Page 13

CHAPTER 13

A sh put the flat white in front of Victoria and settled on the wooden bench opposite. It was just the two of them, Cam and Sasha making their excuses. The good thing about Victoria’s unplanned fall was that the press pack had mostly packed up and left, having got way more than they bargained for. Victoria had spent a good 15 minutes afterwards chatting to a few of them, making jokes at her own expense. Ash was still a public-eye novice in comparison to her.

“You handled that like a pro. I’m impressed.”

Victoria exhaled. “I’m glad you think so. Although I’ll have a mighty bruise for my troubles.”

“But also a million new adoring fans who think you should play up front for the Lionesses.”

“If you’re trying to charm me, it’s working.” The skin around Victoria’s eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Thanks for getting the coffee.”

“You’re still the heir to the throne. I have to show willing.”

Victoria took a sip, and when she lowered her plastic cup, a perfect dollop of froth clung to the tip of her nose.

Without thinking, Ash reached across and wiped it away.

The moment her fingertips grazed Victoria’s skin, she flinched.

Ash’s hand froze mid-air, her heart stuttering as reality crashed back. “Shit, I’m sorry,” she mumbled, her voice barely a whisper. “You had a bit of froth.” Her eyes darted left, then right, scanning for the telltale glint of camera lenses, the whispered headlines already printing in her head.

Victoria gave her a tight smile, then touched her nose where Ash’s fingers had been seconds before. “Has it gone?”

Ash nodded.

“Good. And don’t worry, we’re alone. No paparazzi. My security team made sure of that.”

“Are they hiding?” Ash glanced around once more. “I half-expected that ex-SAS woman to be at the next table.”

“Hoped?” Victoria raised an eyebrow.

Ash laughed. “I prefer my women a little less scary.” She paused. “Anyway, it’s good to see you.” It was so much more than that.

Victoria cleared her throat. “You, too. Even with a muddy arse.”

“Part of my everyday life.” Ash shrugged. “You’re fitting in already.”

“That’s my aim.”

Ash stared at her, unsure of where this conversation could go. Victoria had to leave in 20 minutes. She had other places to be, as did Ash. What could they cover in that time? What should she broach?

“How are things panning out with the break-up?”

Victoria screwed up her face. “As well as can be expected. The public are heartbroken because they adore a straight love story, and Dexter was pretty. Of course he’s pretty — he’s gay!”

Ash snorted. “For what it’s worth, you’ve looked sufficiently sad in any photos I’ve seen of you.”

“Have you been looking?” But Victoria’s smile was warm.

“Not in a stalkery way.”

“Because I’m your stalker, not the other way around — we established that in Marbella.”

Victoria flicked her hair and tucked it behind her ear.

“We did.” Embarrassment tinged with warm familiarity flowed through Ash as she recalled her brash words. “I’ve been looking at your photos in a concerned-friend way. Wanting to make sure you’re okay.”

“No other way at all?”

Ash smirked. “I might have had an ulterior motive. But I don’t want to assume. I know what princesses are like. I’ve watched the movies.”

Victoria put her elbows on the table, then rested her face in her palms. “Do tell.”

Ash took a sharp intake of breath.

Those baby blues.

“Demanding. Entitled. Extra.” Ash stared at Victoria. “Everything you’re not. For instance, I bet Elsa from Frozen would never sit on a wooden bench in a car park in muddy jeans.”

“She’d definitely start singing. No discretion.”

Ash shook her head, smiling. “The more I get to know you, the more I want to know.”

Victoria dropped her gaze to Ash’s lips.

Ash felt it everywhere.

“Have you thought about what I said? That if we’re doing this, you have to be prepared for what comes next.”

Ash gave a slow nod. She’d never be truly prepared, but she didn’t want to stop now. “You’ve already shown me you’re willing to step into my world. You just took a penalty in front of the country’s press, fell over, and still made it a PR masterstroke. I’m prepared to walk into your world, too.” She’d have to handle it, no matter what. “I’ve thought about little else since we were almost naked in a hot tub.”

Victoria blushed and dropped her gaze. “When can I see you again?” Their stares connected. “Properly. Not with a crowd.”

How Ash yearned to do it properly. But she couldn’t.

“I’m in England camp for the next two weeks, and following that, the Ravens have a USA pre-season tour.”

“Who knew a football calendar was as busy as mine?”

“I’m sure we can figure something out. The Lionesses have a friendly game in Sweden next week, then we’re playing the USA at Wembley a few days after. Are you coming to that?”

“Let me check my calendar.” Victoria exhaled. “But that’s still not without a crowd.”

With a courage that felt like freefall, Ash reached across the table, then trailed her little finger along Victoria’s knuckles: a touch so light it could be denied, so deliberate it couldn’t be mistaken.

Crucially, Victoria didn’t pull away. Instead, her hand trembled slightly, like a corner flag in an unexpected summer breeze.

The surge of feeling that crashed through Ash at that whisper of contact — warm skin, trust, possibility — took her breath away. In that moment, she knew with bone-deep certainty this was worth everything. The press could circle, protocol could bind them, but this delicate, dangerous hope between them was worth every careful step.

From the look of pure astonishment on Victoria’s face, Ash knew she felt it, too.

“Come to the game, and in the meantime, we’ll work out when we can get together alone.” Ash still stared at their hands, so close, but not touching. “Just you and me.”

“I really want to kiss you.” The look in Victoria’s eyes was wild. Feral. “But I also don’t want to rush it. When it happens, I want it to be real.” She put her head in her hands, then peaked out through her fingers. “Do you feel like we’re living in a 19th century romance?”

“Anne Lister would be proud.”

The July sun hung low over Stockholm as Ash and Cam walked the waterfront. Tourists crowded every corner of the capital, drawn by ABBA, the archipelagos, and the laid-back vibe. Grand hotels reflected golden light on their right, while the harbour stretched to their left, busy with ferries shuttling people between islands. The air was rich with salt water and laughter.

Ash’s phone buzzed in her tracksuit pocket. Even before looking, she knew it was Victoria, their daily rhythm as predictable as her training sessions.

As Ash’s England roommate, Cam had noticed the pattern of their messages. She’d asked, of course, and even though she knew Ash had gone to the barbecue, she hadn’t said anything. Rather, Ash had cycled through a roster of fictional correspondents: her mum, her cousin, phantom school friends. But the lies sat heavy. Ash told Cam everything. She’d trusted her with every secret since they’d met. This deception felt like a betrayal of their friendship. But more than that, Ash was bursting to talk to someone.

They dodged a couple on rollerblades, then Cam stopped and pointed at a jetty to their left. Comfy sofas covered its surface, cool jazz sailed out of the speakers, and a bar with an Aperol Spritz parasol stood nearby.

“Let’s have a drink here, then you can tell me who’s really sending you all these messages.” Cam raised an eyebrow. “Just so you know, if you tell me it’s your mum or your cousin again, I will grab the phone out of your hand and look for myself.”

Ash swallowed hard, then stuck her hands in her pockets.

A staff member with a winning smile appeared as they sat on the sofas. She eyed them, then bit her lip before she spoke. “Can I just say, I absolutely love you both, and it’s a true honour to be serving you here today.”

Ash blinked. They’d walked around Stockholm all afternoon without being recognised.

“Thank you,” she replied. “That’s really kind.”

“Once you knocked Sweden out of the Euros here last summer, I supported you after that.”

Which was exactly what Princess Astrid told her at the party. The same one where she’d seen Victoria in a bikini. She pushed that image out of her brain.

They placed their drinks order — two Diet Cokes, they were still in camp — and the waitress returned, telling them the drinks were on the house. Then she gave Ash a receipt anyway. When Ash looked, it had the woman’s name and number on it.

She glanced up and caught the woman’s stare. Ash quickly looked away, then folded the receipt into her pocket. Even doing that felt like cheating.

Oblivious, Cam continued. “Here’s what I don’t understand. When you and Danielle were getting together, you couldn’t shut up about it. ‘Was it something you should do? Would it affect the team? Should you go for it’?” She paused. “Now you’re getting messages all the time from someone, but I get nothing. Silence.”

Ash jigged her leg up and down. “I haven’t told you anything because there’s nothing to tell. Yet. We’re just talking, getting to know each other.”

“Who are you getting to know?” She wasn’t going to let this drop.

Ash didn’t want her to. “If I tell you, can you promise you won’t tell anyone else?” She paused, gauging Cam’s reaction.

Cam frowned. “Of course.”

Ash took a deep breath. Rip the plaster off. “It’s Princess Victoria.”

“I bloody knew it!” Cam sat back, eyes wide, shaking her head. “Princess Penalty.”

Ash winced at Victoria’s new tabloid name. “That’s the one.”

“I thought I clocked something when she came to the FA, but I shrugged it off.” She paused to gather her thoughts. “I have questions. How, why, where, when? I know she invited you to the royal barbecue, but she was going out with Dexter Matthews and was apparently straight.” She paused. “Hang the fuck on. Did she break up with him for you?!”

Clearly, Cam’s thoughts were not easily gathered.

“Shit the bed, this is huge . You’ve started a thing with the one hot royal left, and she wasn’t even available!” Cam’s eyes were like saucers.

None of which helped Ash. “Please stop reacting so much, you’re making me nervous.”

“Since when is she queer?” Cam’s speech was a strangled whisper. “I know a lot of people have wished. But she’s had a boyfriend forever.”

“She’s had a beard forever.”

It was a lot to take in.

Which was evidenced when Cam’s mouth dropped open. “Really?” She licked her lips. “You didn’t answer my question about the breakup. Did she do it for you?”

Ash shook her head. “It was a mutual decision. He’s got a boyfriend and things were getting more serious there, too.”

Cam flopped back on the sofa and let out a low whistle. “I cannot believe what I’m hearing. When I get over it, I’ll tell you well done, because she is smoking hot. But also, how the hell do you date a princess when everyone thinks she’s straight? How does that work?”

All of Ash’s worries about what this might be and how it might go floated up to the surface. She wanted Cam to reassure her, tell her everything was going to be okay. But of course, Cam couldn’t do that. Also, she was looking out for her friend. She wanted Ash to be happy and secure. Dating Princess Victoria was not the obvious way to achieve that goal.

“We haven’t quite figured that out yet. She wants to come out, but her parents aren’t so keen. We haven’t even kissed yet. She told me she was interested at the barbecue. We’ve been messaging for the past six weeks, and it’s been kinda romantic, getting to know her. But she was in Australia, then I’m away at camp, so we haven’t been able to see each other properly.”

“You were messaging when she came to open the centre the other week. When she took those penalties?”

Ash smiled as she thought of Victoria falling on her gorgeous arse. “We were.”

“But is this what you want? Your every move raked over? No privacy? You hated it when Danielle splashed your life over her socials.”

Desire mixed with a hint of unease knotted inside Ash. But the desire to see where this might go won the day. She knew Victoria came with conditions. She’d been very clear about that. But her honesty was refreshing. Plus, Victoria was not Danielle. Not by a long shot.

“All I know right now is that I like her like I haven’t liked someone ever . I know I hated the exposure that came as part of being with Danielle, but I can’t walk away from this without at least trying to see what happens. I don’t know what it is, but there’s a connection. A spark. She feels it, too.”

A ferry arrived back at the dock, and tourists slowly disembarked.

“I’m dealing with it like I deal with football: one match at a time, one day at a time. If I flash forward, I don’t know what will happen. But what I know is, I don’t want to turn down something just because I’m scared of it. That’s not who I am.”

Cam sipped her drink, then shook her head. “You seriously haven’t even kissed her?”

“Nope. She wanted me to be sure I wanted to.”

“And you’re sure now?”

Ash nodded. “As sure as I can be.”

“You could be married to the future Queen.”

“Shut up.” But that made Ash smile. “I love how you go from no kissing, to us getting married.”

“It happens. They’ll take the Victoria And Dexter mugs and tea towels off sale, and start printing Victoria And Ash ones instead. I like it. It’s got quite the ring to it.” Cam paused. “Plus, there’s precedent. Didn’t one of the other royals marry a rugby player?”

“She did. But rugby is a posh, acceptable sport. Plus, he was a man. And Princess Arabella is tenth in line to the throne. I think this piece of news might make more headlines.”

That brought another whistle from Cam. “You know I told you that it was time to get back out there? I didn’t mean you had to shag a princess.”

Ash grinned. “The heart wants what the heart wants.”

“When are you seeing her again?”

“She’s coming to the game on Saturday. She’s the Women’s FA Patron, remember?”

Cam shook her head. “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit is right. I meant what I said at the start, too. You promise not to say anything? Keep it to yourself?”

“Of course.” Cam balled her fist and tapped her chest. “I won’t breathe a word. But you know once you start, you’re going to be in deeper. Are you totally sure about this?”

“That train has left the station,” Ash replied.