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Ava finally pulled back and plastered on a smile that didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “It’ll be okay. How did you go? I’ve been waiting on tenterhooks all day.”
“Let’s sit down.” Bryce motioned to the couch, and Ava took Cole’s hand. It was cool and curled around his, gripping him tightly as if she needed his strength. He closed his other hand over hers too, and squeezed back, reassuring her without words that he was there.
“You a nudist now?” she asked with a tilt of her head and a ghost of a smile lifting her lips. She looked exhausted, as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Dark marks under her eyes marred her smooth complexion, and her face was paler than normal too. “Or are you looking to make my night a whole lot better than my day was?”
“Bryce stole my towel, but yeah, let’s go with option two.” Cole winked and led her to the couch, propping himself up on the armrest and patting the spot in front of him while Bryce sat sideways on the sofa.
Ava curled into Cole, resting her head on his chest so they could both see Bryce. Cole played with her hair, scratching her scalp and massaging her shoulders to release the knots of tightly wound tension there. No wonder she looked terrible—she must have been sporting one hell of a headache if the tightness was anything to go by.
“Spill,” Ava ordered, and Bryce chuckled, picking up a thick white envelope off the coffee table.
Bryce didn’t hesitate, slipping out a black, white and electric blue folder with the team’s logo taking up most of the space on the front. “So, the team didn’t want to talk about extending my reserve contract for another year—”
“What? How could they reject you?” Cole asked, disbelief and instant outrage warring for supremacy.
Bryce held up his hand and Cole snapped his mouth shut, biting back a tirade. What the hell? Bryce deserved that contract more than anyone. He couldn’t believe they’d knocked him back. He must be crushed. Why was he smiling? He’d worked his butt off for this. What did it mean going forward? Could he swap reserve teams? Each of the professional teams in Sydney had one, so there were plenty to choose from, but if the Thunder had rejected him, did that mean he'd find it difficult to get into another? But if that were so, why was Bryce smiling?
“In fact, that wasn’t even discussed.”
Huh? How could he know that they’d rejected him if they didn’t even talk about it? Cole tilted his head, his brows furrowed, and lips turned down as he tried to work out what Bryce was talking about.
Bryce gave them a small smile and opened the folder. “They offered me a spot with the Lightning. I’ll be playing professionally this season.”
Ava gasped and launched herself at Bryce, squealing as she peppered his face in kisses. Cole stared at him open-mouthed. He blinked and stood, his legs unsteadily holding him up as he stumbled over to the coffee table in front of Bryce before his legs gave out.
Taking Bryce’s hand in his, Cole realized he was shaking. He laughed, the sound unsteady. “You’re serious.”
Bryce nodded, colour flaring in his cheeks. “I’m going pro, baby,” he shouted, lifting his fists in the air.
Cole crash-tackled him, squashing Ava and taking his man’s lips in a fierce kiss. Spearing his tongue into Bryce’s mouth, he swallowed Bryce’s moan and kissed him deeper. It was only when the room spun and his lungs were screaming for air that he pulled back and sucked in a breath, nipping and licking a line down Bryce’s throat as Ava claimed his lips.
Cole’s heart beat hard, jubilation rushing through him. It was heady. Pride and excitement and a fierce need to show Bryce, and Ava, just how much he lov— Woah. No, he wasn’t doing that. He pushed down the fear, breathed through it. He loved them, and they cared about him too.
Cole straddled Bryce’s leg, one hand cupping his nape and the other on Ava’s back.
“There’s more,” Bryce said with a moan as Ava moved to the other side of his throat. Their hands met at the junction of Bryce’s thick thighs, cupping the hardening length there. He lifted his hips chasing their touch as Cole pulled back and Ava shifted so she was no longer straddling him either. He opened the folder that had fallen to their side and flipped over a few pages before showing them a number. A very large number with a dollar sign in front of it and plenty of zeroes behind.
Shock held Cole immobile. He blinked, taking in the number again. Holy hell, that was a nice salary for Bryce to be getting.
“Bryce, oh my god, this is fantastic. Congratulations,” Ava breathed.
“Your salary is… fucking hell.” Cole shook his head, still gobsmacked at the number.
Bryce huffed out a laugh. “That’s not my salary. That’s my signing bonus. This is my salary.” He flipped over the page and Cole’s eyes nearly fell out of his head. On top of the signing fee, Bryce was going to be earning over a hundred grand a year, and there was a whole list of other bonuses that would increase his base pay well beyond that.
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.” Bryce shook his head slowly and closed his eyes, chuckling again. “I’m still spinning. I can’t believe it’s happening, and those numbers… I had no idea what to do with that kind of money. But then I did.”
“What are you gonna do?” Ava asked, bouncing in anticipation.
“I’m using it to fund our business.”
Cole’s head snapped up and Ava stilled, her smile slipping.
“Our business?” Cole asked dubiously, at the same time as Ava questioned, “What business?”
“Okay, so um… hear me out, yeah?” He rubbed his hand over the blond five o’clock shadow growing on his chin.
