Punt: A British Bad Boy Football Romance (15 page)

“
T
his is Audrey
, leave me a message!”

Tinny machine beep.

“Aud, where are you?” Liam said into her voicemail. “I haven’t heard from you all day.”

He left it at that, disconnecting the call with a growl.

Audrey was
killing
him lately, truly she was.

The fact that she’d even fallen into bed with him in the first place was startling enough in its own right. Then there was a month and a half of breathless, exciting sex — they’d barely been able to take their hands, or lips, off one another.

Liam had never felt anything quite like this. He was obsessed with Audrey, the way her body fit with his, the way she smiled at him or rolled her eyes at his jokes.

Just seeing a flash of her red hair got him hard, and feeling her pressed up against him as they slept was…

He didn’t even have words for it. Life-altering, to say the least. He told her everything, his whole fucked-up life story, and she never judged.

She told him everything, all her secret worries and hang-ups, and he never flinched.

They were more than compatible. Their connection was deep and intense, and Liam found that even when he went a handful of hours without seeing Audrey, he
missed
her.

For the first time since he could remember, Liam actually worried about someone else breaking things off with
him
.

Part of him was worried about it, but another part of him was determined to enjoy every last happy second of it, to hell with all the rest of the world.

After all, things between him and Audrey could never last. They were so different, from such different places…

And he was a proper bastard. He’d only even had two or three girlfriends, and those were short lived… because he always cheated on them, without much regard for whether he got caught.

Liam simply wasn’t the type to settle down. He’d never seen himself with the perfect little house, the perfect trophy wife, the couple of perfect kids who grew up to be just like him.

Who’d want that, after all?

Still, knowing all that about himself hadn’t stopped him from buying Audrey a ring. He’d been walking by a high-end jewelry store in Buckhead, and something just… caught his eye.

It was this huge, sky-blue sapphire, surrounded by diamonds and rose gold. It reminded him so strongly of Audrey that it almost took his breath away.

He’d walked straight in, bought it, and then promptly fled the store, feeling like an idiot.

What the fuck was wrong with him lately?

It’s not an engagement ring
, he promised himself.
Just… you know, something pretty.

He knew full well that you didn’t buy a woman a seventy-five thousand dollar ring just because you thought it complimented her looks. It would only confuse their already muddled relationship, blur the lines a little further.

He put the ring in his safe, under his bed, and refused to look at it again.

Let this be enough
, he told himself as he held Audrey in his arms later that night, made her come over and over again until they were both exhausted.

But it wasn’t enough, and it seemed like Liam wasn’t the only one who’d realized it.

The last couple days, something had been off between them. Audrey was acting funny, like he’d done something wrong, but he had no idea what it could be.

Between her and Liam’s agent, he was pretty sure he was going to go mad. Stuart was calling several times a day to update England National’s offer, trying to figure out what it would take to get Liam on board.

Apparently he’d been out of trouble long enough, only garnering positive press in Atlanta, and England National was looking to make some bold player acquisitions for the next season.

“I’d have to bring Jack along,” Liam told Stuart over the phone. “He’d need a spot on England National.”

“It’s not possible,” Stuart said, sounding increasingly aggravated. “He’s not you, Liam. He can’t just play for one of the best teams in the world.”

“So find him a place on another team, somewhere based in London or close by,” Liam said.

Stuart waited a long beat. “It’s none of my business who you sleep with, but… is there going to be a gay scandal coming out? Just tell me in advance.”

“Jesus, Stuart,” Liam said, giving a startled laugh. “No. I’m in love with his bloody sister, for chrissake.”

And there it was, out in the open, the words out of his mouth before he could even think about them.

In love. He was in love with Audrey.

The very thought made him feel thunderstruck.

“Stuart, can I call you back?” he asked.

“Liam, take this seriously. You have two weeks to sign papers for next season. Two weeks isn’t very much time, so you’d better figure out where your priorities lie, what you really want.”

“I know.”

“This has been your dream for years, Liam. I’ve never known you to hesitate. If you need to lock down your girl, so be it, but this is the offer of a lifetime.”

“I know, Stuart. I understand. Do me a favor, put out some feelers about getting Jack onto an English team. Any team, really.”

“I will, if you’ll agree to come up to New York this week and sign some initial paperwork,” Stuart said. Always negotiating, was Stuart.

“Find him a spot on a team somewhere, and I will agree,” Liam pushed back. “Doesn’t Arsenal owe you a favor or ten?”

Stuart grunted, then agreed with a sigh.

“I’ll call in that favor if you’re here in two days,” Stuart said. “But there’s a condition.”

“There always is.”

“This deal with National is completely under the table. No one knows about it, and no one can know about it. They’re counting on the element of surprise, going into next season. That means you can’t tell your buddy Jack, can’t tell his pretty sister… nobody. Don’t tell a fucking soul, Liam.”

Liam was quiet for a minute. “You just told me to get my ducks in a row, Stuart. How can I do that without telling my girl what’s happening?”

“I mean it, Liam. Don’t say anything until you’ve signed the papers. National wants to control the press on this, and you’d better fucking let them have what they want. We’re talking millions at stake here, and that’s just my cut.”

Liam blew out a breath. “All right, all right. We can hammer out the details in a couple days.”

“I’ll have my secretary book a private plane if you come tomorrow,” Stuart said. “Give you a taste of your life once you ink this deal.”

Liam had to laugh. “You are quite the deal maker, aren’t you, you smarmy bastard?”

“That’s why you pay me the big bucks,” Stuart said. Liam could hear him grinning through the phone.

“Fine. Book it for tomorrow morning, not too early.”

“See you then,” Stuart said, hanging up.

Liam heard the front door slam. He pocketed his phone and went to the living room, finding Audrey walking in with a brown paper bag of groceries. She was frowning, and looked a bit… off.

“Are you all right, love?” he asked. “You look a bit pale.”

“I’m not feeling well,” she said. “I went and got some of that Vietnamese beef soup I like. I got you some, too.”

“I tried calling you,” he said, following her into the kitchen.

“Oh. I’m not really sure where my phone is,” she said with a shrug, setting the bag on the counter and unpacking several containers of kimchi soup.

“Do you want to settle on the couch, let me wrap you up in a blanket?” Liam asked.

Audrey slid him a humorous glance. “You’re being awfully nurturing.”

“Well, I’m feeling a bit guilty, actually,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

She paused, looked at him, then went back to hunting for spoons. “Are you, now?”

Something in her voice made him worry.

“I have to fly to New York tomorrow, for business.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Way to let a girl know she needs to pack, Liam.”

“Well, actually, it’ll just be me going,” Liam said.

She set the two spoons on the counter with a click.

“Oh,” was all she said.

“It’s sort of… well, I can’t really tell you yet, but it could be really big news for me,” he said.

“Sure.” Audrey’s face was perfectly smooth, untroubled, but he could tell by her voice that she was angry.

“It’s probably two, three days tops,” he said.

“Fine,” she said. “Not to worry.”

She picked up her soup and a spoon, and walked toward her own bedroom.

“Audrey, where you going?” he asked.

“My room,” she said, not slowing.

“Audrey, wait!”

“It’s fine! I understand,” she said.

He moved to follow her, but her door slammed shut.

Jesus. You really fouled that up
, he thought.

“Audrey,” he said, knocking on her door. “Can we talk about this for a second?”

No answer.

“I can explain!” he said, louder this time.

Nothing.

Nor did she answer any of the four times he knocked on her door later that night.

Early in the morning, as he was preparing to catch a taxi to the airport, he finally got her to open her door.

“Why are you so angry with me?” he asked.

“I’m not angry,” she said with a sigh.

“You’re freezing me out!”

“No. I’m just… adjusting,” she said.

“What does that mean?” he asked, reaching out to pull her close for a kiss.

“No,” she said, pulling away. “I don’t… I don’t want that.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” he asked, floundering.

“What aren’t
you
telling
me
?” she fired back.

“I… nothing,” he said, shaking his head. Nothing had been decided, as of yet. There was nothing to tell, as far as he was concerned.

“Fine. Have a good trip,” she said, shutting the door in his face.

Irritation burned through Liam’s veins for a moment, but he didn’t want to leave on a bad note.

“Charge your mobile, please!” he said through the door, feeling foolish. “You can call me…”

Not a sound. Audrey’s silent treatment was childish, but damn if it wasn’t bloody effective.

For a long moment, Liam wondered if he should delay his trip, just explain everything and hope that she wouldn’t tell Jack everything.

But then his phone rang in his pocket. The taxi driver, calling to say he was waiting outside.

With a heavy sigh, Liam walked to the front door, grabbed his suitcase, and headed to the airport.

A
udrey rang Jack’s
doorbell for the third time, shifting the heavy box she held in her arms. She kept a half-smile plastered on her face.

Try not to look like you just got dumped
, she reminded herself.
You don’t get to mope when you saw this all coming from miles away, dummy.

Finally Jack swung the door open, a bottle of champagne in hand. “Aud! Great timing, come in!”

Audrey walked into Jack’s apartment and put the box down near the door. She turned to see a small group of people partying on Jack’s balcony, everyone holding their own bottle of champagne.

“What’s going on?” Audrey asked, cocking her head.

“Don’t give me that look. You were the first person I called, you just never answer your phone anymore,” he said.

“Called for what?” she asked.

“I got a spot playing for the San Francisco Tigers next season!” Jack said, beaming. “No help from Liam or anything. They saw me play in the last game, and made me an offer.”

“Oh my god, Jack!” Audrey said, stepping over to throw her arms around him. “That’s incredible!”

“Yeah, the money is going to be amazing,” he said. “And my new agent haggled with them until they agreed to relocate us to the west coast, all expenses paid.”

“Us?” Audrey asked.

“Yeah. You and me, Aud. I have a new accountant, too, and he’s helping me set up a small pension for Mom and Dad, to keep them content. You and I are going to the West Coast, though!”

“Oh…” she said, but Jack was too caught up in his enthusiasm to notice her mood.

“What’s with the box?” he asked.

“Uhhh… I decided that living at Liam’s is super weird,” she said, playing it casual. “I’m just bringing some stuff over here, thought I would crash with you again if you didn’t mind?”

“Even better,” Jack said. “I was actually going to try to get you to take some time off from your job, head out to San Francisco and scope out a house. There are only two games left this season, so we can move whenever!”

“I…” Audrey paused for a second, then shook her head. “I would love to, Jack.”

“Can you believe it?” Jack said. “A fresh new start. My signing bonus paid off my creditors, too… I’m a free man in a new world.”

Audrey gave him a final hug.

“Want to come out and join the party?” Jack asked. “I have another case of champagne…”

“No, no,” Audrey waved him off. “I might just go lie down. I’m super tired.”

“All right. We’ll try to keep it down. How about you book your flight tonight, and we have breakfast tomorrow to talk strategy?” Jack suggested.

“Sounds perfect,” Audrey said, feeling for all the world as though her heart was made of lead.

“Tomorrow?” Jack asked.

“Tomorrow,” she said, giving him a soft smile.

She picked up her box and headed for the spare bedroom. Solitude, that was what she needed most right now.

And though she knew that was a lie, though what she truly wanted was the arrogant Brit who always seemed to make her smile, she stayed the course.

She’d brought this on herself, made bad decisions. Now the only things that were going to make it better were time and distance.

Soon, she’d have plenty of both.

L
iam dragged
himself out of the taxi in front of his house. After five long days of deal-making, he was finally home.

And with great news, too. Jack had a deal with Arsenal, Liam had a deal with National, and Liam’s lawyers were looking into finding Audrey the right head hunter, the right job.

London had plenty of galleries and museums, and she was definitely going to have her pick of them. Liam was a strange mix of nervous and excited, ready to tell her all.

He’d already planned it in his head. First, he was going to fire her in grand style, tease her until she got angry.

Then, he was going to bring out the ring…

And he had no illusions this time about its meaning. Being without Audrey for a few days had given him a kind of clarity, which was a strange response on his part.

Normally, a girl giving him the cold shoulder…

Well, it had never happened before, because he didn’t stick with anyone for long enough. The point was, he’d been miserable without her in New York, and he knew that he’d be miserable without her wherever he went.

All of which he planned to tell her, once he dropped his bag and grabbed the ring from his safe.

He unlocked the front door and swung it open, heading straight for his bedroom. He tossed the suitcase in the closet and extracted the ring, pocketing it.

Then he walked out into the living room. Only then did he realize how quiet the whole house seemed.

Was Audrey out, perhaps?

He pulled out his phone and called her.

Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz…

He turned to see her phone sitting on a side table in the living room, buzzing away.

Frowning, he hung up and called Jack.

“Liam!” Jack answered. “Long time no talk, friend. I have so much to tell you…”

“Do you know where Audrey is?” Liam asked.

Jack was silent for a beat. “Well, yeah, man. She’s in San Francisco. She didn’t tell you?”

“Uh… no,” Liam said, glancing around the house.

“Yeah, she’s house hunting.”

“What?” Liam asked, snapping to attention.

“I got a contract in San Francisco, and Audrey’s gone out ahead of time to find a house that we can share.”

“We?”

“Me and Audrey,” Jack said slowly, like Liam was mentally impaired. “She didn’t tell you she was quitting? Leave a note or anything?”

“…no…” Liam said, shaking his head though Jack couldn’t see him.

“I’m sorry, man. That’s not like her.”

“Is she coming back?” Liam asked.

Silence for several beats.

“I don’t think so. She already got rid of most of her stuff. Said she was shedding her skin, something about snakes…” Jack said, clearly starting to lose interest.

“Ah. Well, she left her phone here.”

“Oh. I think that was her company phone, man. She said she’s just going strictly landline and email for a while. I don’t really know what to tell you.”

Nor did Liam know how he should respond. He walked over to Audrey’s bedroom and swung the door open.

The furniture was there, and the closet was full of clothes that Liam had purchased, but every single personal item was gone.

On the bed were the keys to her car, along with a folded piece of paper.

“Okay. Gotta go,” Liam said, hanging up on Jack.

Ignoring the keys, he picked up the note, feeling suddenly shaky.

Inside, there was a single line in Audrey’s elegant handwriting.

Thank you for everything
, it read.

He turned the paper over a couple of times, befuddled, and sank down to sit on her bed.

The bed, not her bed
, he corrected himself. Nothing about this room spoke of Audrey, not anymore.

He set the note aside and pulled the ring box out of his pocket, turning it over and over in his fingers.

“That’s it,” he said to himself. “She’s gone. She finally left you, just like you knew she would.”

He stood up, shoving the box back in his pocket. Striding out of the room, he slammed the door shut behind him. He made another call, one that would shift his life in the exact opposite direction.

“Stuart?” he said. “Is there any way I can move on this deal sooner? I know I said I couldn’t sign the final paperwork, but… there’s no reason for me not to. I’m ready now.”

“You could be in your new London flat in a week,” Stuart said.

“Do it.”

He hung up, then walked over to sit on the couch. Leaning back, he closed his eyes.

She doesn’t want you. Now you have to live with it
, he thought.

This is your life now…