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Out of nowhere, a hard red sphere flew towards him. Distraction delayed his reaction, and although he got his fingertips to the ball, it sailed past him, accompanied by a cacophony of groans.

“Hey! Wake up, Josh!” yelled Jonty, a furious look on his face.

It should have been an easy catch, but it rolled to the boundary for a score of four.Damn!Josh held up an arm to Jonty in apology.

“Dropped the ball, eh?”

Josh’s head spun around to see Daniel and his mocking grin.

“You got a problem?” said Josh.

“Not at all. I just thought that if you kept your eyes on the game, you wouldn’t miss any obvious opportunities. Fumbling the ball isn’t the best look.”

“Go fumble your own balls, Cunningham,” Josh muttered.

“I’d rather have someone else do it for me,” he replied.

Daniel winked at Josh. Heat filled his body, and he bit down on angry words. It would take a superhuman effort to get through the rest of the match without throttling the smug prick.

Another cry of “Josh” rang out. This time, sharpened by irritation, his hand flew up to catch the incoming ball, dismissing the batsman. To loud cheers, his nearby teammates came up to clap him on the back and offer congratulations. All but Daniel. He took off his gloves and stood, one leg bent across the other, examining his nails.

They spent the rest of the half in stony silence. Josh kept his eyes on Kitty in between points. He loved how her face softened as she talked to Julia, and the sight of her legs as she crossed and recrossed them was the ultimate distraction.

The minutes ticked away on the enormous clock hanging on the pavilion. Josh felt every single second. He was counting down the minutes until he could speak to her. Soon enough, Jonty took the last wicket, and the game stopped for lunch.

46

KITTY

“How much longer?”asked Kitty, comatose with boredom at this point.Julia laughed, looking at her watch.

“At least another hour, I’d say.”

“Kill me now,” Kitty replied, pouring the rest of her prosecco into her plastic cup. Thank goodness she’d brought her headphones. She could at least listen to an audiobook. Reading her mum’s novels at Julia’s had ignited a new hobby. Right now, she was in the middle of a steamy mafia romance that would make even her mother blush.

The sun beat down hard on her skin, draining her energy. Things perked up, though, when Jonty’s batting stint ended after an excruciatingly long forty-seven runs. Josh now joined Daniel as the batting pair in play. Kitty watched him stride onto the pitch, his cricket whites clinging to his powerful body and a green cap pulled low down over his blond hair. Shirt sleeves rolled up, Josh flexed and unflexed his fingers in preparation. Every muscle jumped under his skin.

Cricket suddenly got interesting.

Still none the wiser as to the rules of the game, Kitty watched from behind her shades. They could have been performing a ballet for all she cared. The athletic efforts of both Josh and Daniel were a treat to behold.

Josh was sporty, and each time he smacked the ball away from the stumps and fired up his fast twitch muscles to run, Kitty was mesmerised. His solid and sinewy arms gripped the bat hard, and his powerful legs rocketed him along. Try as she might, she couldn’t erase the memory of him standing in the river in wet underwear. What she wouldn’t give to relive that afternoon.

Daniel was a gritty player, full of passion and bravado. His arrogant glares at the bowler and fielders were very sexy, and he swaggered around the pitch like a rock star. Kitty didn’t know what he looked like in his underwear, but with that much self-confidence, he’d be far from disappointing.

They were egging each other on, needling and supporting each other in equal measures. The display captivated Kitty. After clocking up a respectable eighty-four runs between them, the bowler changed. Within two deliveries, he got Daniel out.

He stopped to give Josh a back slap and left the pitch to the rowdy applause of the spectators.Greeted by the rapturous congratulations of his teammates, Daniel headed to the bar with a group of local youngsters. The last Kitty saw of him was his back as he disappeared into the crowd, whispering something in the ear of a giggling blonde.

Kitty turned her attention back to Josh, who was now joined in bat by a dark-haired lad who was built like a God and very popular, judging from the cheers sent up from a cohort of noisy youngsters. Shouts of “C’mon Jesse” and “Light ‘em up!” accompanied applause. He, like Josh, like Daniel, was devastatingly good-looking. Who knew such a small village could have so many attractive young men in it?

The man blew a kiss to a long-haired woman in the crowd, and she blushed and blew one back in return. The glow in their faces had Kitty’s insides roiling. If only Josh would look atherlike that.

The Young Guns were only twenty-two runs off the veterans total now, and the crowd sensed victory. Six runs off, Josh took advantage of a poorly delivered slow bowl and ripped it across the field for four points. Kitty sat up on her knees, amazed to be excited by the outcome. Perhaps watching Josh had everything to do with that.

After a few bowls with no score, Josh approached his teammate, put his arm around his shoulder and whispered words of encouragement or a quick joke in his ear. Kitty’s heart swelled at his kindness. He retook the crease and scored an extra run.

It was now his teammate’s turn to face the music, and at one run down, the pressure was on. His fan club was chanting his name, much to the amusement of Josh, who joined in. The young man proved up to the task and became the hero of the hour when he cracked the ball over the boundary for six points to the cheers of the delighted spectators.