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Miri lay curled on the grass. The medics darted across the pitch. I made to go over when Mother grabbed my wrist. “Let them deal with it, darling. You don’t need to get involved.” She flashed me a cool look. “I’m going to spend Christmas in Dubai with the girls …”
I couldn’t care less about Dubai. Mother’s voice became an annoying drone in my ear. I couldn’t take my eyes from Miri. A terrible tenseness gripped me. Why hadn’t she got back on her feet? The medics worked on her ankle and she stood tentatively, stretching her arms above her head. Thank God. My shoulders relaxed down from my ears.
Mother’s drone sharpened back into focus. “… I can’t bear the cold at Christmas. I can’t believe I’ve lasted here as long as I have.” Mother shook her head. “Strippers and alcohol. This is explicitly what I warned you about. You’re giving the tabloids everything they want.”
My stomach hardened.
Mother drew a breath. “Also, you can’t fire Jerry. Jerry was your father’s oldest friend. He’s not going anywhere.”
I turned to glare at my mother. “Jerry is a disgrace. He’s sexually harassing young women.”
She scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear. Jerry likes a little flirt. If you tell him no, then he’ll stop. It’s harmless. Everyone is so sensitive these days. Football is a man’s world. If the female players can’t handle it, then they can go back to netball or hockey.”
I gave her a cold smile. “Careful, Mother. Your misogyny is showing. Jerry is disgusting. He doesn’t respect women. He’s gone. The only way we can get Miri Forster is if Jerry is gone. It’s a deal breaker. Besides, if he hasn’t done anything wrong, then you needn’t worry.”
Mother flexed her fingers and examined her perfect manicure. “I don’t want to hear about you associating with strippers anymore. Your image needs to be squeaky clean.” She sighed. “We miss Emma. Everybody loves you with Emma.”
My stomach soured. “I’m never getting back together with Emma.”
Miri blasted a goal into the top corner. She whipped off her top and did a victory lap. Her breasts bounced deliciously in her white sports bra as she raced in a circle before her teammates dive-bombed on top of her. A delicious shudder heated my blood at the sight. Fuck it. I had to have this woman. Whatever it cost me. One night. I needed to get her out of my system so I could concentrate on my fucking job. I didn’t chase women, they came to me; but how could I get anything done around here with this constant distraction?
“Whatever you did to Emma, you can fix it. You need to grovel, and you can win her back.”
“I don’t want Emma back.”
Mum sighed. “You need a woman like Emma, with her own money. How else can you know you’re not with a gold digger?”
“Because I have good judgment.”
Mother rolled her eyes and rested a cool palm on my cheeks. “My darling boy. You’ve always been so naive. It’s like your dad always used to say. You have no experience of the real world.”
I flinched and pulled her away. “I live in the real world.”
“I have every faith in you, Gabe. You’re going to behave yourself now we’ve had this little talk. Call Jerry and make your peace and keep out of the papers.” Mother watched Miri and wrinkled her nose. “One day you’ll have the men’s team and these women won’t be your problem anyway.”
Chapter 21
Miri
It’sfunnyhowlifecan change so dramatically in such a short space of time. Finally, the hospital discharged Mum and our lives transformed overnight. The bonus was no more running back and forth to the ward; the downside was trying to figure out with Reece how we were going to do this. We had backup from the home-carers that visited the house, but it was down to me and Reece to manage the rest of the time. The first week went better than we could have expected. Reece was a natural and I muddled along, following his lead. The hardest adjustment was us all living back together under one roof, getting under each other’s feet. At least at the training pitches I could breathe.
I towel-dried my hair, pulled it into a ponytail, and left the changing rooms.
“Miri?”
Gabe’s low voice made me jump. He leaned casually in the doorframe. His arresting good looks knocked all thought from my head. We hadn’t spoken since the transfer, but I often felt his intense, watchful presence on the sidelines. He had dropped in on the contract negotiations and he observed every training session, but we hadn’t had any time alone together since the kiss at his party.
He flashed an easy smile full of white teeth and pushed off the wall. “My office. I need to talk to you.”
“About what?”
He glanced at my teammates filtering out of the changing room behind me. “We need to finalize some points in your contract.”
“We do?”
He nodded confidently and strode away down the corridor. I followed him to his office.
“How are you settling in?” He closed the door and sat behind his desk.
