing into a soft smile as his familiar eyes warm to me. I hate to say this, but he looks fucking good. Maybe it’s the shirt sleeves he’s got rolled up to his elbows showing off those delicious forearms or the fact I know exactly what he’s hiding under his smart-casual attire. Whatever it is, it’s working for me big time.
“Natasha?” Coach asks again, and I realise I’m still staring at him. Christ, he must think I’m an idiot.
I turn sharply to escape but I’m blocked by Brooke who faces me forward again and nudges me down the stairs further into the auditorium.
“I’m fine.” I wave her off and slump down into the seat furthest away from Luke as possible, followed by Brooke. A blush creeps up my neck when Luke raises a quizzical eyebrow with another fucking smirk. He’s taking not of my reaction and what…he likes it?
“Oh, hey, Luke!” Brooke says, waving obnoxiously as she pretends to notice our guest for the first time. “Look, Natasha,”—she nudges me with here sharp elbow—“it’s Luke. You remember Luke, right? He’s staying in the apartment next door to yours.”
Fucking hell, I’m going to kill her.
“I can see that, thanks, Skip,” I reply through gritted teeth to my captain and soon-to-be-ex-best friend if she keeps this up. Brooke smiles happily like the cat that got the cream, crossing her arms over her chest getting comfortable.
Okay, so, full disclosure, Luke’s name has been thrown around the dressing room quite a lot this week. It’ll take precisely three minutes for word to get around this room that this is the man I’ve been simultaneously hating and crushing on in equal measure.
“Nice to see you, Luke,” I say with a curt nod as if seeing him is the least exciting part of my week so far when the opposite is more like it.
“Nice to see you too, Natasha,” he says in that throaty way he says my name that I haven’t been able to get out of my head.
Brooke snorts with laughter, so I look to Bridget for some moral support. She’s no better and isn’t even trying to hide her glee at the situation.
“Thank you for meeting on such short notice, ladies. I’ll keep this brief as I know you want to get out of here,” Coach begins. “This is Luke Ramshaw. He’s a video game developer and is designing a game based on the Women’s Super League.”
His gaze is trained on me, so of course he sees the moment I realise I was completely wrong about him. He’s not just a deadbeat gamer with no job. Gaming is his job! Not that Iknow exactly what being a video game developer entails but the way Coach said it made it sound really important.
“The way I understand it, it’s like FIFA but exclusively designed for the women’s league,” Coach continues, looking to Luke who nods his confirmation. “We have struck a deal this morning that in return for his generous sponsorship we will be at his disposal when it comes to assisting him with his work. With this additional investment we can afford to draft in some of the academy players to replace those we’ve lost in the January transfer window and those we have out on injury. With a little bit of luck, we might actually survive this season. Are there any questions?”
I raise my hand immediately. I have a lot of questions and no idea where to start, so I begin with the obvious.
“What do you mean we’ll be at his disposal?”
“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know.” Debbie, the reserve goalkeeper, sitting on my other side, sniggers, so I jab her in the thigh, shutting her up.
“Luke will be attending training and matches. If he has any questions or needs anything at all I expect you to supporthim. Any other questions?” A dozen more hands shoot in the air. “Debbie?”
“Are you Natasha’s Luke? Because if you are, then I can understand why she hasn’t shut up talking about you this week.” She laughs, throwing me under the bus.
“Debbie!” I turn in my seat to face her. My face burns so hot I could probably fry an egg on it and Brooke snorts again, failing to disguise it with a cough. “What the actual fuck!?”
“Why don’t you take that question, Natasha?” My god he is brazen. “Am I ‘your Luke’?” he asks with a mischievous grin. He uncrosses his arms and shoves his hands in his beautifully fitted jeans. All that does is direct my gaze south and to make it worse, he catches me.
