in row after row of seats stretching toward the sky. “Imagine all those seats full of people cheering you on.”
“Yeah, it takes some getting used to.” He gestured toward the grass. “Want to walk on it?”
“Am I allowed to?”
“Only if you’re with me. Special permission.” He winked at her, and her belly went all fluttery. Howcould he still have this effect on her? She was hardly sixteen anymore. How could she still get a wiggly tummy from a simple wink?
“Come on.” He took her hand and she twitched in shock, making him drop it. “Sorry. Should I not do that?”
“No, you shouldn’t.” She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “This is…weird.”
“I know. For me too. Seeing you has brought a lot of stuff back.A lot of
good
stuff, which kind of surprises me.”
If he thought
that
was surprising… She tried to swallow her guilt and changed the subject. “I saw you’ve won more championships than any other rugby player in England.”
He stopped and stared at her. “Wow. You been checking up on me?”
“Just a brief search.”
Whenever I’m fighting the urge to drink.
“Your Wikipedia page is very interesting.It lists all your achievements, mentions your parents’ and sister’s names…but no mentions of any other significant relationships.”
He glanced away. “You know me, Mila.”
“Do I?”
A brief smile as he met her gaze again. “Yeah. When it comes to this you do. I’ve never really been interested in all that.”
That flutter in her belly went away, replaced by something that felt suspiciouslylike sadness. “
All that
being love?”
He shrugged. “Commitment to someone else. To her goals and doing things together. It’s selfish, I know. But you don’t get where I have by compromising.”
She crossed her arms, unsure why that disappointed her. “You don’t feel like you missed out on anything?”
“I’ve been able to do things almost no one in the world ever gets to experience. I’veplayed rugby with kids in South African townships. I’ve been the guest of honor at a dinner with the Maori king. I’ve stood on a podium and held the World Cup in my hands. Besides, I’m not a woman—the batteries on my biological clock will never die out. I’m thirty-six and quite a catch, from what I hear.”
“Yeah, because women love men who can’t compromise. Especially when those men see itas one of their strong points.”
“All right, you got me there. I’m fairly sure I’ve got other assets women find attractive, though.”
That was for damn sure. “I remember your assets well. You’ll do fine.”
He smiled. “What about you? Any significant relationships?”
“A couple long-term boyfriends, but no one worth dwelling on.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She shrugged.“I may not have dined with Maori royalty, but I’ve played soccer with inner-city kids who’d never played on grass before. I think you’re right, though. I don’t usually live in the past, but seeing you has brought back so many memories I don’t know what to do with them all.” She turned in a circle, staring at the stands until she got dizzy. “How are you going to cope without the weekly adulation?”
He snorted. “Or the weekly grilling? Weekly speculation that at thirty-six I’m on the verge of decrepit?”
She forced herself to smile, but she noticed how he’d evaded her question. This life, this legendary life, was as much a part of Ash as his bones were. It was the life he’d chosen over her. He
wouldn’t
cope without it.
He reached up and brushed her cheek with his thumb. The touchwas so light, so fleeting, yet she fought to keep her eyelids from fluttering shut. The man was a drug, one she’d never gotten over. “For weeks after I got back from Barcelona, I cuddled a pillow and pretended it was you.”
Shock rippled through her. She tried to deflect it. “You didn’t do anything rude to that poor pillow, did you? Because that’s not a sexy
“Yeah, it takes some getting used to.” He gestured toward the grass. “Want to walk on it?”
“Am I allowed to?”
“Only if you’re with me. Special permission.” He winked at her, and her belly went all fluttery. Howcould he still have this effect on her? She was hardly sixteen anymore. How could she still get a wiggly tummy from a simple wink?
“Come on.” He took her hand and she twitched in shock, making him drop it. “Sorry. Should I not do that?”
“No, you shouldn’t.” She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “This is…weird.”
“I know. For me too. Seeing you has brought a lot of stuff back.A lot of
good
stuff, which kind of surprises me.”
If he thought
that
was surprising… She tried to swallow her guilt and changed the subject. “I saw you’ve won more championships than any other rugby player in England.”
He stopped and stared at her. “Wow. You been checking up on me?”
“Just a brief search.”
Whenever I’m fighting the urge to drink.
“Your Wikipedia page is very interesting.It lists all your achievements, mentions your parents’ and sister’s names…but no mentions of any other significant relationships.”
He glanced away. “You know me, Mila.”
“Do I?”
A brief smile as he met her gaze again. “Yeah. When it comes to this you do. I’ve never really been interested in all that.”
That flutter in her belly went away, replaced by something that felt suspiciouslylike sadness. “
All that
being love?”
He shrugged. “Commitment to someone else. To her goals and doing things together. It’s selfish, I know. But you don’t get where I have by compromising.”
She crossed her arms, unsure why that disappointed her. “You don’t feel like you missed out on anything?”
“I’ve been able to do things almost no one in the world ever gets to experience. I’veplayed rugby with kids in South African townships. I’ve been the guest of honor at a dinner with the Maori king. I’ve stood on a podium and held the World Cup in my hands. Besides, I’m not a woman—the batteries on my biological clock will never die out. I’m thirty-six and quite a catch, from what I hear.”
“Yeah, because women love men who can’t compromise. Especially when those men see itas one of their strong points.”
“All right, you got me there. I’m fairly sure I’ve got other assets women find attractive, though.”
That was for damn sure. “I remember your assets well. You’ll do fine.”
He smiled. “What about you? Any significant relationships?”
“A couple long-term boyfriends, but no one worth dwelling on.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She shrugged.“I may not have dined with Maori royalty, but I’ve played soccer with inner-city kids who’d never played on grass before. I think you’re right, though. I don’t usually live in the past, but seeing you has brought back so many memories I don’t know what to do with them all.” She turned in a circle, staring at the stands until she got dizzy. “How are you going to cope without the weekly adulation?”
He snorted. “Or the weekly grilling? Weekly speculation that at thirty-six I’m on the verge of decrepit?”
She forced herself to smile, but she noticed how he’d evaded her question. This life, this legendary life, was as much a part of Ash as his bones were. It was the life he’d chosen over her. He
wouldn’t
cope without it.
He reached up and brushed her cheek with his thumb. The touchwas so light, so fleeting, yet she fought to keep her eyelids from fluttering shut. The man was a drug, one she’d never gotten over. “For weeks after I got back from Barcelona, I cuddled a pillow and pretended it was you.”
Shock rippled through her. She tried to deflect it. “You didn’t do anything rude to that poor pillow, did you? Because that’s not a sexy
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