Page 112 of Playing for Keeps

“Yeah, he’s just come on.”

Char’s high heels clicked on the polished concrete floor as she came over. She crowded onto the couch too, and the three of us huddled around my phone.

“He looks nervous,” she said as the camera panned past him again as the teams reset after a penalty kick.

“Yeah.”

The commentators started talking about Luke, making a big deal of his nickname the Miracle Man and recounting some of the incredible tries he’d pulled off in the Supreme Rugby season.

On his next touch of the ball, it was as if Luke had heard them and was determined to prove them right. He dodged two Australians and made a great break through two tacklers before offloading the ball to Ali.

Then, five minutes later, he darted through a gap in the Australian defense and sprinted down the field, leaving the chasing players in his dust. He dotted the ball down under the goalposts. Try.

I was fairly sure it wasn’t possible to grin wider than I was right now without splitting my face open.

As Luke straightened up, he touched two fingers to his lips, then lifted those fingers to his forehead and did the salute he used to do when we were kids. The salute he knew made me laugh.

My heart thudded.

He’d just scored a try on debut representing New Zealand, and yet he was thinking about me.

He really did love me.

And according to him, he had for a long time.

That thought caused me to reframe everything that had happened between us growing up. How had I missed the fact he loved me?

Not only that, but I’d missed how I had felt as well. Because these feelings I had for him didn’t feel new. They might have been dusted off and shined up, but they’d been there inside me for a long time. Guilt rose inside me like a tidal wave as I thought of the pain I must have caused Luke by not recognizing my feelings earlier.

“That’s the same salute he used to do in high school,” Char said.

“Ah…yeah.”

“Looks as if he’s added another element to it.” Her voice wobbled slightly.

I flicked a sideways glance at her. She kept her eyes on the screen, but her face looked pale under her makeup.

She stood abruptly. “I better get back inside.”

“Okay.” I missed the conversion by Aiden Jones because I was watching Char walk away, her shoulders hunched.

Fear thudded through me. Had she guessed?

Theo cuddled further into me. It was past his bedtime and his eyes were starting to droop. Absentmindedly I stroked his hair, my stomach churning at the thought of the issues Luke’s and my relationship were going to cause.

Because if Luke and I were officially together, he would become Theo’s step-parent.

How would Char feel about that? Her twin brother suddenly swooping in and becoming much more than an uncle to her child.

Would she be happy because my partner was someone who already had a relationship with Theo? Or would she see it as another area where Luke could potentially upstage her?

Theo fell asleep during the last twenty minutes of the match. After it had finished, I watched some of the interviews and post-match commentary before carefully moving Theo so he was lying along the couch.

I gently stroked my son’s cheek as I stood up. Theo’s face gave a twitch, but he stayed sleeping.

I found Char talking to some of the other artists. I waited for a natural lull in the conversation to pull her aside. “Theo’s fallen asleep, so I should get him home soon.”

“Okay. I think it’s starting to wind down now anyway.”