I laughed softly. “Yeah?”
“Will you sign it so I can keep it forever?”
I took the marker with hands that felt suddenly clumsy and signed my name carefully, like it mattered more than anything I’d done all day. When I handed it back, she gasped like I’d given her treasure. “Thank you so much, Mr. O’Riley.”
“My friends call me Connor, you know.”
She beamed and beamed, then we took a selfie and her dad joined in, shaking my hand and thanking me. I felt it then, whatever it was that was bigger than me. The something I’d been looking for this year.
When I finally stood, my eyes found the stands again without effort.
Teddy was watching, the look on her face almost reverent. She didn’t wave or clap like the others around her. She simply pressed her hand to her chest for a brief second, then lifted her chin at me.
I nodded, and my throat tightened, aware of how easily her presence had started to anchor me. That alone told me I was in over my head with her already. I knew I was beginning to care for her in a way that couldn’t easily be undone.
33
Teddy
I wasn’t entirely sure what was happening to me. I was smiling—really smiling—and softening in places I usually kept locked down, my stomach fluttering in a way that had nothing to do with the game as Connor interacted with the little girl. I couldn’t hear a word they said, but I didn’t need to. The sign she held up, his number scrawled across it and surrounded by hearts, Connor’s face as he took it in. The way something in him shifted. It was enough to send me spinning.
I wondered if he understood the impact he’d just had on her. If he ever stopped to consider the weight his presence carried in rooms like this, where admiration sat so close to belief. Sometimes that kind of attention could feel heavy, like expectation pressing down on your shoulders. But it was a gift too. The chance to inspire, to make space, to show someone what was possible.
I had no doubt he’d lit something inside her just by being himself.
And the picture was clear in my mind—years from now, me settled somewhere quieter, watching her on a screen as she stepped into the space I’d once held. It was hope blooming deep in my belly and the drive of wanting the future of rugby to be easier for the next generation of women.
And he was somehow weaving himself into that. God, this was inconvenient, extremely inconvenient. Because the last thing I needed was attention… and the sudden, overwhelming urge to run across the room, launch myself at him, and see if he’d catch me… That wasn’t a sensible thought at all.
“We’re all going to grab drinks at Pour Decisions. You in, Cap?” Lola asked, nudging my shoulder, breaking my trance.
I tore my eyes away and looked around at my team. “Have a drink for me? I’m beat.” It wasn’t a lie; last night’s activities left me tired, and I craved my bed.
Lola nodded. “You know where we are if you change your mind.”
Micah was in a meeting with Coach Em right now, and the others left with Lola. So, I took the opportunity to sneak off quietly, inhaling as soon as I stepped outside into the warm spring air and found my car.
The drive back to my place wasn’t long, but it gave me enough time to plan my evening. I’d eat my chicken Caesar salad I’d made earlier, settle in front of the TV, and rot until my eyes grew heavy. There wasn’t much a rot session couldn’t cure. I quickly texted Natalie about the tickets she wanted, when a knock at the door startled me. I frowned, glancing at the clock before padding over on barefoot and opening the door.
After today’s win, Connor was the last person I expected to see standing in the hallway. His hair was damp, darker than usual, like he’d just showered. He’d changed out of his kit, sweatshirt clinging slightly at the collar, skin still pink from heat and steam.He smelled clean, like soap and his cologne, and the sight of him there knocked the breath straight out of me.
“Hey,” he said, with a smile that didn’t help the lack of oxygen.
“Hi,” I managed, fingers tightening around the doorframe. “What are you doing here?”
He shifted his weight, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth. “I was on my way home and thought… I won today.” Stepping into my space, his fingers pressed against my stomach, moving me backward. “And I needed to make sure that I repeated everything I did to get that win.”
My belly flipped as we stepped back together into my apartment, and he kicked the door shut with his foot.
“You’re not playing for another seven days, though.” It was a weak point to make, since my body was screaming for him to stay.
“Then I guess I’ll be eating your pussy every single night until my next game, sunshine.”
I practically swallowed my tongue. How could this man go from being the one person who pissed me off, to now being the one I wanted to invite inside my house? “You’re serious,” I said with disbelief, even as my core clenched.
“Oh, I’m very serious about eating you out and making you scream.” He leaned in to press a kiss on my forehead and my body tingled. “In fact, I think I need to start now.”
Taking my hand, he threaded his fingers through mine like it was the most natural thing in the world.
