Page 54 of Try Hard

I hadn’t been looking for Eve to have a contact that picked my professional life back up for me.

I’d honestly have rather done it alone, just so she knew I wasn’t using her.

But this simply seemed to be the stars aligning in a weirdly coincidental but wonderful way.

So, I nodded. “Yeah. Not for a few days, but, once this whole thing settles, I’d actually love to meet her and see if it would be a good fit. ”

Deep down, I already suspected it would be. Intentional Traveller was just that— intentional. It aligned with so many things that I already worked into my writing. They’d probably be a great place to land.

Rohanna clapped her hands together. “Amazing! She’s going to be delighted.”

Eve was beaming at me but she paused to look at her best friend. “I thought you said she was a vendor you met through work.”

“Oh. Right.” For the first time, Rohanna seemed embarrassed. “I think I said through some business, right?”

“Unless you were buying us a business article in a travel magazine, I’m failing to see how that’s relevant.”

“Ugh. Fine. I met her at a mixer, but it was one I’d been invited to through a work contact. I just… didn’t want to get too much into it, have you figure out who she was, and ruin everything.”

Eve pulled me closer. “Okay, yeah. I can see your point. But I’m going to be just as annoying over you two as you are about me and Ophelia.” She paused and looked at me. “Are you going to have the mystery woman call you Fia?”

I breathed a laugh. “Yes.”

“Okay, great. I love Andra, but I was ready to fight her for the rights to your name.”

“You don’t have to worry,” I said, kissing her cheek.

“God, you’re so sickening. I love it,” Rohanna laughed.

“Whatever you say now, I’ll be saying back to you soon enough.”

“Technically, I’d need to pine over her for twenty-odd years to reach the levels of ridiculousness you two did.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep talking. Just make sure your mystery girlfriend gets my girlfriend’s name right.”

My stomach swooped. How long was it going to take for me to get used to her calling me that? Especially to other people? Those two decades really did make this whole thing something else…

Rohanna laughed. “Will do. Don’t want you murdering her now that I’ve finally found someone I like.”

Eve laughed. “So long as she’s not hurting Ophelia, she won’t be at the top of my murder list.”

“There’s something deeply unsettling about someone so friendly having a murder list.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes.”

“Right…” She shook her head. “Well. On that note, I’m going to go, and let you head to your match. Hopefully you’ll get that anger out on the pitch and I won’t have to worry about a far more serious crisis call tomorrow.”

I shot Rohanna a look. “I’ll keep her on the straight and narrow.”

“I’ve never been close to straight where you’re concerned,” Eve whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

We didn’t have time for sex before the match, but I felt like maybe we’d need to come back here afterwards. We’d been planning to go back to Eddlesworth, but… maybe we’d get to come here and celebrate…

I’d worried I was ruining Eve’s life, but here she was, looking happier than ever—which was saying something. And here I was, able to focus on things other than mean comments and spiralling thoughts. I was happier than ever too.

◆◆◆

While it was only my second match, the routine already felt familiar.

That was more to do with just being around Eve, but I liked it.

I’d spent so much time ensuring I was constantly jetting around the place, claiming it was all for work, when really, I was starting to accept, I’d been running from my life.

If I didn’t stop, I wouldn't have to deal with all the things I didn’t like.

Now, though, I was making connections, building something at home, becoming a regular at events. It was nice.

I parked Eve’s car and she switched her phone off.

She’d spent most of the journey continuing to coordinate the fallout of her statement.

Andra had been right when she’d said Taylor would be back in contact fast with details for the podcast. We’d barely been on the road for fifteen minutes before the email with the proposed date for recording and some initial suggested questions had come in.

She smiled at me before glancing around to check nobody was watching us. “Ophelia,” she said, taking my hand.

“Archer,” I replied, amused.

“Do you want me to keep my distance tonight?”

“What? Of course not.”

Her smile turned a little sad. “I can’t promise you it’s not going to be louder or busier out there tonight.

I can’t promise how the fans that attend are going to have reacted to my message.

We know they were trying to take pictures of you last week and I don’t really have any way to protect you.

I know this isn’t the life you’d have chosen—”

“I would choose you in every life, no matter what it looked like. Even at the height of your fame, if you’d tracked me down and asked me out, I’d have accepted without a second thought. That hasn’t changed.”

“You’re telling me that was an option this whole time? All those resources I had at my disposal and I didn’t even think of putting them to the very best use I could possibly have found?”

I laughed. “Maybe this was supposed to be our story all along.”

“Yeah, maybe.” She frowned. “Still. I could have had another decade or so with you. What a waste.”

“You’ll have plenty of them with me. And we can make the most of every single one.”

She leaned in to press a kiss to the back of my hand, like the hero in a medieval piece. “Is that a promise?”

I nodded, feeling like my insides were glowing. I wasn’t above swooning when it came to her. “Absolutely. And I’m not running scared of whatever tonight brings.”

She looked bafflingly overwhelmed, like she didn’t believe she was worth the trade of whatever her fans and the media would bring. She absolutely was. Always had been, always would be.

“You are magnificent,” she said, leaning in for a quick kiss.

“So are you. And you will always be worth whatever comes our way, my Eve.”

She hummed contentedly and I couldn’t get enough of Eve Archer happy. She deserved to spend every day of her life being the happiest person on the planet. Of course, she made me the happiest person on the planet, so the competition was fierce. I’d do what I could to get her the title, though.

I glanced out the window. “So, ready to face the public?”

“With you by my side? Always.” She hesitated, her hand over the door handle. “If we win tonight, I want to celebrate with you…”

“Yes, Archer. Celebrate like we’re the only two people on the pitch.”

She laughed as we got out of the car. “I don’t think you really want me to forget everyone else is around.”

I snorted, feeling my skin prickling intriguingly. “Okay. Fair point. Save that part for when we get home.”

“Mm. We’ll see if I can last that long.”

I was shaking my head as we heard someone calling our names, and, even through Eve’s distracting comments, it registered how nice it was to have her friends calling out to both of us, as if I’d always been there.

We looked across the car park to where Hurley and Brooke were waiting for us.

“Figured you’d be along any minute now,” Hurley said, grinning widely. “And, you know, Brooke thought you might not want to walk out there alone given… everything.”

Eve laughed as she laced her fingers through mine, setting my pulse racing. “Glad to see you’re as unbothered by it all as ever.”

“Mate, if I’d ever treated you like Eve fucking Archer, global sporting superstar, you’d have kicked my arse and quit the team.”

“You know, good point. No ass kicking, though. Not my style.”

“Yeah, because you say it ass these days, like you’ve forgotten where you come from.”

I looked up at Eve. “No, she remembers exactly where she came from. Every second of the life that built us both. She’s just lived a little more now.”

Eve looked like she was melting, even as Hurley choked on a laugh.

“God, you two are sickeningly cute,” they said, wrapping an arm around Brooke.

“Let’s just be glad they didn’t draw the whole thing out forever and just got together,” Brooke said, beaming at us.

I frowned as Eve pointed out, “We have known each other since we were eleven years old. We might have drawn it out a little…”

“Yeah, okay. I’m glad I wasn’t there to watch every tortuous second of that.”

“But,” Hurley continued seamlessly, “we absolutely want to hear every second of it, so definitely come over to our place for dinner and tell us the whole sordid tale.”

I laughed, leaning into Eve’s side. “That sounds nice.”

“It really does,” she agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

We hesitated, Hurley looking at both of us.

“You ready for this?” they asked.

“I’ll stick with you all night,” Brooke told me before looking at Eve. “We’ve got her covered.”

It felt like being part of the team, even if I’d be crushed if I tried to play.

But the team was bigger than just the players.

It was like a family—partners, children, friends…

Everyone was part of this thing that was so much bigger than I was, but I got to be a piece of it. Eve had given me that, too.

Eve looked down at me questioningly, only speaking when I nodded and squeezed her hand tightly. “Let’s do this.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d thought we’d find, but it hadn’t been the group of Eve’s most emphatic supporters splintering.

Most of them were standing in the same spot I’d seen them last week. They cheered when they spotted us, holding up signs of support and ones that announced ‘no photography.’ Eve looked completely moved and overwhelmed by the gesture. She clearly hadn’t been expecting that either.

Two of them stood off in a different section of the stands, still taking photos and looking absolutely devastated that Eve wasn’t with them, but they didn’t say anything.

And maybe that was a representation of the whole day—the whole saga.

There was a small contingent who couldn’t and wouldn’t allow themselves to get it, but most people loved Eve and knew enough to respect her wishes, choices, and happiness.

Maybe it wouldn’t last forever. I was sure the pictures would pick up again at some point, but, if most of them thought twice before splashing pictures of the two of us just celebrating her local team’s wins on the internet, I knew we’d both take that.

And it seemed like those wins were going to keep coming.

The rivalry on the pitch was electric—much more friendly than aggressive, but both sides cared deeply.

Standing on the sidelines with Brooke and the rest of the team’s partners and families was indescribable, second only to watching how alive and amazing Eve was on the pitch.

She moved like it came as easily as breathing.

And, when the final whistle blew, she bolted from the field and straight towards me.

Her smile was enormous and she stole my breath long before she whisked me up into her arms, spinning the two of us as we laughed together.

It was like something straight from a film, and I really liked the ending of this one.

She slowed and I slid down in her arms to kiss her.

Despite my reservations about the public, they simply disappeared into the background as our lips met.

The moment wasn’t about them. It was about Eve and her success, about how much I loved her, and about the fact that we were finally together.

Teenage me had dreamt about these moments with her.

They were even more incredible than I’d had the ability to imagine.

“I love you,” I said against her lips, as she continued to hold me a couple of inches off the ground. How she still had the energy after a whole game was beyond me, but I’d take her never putting me down, so I wasn’t complaining.

“I love you too,” she said, pulling back to grin, her eyes tracing over my face, taking in every inch of me.

She put me back on the floor and I reached down for the brown paper bag Dai from the refreshments table had slipped me earlier.

“I got you something,” I said, holding it out to her.

She eyed it and me curiously. “Am I opening it here?”

“Mm. Yes.”

She pulled the bag open, stared inside for a second, and burst out laughing. “Where did you find it?”

I held my hands up. “It was all Dai. I had to call in some contacts to reach him, but he came in clutch.”

“I’ll say.” She pulled one of the cans of Tizer from the bag.

When I’d bet her a Tizer, I hadn’t actually realised they’d be trickier to track down these days, but the amusement on her face was worth the effort.

She shot me a look. “So… do you want to tell me why I get two? I’m guessing one is for winning the match?”

I nodded, moving in to wrap my arms around her again. “And the other, I’ve actually owed you for a very, very long time.”

“How?”

“You get that one for winning my heart. And it’s all yours, entirely. Always has been.”

She lifted me up again, pulling me into a desperate, delighted kiss.

And, when the rest of the team swarmed around us, sweeping us up into the celebrations, we both went readily, feeling like we were exactly where we were meant to be.