Page 133 of Try Hard

Soph studied me. “I can’t believe it took you so long to actually get with her. You’re famous. You could have looked her up whenever you wanted.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t know she felt the same way.”

“Hm. Shewasbetter at hiding her feelings than you were.”

“Hey! You didn’t know. I was doing fine.”

She laughed. “Yeah, because I was busy thinking about how hot she was, and I didn’t think we’d ever be into the same person.”

“Yeah. Makes sense.”

“Don’t worry. The person I’m dating isn’t your type.”

I stifled a laugh at the way she almost tripped overdating.I was happy for her. “I think my type is Ophelia Pendrick, and that’s me done for the rest of time, so yeah, I’m not worried.”

“Ugh. Gross,” she said without malice as she stood up. “Now, you’d better get going because—ah, there she is now.”

I grinned at Soph’s apparent supernatural skills as the doorbell sounded through the house and we heard Mum and Herc bolting for the door to let Ophelia in.

We were looking forward to when we were back in London, back in our regular lives—or, rather, building our new regular lives—but there was something so fitting about the fact that we were getting our first few dates while in Eddlesworth, calling on each other at our parents’ homes, just the way we’d both been wishing for all those years ago.

I paused only momentarily to tell Soph to send me the time for dinner and we’d be there.

“Tomorrow night?” she shot back. “If I wait too long, I’ll chicken out. And you can never, ever mention that I just admitted that.”

I laughed, heading down the stairs like Ophelia was a homing beacon I couldn’t stand to be apart from. “Sounds good.”

And, then, everything else faded from relevance.

Ophelia Pendrick in a beautiful, feminine tuxedo, tailored perfectly to her incredible figure. She was the loveliest thing.

She turned to look at me, seeming equally as impressed, which felt ridiculous. I had nothing on her.

“Not bad, Archer,” she said, approaching the bottom of the stairs to meet me.

She’d told me after the match that, when I looked at her, her fears about who else was watching and what they were doing faded into nothingness, that the only thing that mattered was the two of us. I’d understood then, but it was true now, too. My poor mother, sister, and dog felt very far away indeed.

“You look beautiful,” I said, stepping into her embrace like I was coming home.

Ordinarily, I’d think a couple of weeks of dating would be too little to want someone around constantly, but I’d been waiting for her for so long that I didn’t want to lose a single momentwith her. I wondered how long we’d last before I was begging her to move in with me—probably with another Tizer, just for the symbolism of it.

“So do you,” she murmured, leaning in for a kiss.

The fact that she initiated things like that in front of other people felt like flying. She was so happy, so confident these days. She’d always seemed confident, but it was different now, like she finally believed it too.

“Disgusting, the pair of you,” Soph said, moving to squeeze around us.

Mum laughed. “Leave them alone, Sophie. They’re in love.”

“So are other people, but they manage to keep it under wraps.”

Ophelia and I shared a look like we both heard the way Soph might have been including herself in that statement. Tomorrow night was going to be very interesting indeed.

Mum moved to look at us both, taking a picture like we were heading off to prom. “You both look great. Have a fantastic night, and send our regards to the couple.”

“Not mine,” Soph called from where she was now rummaging in the fridge. “I couldn’t care less.”

“Noted,” I laughed before giving Ophelia a look. “Shall we?”