Page 8 of Playing for Keeps

“Yeah.”

It made me feel bad, how much my father had obviously missed me. I’d been aware of it over the years, but I’d tried to push the knowledge aside so I didn’t feel too guilty.

“Char’s different to what I expected though.”

“Is she? In what way?”

“I don’t know. She’s so different to you. She seems…fragile.”

“She’s had it pretty tough. She’s a young single mum. She’d barely turned nineteen when she had Theo.”

Jonathan stripped down to his boxers and for a moment lust shot through me. But fuck, we were both far too tired to follow through on it now.

He folded his pants neatly and put them into his suitcase.

“So, what’s going on with Theo’s dad?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” I deliberately didn’t meet his eyes as I pushed back the covers and climbed into bed.

“I mean, everyone seemed tense at the airport when he was mentioned. You especially.”

Fuck, I knew it. Jonathan was so perceptive, which was one of the things I loved about him. But right then I could have done without that particular trait.

“There’s not much to tell. We used to be friends. He slept with Char and got her pregnant.” Somehow I managed to say the whole lot in a monotone, no expression in my voice whatsoever.

Jonathan climbed into bed and propped himself up on one elbow so he could stare at me. “Why did you stop being friends?”

“Because he knocked up my eighteen-year-old sister,” I said.

Jonathan’s brows pulled together. “That’s some serious toxic masculinity you’ve got going on there, Luke. Pretty sure Char was equally part of the equation. I don’t think it was your job to protect her purity.”

I groaned. Because Jonathan also had the amazing ability to cut right through to the heart of things.

“Yeah, okay, you have a point. But eighteen-year-old Luke didn’t quite have your emotional IQ. I was pissed at Ethan. Then he got pissed at me for being angry at him. We had a fight. End of story.”

“Were you close before that?”

He was my best fucking friend. The best friend I’ve ever had.

I cleared my throat but the words still came out with a rough edge. “Pretty close.”

“Does he still live here? Are you likely to see him around?”

I huffed out a bitter laugh. “Since he plays for the Marauders, I think I’m going to run into him now and again.”

Jonathan’s eyebrows shot up. “Theo’s dad, your former friend, plays for the Marauders?”

“Yep.”

His throat worked for a moment before he spoke again. “And you didn’t think to mention that when we were discussing what team you should sign with?”

Shit.

I could see from his face he wasn’t impressed.

It was a point of friction in our relationship. Jonathan was big on communication, sharing everything he was thinking. I was naturally more inclined to keep things to myself.

“I didn’t mention him because Ethan’s not a factor in my life anymore,” I said.