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He threw on some clothes and motioned to Addy. “Will you stay here with King while I run across?”
King shook his head. “Both of you go. Adds knows what I can eat.”
Liam had noticed Grounds when they’d pulled in the night before, and he wasn’t disappointed. The smell of perfect coffee permeated the air around them, reeling him in with the gravitational force of the sun. They ordered and joined the line of people waiting for their coffees.
The bell tinkled behind them, and Liam turned, doing a double take. “Mate!” He strode over and gave the big blond man a backslapping hug. “Addy, this is Bryce. He plays for Easts. I was a senior in the training camps when Bryce was coming into them. He was my little buddy.”
Standing next to each other, the size difference between Bryce and Addy was comical. She looked up, her gaze keeping on going. He’d started off as the runt of the camp, but Liam had seen his brothers. None of them were small and now, years after they’d first met, Bryce was built like a brick shithouse—as tall and wide as a doorway. But his boyish smile was what stood out most. Addy shook his hand as he introduced them.
“Addy’s a good friend of mine.” The words left a bad taste in his mouth. He wanted to claim her, to advertise to the world that he was with the two most spectacular people he’d ever met. But he couldn’t. Not really.
“Great to meet you,” Bryce responded. “This is my girlfriend, Ava, and our roommate, Cole.” Ava was gorgeous. Tall and slim with almost black hair that curled around her face. Cole was practically Bryce’s opposite—dark and brooding where Bryce was sunshine and laughter. They all shook hands and Cole ordered while they caught up.
“How long are you here for?” Bryce asked.
“Just until tomorrow night. Addy’s boyfriend and I fly back so I can train on Monday, but Addy has another week here after that.”
“If you feel like catching up for dinner tonight, give me a yell. I don’t think we have anything planned, do we?” Bryce asked, his gaze bouncing between Ava and Cole, who’d returned to them. It was clear he wanted both their opinions.
“No,” Cole said with a small smile toward his friend.
“We’re staying in the building across the road,” Addy added. “We could order takeout and stay there if you’d prefer that to going out. Save you being plastered all over social media.”
“Sounds good,” Liam confirmed as he wrapped his free arm around her. She snuggled into his embrace, and Liam basked in it, soaking up her affection. “Will all of you come?”
“Yes,” Bryce answered at the same time as Cole shook his head and said, “No.” Liam snorted out a laugh at their contradiction, but Bryce’s gaze never left Cole’s. It was as if they were having a silent conversation, communicating something through their stare. When Bryce nodded and Cole inclined his head, Bryce’s smile turned triumphant. “We’ll all be there.”
“Good. I’ll message you to sort out the time.”
Their order was called and Liam took the tray of paper cups, Addy gifting him with a sweet smile as she clutched the bag. He wanted to melt into a puddle of goo, his insides tingling with the way she looked at him. Waving their goodbyes, they slipped out and jogged back across the street.
“They seem great,” Adelaide remarked as they landed on the footpath in front of the apartment building. “King will pitch a fit if he doesn’t get to meet Bryce—he’s his favourite player.”
Liam grinned, floating among the clouds. “Is that right?” He laughed. “Typical that he picks the nicest bloke in the league.”
Addy cackled. “That’s exactly what I said.”
Liam stopped, feigning surprise. “You don’t think I’m the nicest?”
“No.” She shook her head and looked him down, her gaze incinerating him. He wished they were somewhere a whole lot more private than the lobby of an apartment building, wearing far fewer clothes. “No, you definitely take the trophy for the sexiest man in league.”
King was upstairs, sitting on the couch with a glass of water at his feet, his fingers tapping out a staccato rhythm that stumbled when he got a whiff of the coffee. He was pale, paler than he’d been before, and shakier too. He took the unsweetened protein bar Adelaide handed to him and gave her a grateful smile, almost inhaling it.
“Better?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be right. I’ll need to test soon, but I should be okay if—”
Adelaide held out the banana she’d added to their pastry order, and King’s grateful smile floored Liam. He must have been starving.
“I could kiss you right now,” King murmured to her, their lips only a hair’s breadth apart.
“Eat first, then kiss me.”
“Snack first, then kiss both of us. After that we’re going out to breakfast,” Liam added. They did exactly that, finding a café overlooking the harbour to eat at before walking along Circular Quay past the famous ferry terminal, the Opera House, and through the Botanic Gardens. Green and blue surrounded them, the grassy slopes and glossy plants hiding the fact that they were in the country’s biggest city. The waters of the harbour lapped at the base of the path they were walking along, the heat of the summer sun loosening Liam’s muscles.
They stopped at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, the famous stone bench cut from a giant boulder that had the best view in the city. Shaded by the giant fig trees, they relaxed on the grassy slope next to it until Liam’s stomach rumbled again.
It was easy being with King and Addy. Their friendship made things familiar and comfortable, but the underlying current of attraction zinging between them had Liam buzzing. He wanted them back in bed, ready to touch and taste every part of them. But he held himself back. They had time, and he didn’t want to rush things only to trip up when he had the two people of his dreams within his grasp.
