I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I love Addison more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life.
“I’ve been a bloody idiot,” I mutter, pushing back from the table. I let out a breath that’s half a laugh, half a release of everything I’ve kept locked inside me. “Thanks, mate.”
A slow smile tugs at Luke’s mouth. “Oliver?”
“Yeah?” I say, glancing over my shoulder, halfway toward the door.
“Go get her, Captain.”
I nod, smiling while my heart thuds. I’m not nervous. Instead, I feel something dangerously close to hope. I’m done being afraid. I’m done hiding behind old wounds.
It’s time to tell Addison the truth.
And maybe she won’t feel the same, but I can’t spend the rest of my life wondering.
I knock on Addison’s door, feeling more nervous right now than I ever have on the pitch.
Nothing.
I knock again. Louder.
Still nothing.
Everything is quiet. I can’t hear movement in her flat, so I don’t think she’s in there and just avoiding me.
I knock one last time, and when there’s still no answer, I rest my forehead against the door as I contemplate my next move.
I check the time. Shit.
I’ve got to get back to my flat. The team awards are in less than two hours, and I need to shower, change, and show up with a smile like this whole season hasn’t cracked me wide open in ways I never imagined.
I have to let myself hope that she’ll turn up tonight, that something changed her mind, and she decides to come. I exhale slowly, forcing myself to turn around.
I’m halfway down the hall when I hear footsteps coming up toward the front entrance. My heart thunders in my chest as I hope it’s Addison coming in, but the feeling quickly subsides when the door opens and her landlord, Jane, walks in clutching a canvas bag full of groceries and trashy tabloid magazines.
“Oliver, I didn’t see you there,” she says cheerfully.
“I was just looking for Addison,” I say, stepping aside so she can pass. Jane has watched me come and go from Addison’s flat for months now, always smiling like she knows exactly what we’re up to. She’s known our secret, but has never told anyone, even though the tabloids in her arms would pay good money for it.
Her face softens instantly. “Oh, she left a few hours ago, love.”
My breath catches. “She left?”
“Mmm, yes.” Jane nods. “Said she had some things to take care of. I’m really going to miss her.” Jane adjusts the bag on her arm and shakes her head. “Always polite. Such a good tenant. Even brought me homemade cookies today as a thank you for being a lovely landlady. Such a sweet girl.” She chuckles. “She already handed in her notice too, poor thing. Said she’d be vacating right after the final match.”
My entire body stills and goes cold.
“So, she’s really going,” I say quietly.
Jane doesn’t seem to catch the shift in my voice. “I suppose so,” she says. “Brave girl, that one. It’s not easy starting over. She’s got a fire in her.”
She does.
And it’s about to burn me alive.
Jane gives me a gentle smile and disappears up the stairs, leaving me standing in the foyer at a crossroads.
I step out onto the pavement, the door clicking shut behind me.
