by Ella Jade
“Yep!” Patrick kicked an imaginary ball, cheering after his obviously successful goal as he pulled his school t-shirt up around his neck and ran around the lounge room like some kind of...well, professional soccer player.
Maggie sank back into her seat, exhausted just watching.
Chapter 2
Saturday mornings had once meant a luxurious sleep in, but instead Maggie stood on the grassy oval of Katoomba public school, shivering. Overnight temperatures had plummeted, leaving the turf with a thick layer of frost that was threatening to seep through her fake leather boots any second.
Despite growing up as a local, her years in mild-weathered Sydney had been enough of a break to completely forget the bitterness of a winter in the Blue Mountains. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck, pulling the sides of her coat closer together as she wriggled her toes and tried to keep warm.
Patrick was with the other children in the center of the field. They were all huddled together, listening intently to a man—the coach presumably—who was squatting at their level. His back was to the line of parents nursing coffees, and shifting their weight from one foot to the other, trying to prevent their toes developing frostbite.
“Are you Patrick’s mum?”
Maggie nodded at the woman who’d appeared next to her, red clipboard in hand. She had on a fabulous beanie, with long braids of multi-colored wool hanging from either side.
“I’m Kate, Harrison’s mother, and the team manager.” Her smile was friendly, and Maggie wondered—hoped—that she might be a potential friend. It was disturbing how many of her old friends had disappeared along with her marriage.
“Are you the one I should give money to?”
Kate’s musical laugh lifted the small area of face that wasn’t hidden behind the beanie. “Sure, if you’ve got it. Otherwise, next week is fine.”
Maggie fished two fifty-dollar notes from her purse as Kate put a tick next to Patrick’s name on her clipboard.
“Lovely. Now tell me, how have you settled in? I know you’re new in town. Patrick is simply the nicest little boy. I’ve been in class a bit, helping with reading and that sort of thing.”
“Oh, um, thank you. I haven’t had time to get into class yet, but hopefully soon.” Guilt was never far away.
“Nonsense! They’re ten-year-olds. They don’t actually need parents helping, but I get bored at home with my toddler, so we pop in every now and then. Harrison has been begging to have Patrick over for a play, so perhaps we can arrange a time. We can have coffee and a nice long chat while the boys do whatever it is that boys do.”
For the first time since leaving Sydney, a ray of optimism etched its way into the depths of doubt sitting within Maggie. In theory, she knew the move was a positive step, but until now it had sat in her chest, like a weight of uncertainty, masquerading as heartburn. Her shoulders relaxed. “Thanks, Kate. I would really love that.”
“Great! Oh, and there’s one other thing, Leo’s organizing a mixed team for the adults. We had one last year and it was lots of fun. Are you in?”
“Who’s Leo?”
Kate’s gaze shifted in the direction of the man on the field with the children. “He’s the coach, single dad of Isaac and former Socceroo.” She glanced back toward Maggie, raising her eyebrows. “Total hottie if you ask me. Just don’t tell my husband I said so.”
“Wow, he really played for Australia?” Maggie could hear the awe in her own voice, and watched with interest as Leo stood from his squat. There was a collective cheer from the kids as they were released from their pre-game chat, and turning to face the row of parents, his gaze landed directly on hers. Maggie exhaled slowly, taking in every glorious detail. Kate was right—a total hottie.
Leo had to be at least six-two. From this distance she couldn’t make out the color of his eyes, only that they were dark and still inexplicably honed in on her. The beginning of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth and Maggie felt her breasts tighten. Or perhaps that was a result of the freezing wind that blew across the oval, sending her hair flapping over her eyes. She quickly tucked the wayward strands behind her ears, wishing she’d brought a hairband to keep her shoulder-length waves in place.
He started walking in her direction, and Maggie bit the sides of her cheeks to hide her unexpected delight. His face was awash with dark stubble, matching the color of his hair, which like hers had been blown to oblivion in the wind. He shoved his hands casually into the pockets of his jacket, and there was something about the way he wore those jeans that made her insides twitch.
Kate waved him over. “Leo, this is Maggie, Patrick’s mum. She’s agreed to play in the adults’ team!”
Maggie had agreed to no such thing, but seemed unable to speak as the glory of Leo so close made her dizzy. The tiny specks of gray in his beard were the sexiest thing she’d seen in a long time.
He was so manly. It was almost laughable how different he was from her soon-to-be ex-husband, whose boyish looks had matched his immature personality. Leo oozed maturity. The lines around his eyes spoke of life experience in a way that was utterly captivating, as though he was ready to fire off an exciting tale at any moment. She wanted to lean in closer, get the front seat, and maybe run her nose along his stubbly jaw while she was at it.
“Great to meet you, Maggie.” Leo held out his hand, and she swallowed, shocked by her runaway thoughts. His skin was deliciously warm, but he frowned as they shook hands, bringing his left one onto hers as well. “You’re freezing.”
The heat radiating from his hold was heavenly. She chuckled, trying to hide her embarrassment, and the fact that she was enjoying the contact far too much.
“Here, let’s have the other one too.” His tone was serious, as though undertaking a task of utmost importance.
She obliged without hesitation, offering Leo her other hand, which he covered with his huge palms, wrapping his fingers around hers intimately.
“So, you’re going to join the team?” Leo didn’t appear at all bothered by his job as hand warmer, and stood mere inches from Maggie, rubbing his fingers over hers, sending waves of lovely feelings throughout her entire body.
“I’ve never played before. Does that matter?” She couldn’t pry her gaze from the deep brown of his eyes. It was like getting blissfully lost in a bowl of melted chocolate, which was her idea of sublime happiness.
“No, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a fun competition. We’ll play on Thursday nights, and have a training session for half an hour or so before each game.”
Maggie became vaguely aware of a whistle blowing. Leo grinned, giving her hands a squeeze before he let go and jogged back onto the field. The loss of his touch left her with a confusing ache, and she thrust her hands into the pockets of her coat, unsure as to what she was feeling.
Her gaze darted to the other parents, who were standing around chatting, totally oblivious to the way her heart was pounding at twice its normal speed. She hadn’t even realized Kate had left her side and was down with another mother, marking ticks against names on her clipboard. No one appeared shocked, or seemed to care at all that she and Leo had spent several flirtatious moments together.
Suddenly, she felt foolish. He probably did that sort of thing all the time. Didn’t the coach have an obligation to make newcomers feel welcome? Look at the way he was showing Patrick where to stand in the right position. The kids all obviously adored him. They hung on his every word as he offered last minute advice before the referee got the game started.
Dashing to the sideline, Leo turned his head in her direction. His lips twitched, but opted to remain smile-free, while his eyes suggested he might have enjoyed the hand warming as much as she had.
Chapter 3
Maggie closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, attempting to ease the headache she’d been fighting off all day. Work had been hideous. Her job was supposed to have been the same as the one she’d had in Sydney. Only, she’d left her child-care center in much better shape than the
one she’d taken over.
It had seemed like the perfect scenario. The former manager of the Katoomba office had wanted to move to Sydney, so they’d done a direct swap. However, Maggie had quickly realized that she’d gotten the poor end of the deal. The center she’d run in Sydney had been exceptionally well managed. She was on top of paperwork and had a good rapport with all of her staff. But things in Katoomba had been left in disarray. There was a six-month backlog of bills and outstanding reports, and the staff seemed to come and go without any sense of obligation.
Maggie had worked countless extra hours to get things up to date. It was slow progress, but she finally felt like she was getting on top of it all. So to be fair, she couldn’t really blame work for her headache. That honor had to go to nerves about the upcoming soccer game tonight.
Since the win at his first game on Saturday, Patrick had been trying to teach Maggie how to play soccer. He thought it was fabulous that his mum was on a team, and he wanted to come and watch, but she’d refused. It was too cold to be out at night at this time of year, and she desperately wanted to get some kind of grasp on the game before there were any familiar spectators.
More than anything, though, she was nervous about seeing Leo. He’d been on her mind constantly since the hand-warming situation, and the image of those dark eyes was permanently tattooed in her brain. She couldn’t decide if there’d been an actual chemistry between them, or whether she’d fabricated the whole thing in her poor, sexually deprived mind. It had been so long since she’d worried about this kind of thing. Being married was supposed to have meant an end to all the horrible angst when it came to men. Stupid Felix.
Hours later her nerves still hadn’t improved. If anything, they were worse as Leo approached the group of middle-aged parents disguising themselves as a soccer team. The one comfort was that she wasn’t the most unfit looking of the bunch. There were several men with large bellies, and lots of the group had graying hair. One woman had coughed continuously since getting onto the field.
The stress of the past few months had played havoc with Maggie’s appetite, and despite now being back to her old eating habits, she’d been alarmed to find that her sports gear no longer fit properly. There were three safety pins currently holding up the waistband of her sweatpants.
“Thanks for coming, everyone.” Leo’s gaze scanned the small crowd of faces in the quickly fading evening light. He smiled as he passed across Maggie, and her belly gave a flip of appreciation at the visual. The scruffy facial hair from Saturday was gone, showing off smooth skin around his square jaw. “Looks like we’ve got the same team as last year, with the new addition of Maggie.”
Her cheeks warmed, despite the freezing outdoor air, and she gave a quick wave at the collective hi that followed Leo’s introduction.
“Okay, let’s partner up. Maggie, I’ll go with you, seeing as though you haven’t played before. Let’s begin with a run around the field before we all freeze to death.”
She fell into line with the group as they began jogging over the damp grass. It was startling how quickly her chest became uncomfortable, and she cringed at the rising volume of her gasping breaths. She may have lost a few kilos from the stress, but certainly hadn’t gained any fitness along the way. It took every ounce of strength to keep running, as all the sensible parts of her body screamed to stop the hideous torture.
After what seemed like a marathon distance, they arrived back at the center of the field. Leo—who’d barely broken a sweat—opened a large bag full of black and white soccer balls, and handed one to each pair. Maggie struggled to regain control of her breath, desperately trying to disguise her state of mega-unfitness.
“You okay?” Leo’s brown eyes traveled the length of her body, and up again, smiling when he landed on her widened gaze. He held their ball by the tips of his fingers, spinning it into a blur.
The cool air had given his cheeks a deep flush, making his full lips darker than usual. They were such a kissable commodity, along with his jaw that begged to be nibbled on. She could imagine only too clearly how his soft skin would feel against the tip of her nose as it journeyed from the base of his neck up to his earlobe. Imagine having that in her mouth, her tongue—
“Earth to Maggie?” Leo’s smile curled into a smirk.
Heat soared to her cheeks. “I’m great, thanks. Terrific. Totally fine.”
His soft chuckle did good things to her insides. Oh God, she really needed to get a grip—of the situation—not Leo. Or perhaps yes to Leo.
“Stop it, Maggie.” Her self-scolding was a quiet mutter.
But evidently he had supersonic hearing. “Stop what, exactly?” That smirk was working overtime.
Was it possible for a blush to cause third-degree burns? “Nothing. Just talking to myself. It’s a nasty habit.”
“Seems like a cute habit, if you ask me.”
She couldn’t come up with a reply. Not a single damn word. The intensity in Leo’s gaze stole any ounce of coordination between mouth and brain, as her body suddenly required all of its energy down south. She did her best to concentrate on breathing.
Depositing the ball on the ground at her feet, he stood behind her and placed his hands on her hips. “Feet apart, knees slightly bent.”
His mouth was awfully close to her ear, making concentration virtually impossible, especially when the pressure on her hips increased.
“Keep your stance forward. I’m going to go over there, and I want you to kick the ball to me using the inside of your right foot.”
“Okay.” Earlier weariness from the warm-up run was replaced with an excitement that zoomed through her bloodstream, sending her muscles into action.
Leo ran several yards in front of her, where he gave a nod and waited to receive the ball.
Maggie bounced up and down with newfound energy, accompanied by a sense of confidence that must have fallen from the sky when she wasn’t looking. She was going to be good at this soccer gig. She could just tell.
Or not.
The ball left her foot with a loud crack, and went flying way over Leo’s head, past the confines of the field, into the darkness of the wintery night where the overhead lights didn’t even begin to reach.
She ran after it, but as she passed Leo he grabbed her arm, shaking his head. “It’s too dark.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Some kid will find it tomorrow, and it’ll make his day.”
Maggie chewed her bottom lip, riddled with guilt.
Evidently it showed all over her face, and Leo laughed. “Maggie, don’t worry about it. It’s just a soccer ball.”
“I feel terrible!”
“Hey, look at me. It’s okay.” Leo was still clutching her upper arm, and he skimmed his hand upward, coming to rest on the base of her neck.
Maggie swallowed, staring at the ground.
“Look at me.” His voice was soft. Soothing. Sexy.
Guilt was suddenly replaced with something else. Desire. It consumed her entire body, filling her with a warmth that shouldn’t have been possible in the chilly night air. She lifted her gaze to find him watching her, mouth slightly open, eyes searching.
If only she were taller. She could simply move an inch forward and they’d be kissing right now. But given that he was a whole head above her, even standing on tiptoes wouldn’t make her high enough.
It had been an eternity since she’d craved the touch of a man. When things had gone sour with Felix, Maggie had thought she’d said goodbye to that part of her life, even been relieved about it. But for the first time in what seemed like forever, Leo was igniting something she thought she’d lost.
They stood completely motionless, his hand still on her neck. He was breathing as unsteadily as she was. Maggie wanted to close her eyes, get blissfully lost in the floaty feeling orbiting every cell of her body. Yet that would mean losing the perfect view in front of her, and there was no way she was letting that go.
“Leo! Maggie!�
�� Their names were called slowly, the way Maggie summoned Patrick for dinner when he was playing outside, deliberately breaking the syllables to carry the sound.
She blinked, somewhat startled, and turned to where the rest of the team were waving them over. How had they gotten so far from the group?
Leo dropped his hand from her neck. “It’s match time.”
Several people were making their way onto the field, dressed in red shirts and black shorts. She and Leo jogged over to join them, and following some friendly hellos and handshakes, everyone took position on the field.
Wearing her team’s bright orange bib, Maggie stood where she’d been told, knowing that her job as a player in the midfield was to get the ball to team members in the forwards, who would then kick a goal. Seemed simple enough, yet her stomach twisted in nervous knots. It didn’t help that she was still keyed up from the little scenario with Leo. Every time they were alone, he ended up touching her in some way. She wasn’t complaining. In fact, she wished he’d touch her a whole lot more.
She forced herself to concentrate as the whistle signaled the start of the game, and suddenly there were people everywhere, jostling to get to the ball. Someone from the other team barged her with his shoulder, and she staggered as the ball sailed past and the herd of players went with it. She searched for a familiar face among the sea of red shirts and orange bibs, finally spotting Leo, who jogged over.
“You okay?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing!”
He slung an arm over her shoulders and gave an affectionate squeeze. “It’s your first game. Try and watch the others, and if the ball comes near you, kick it to someone wearing orange.”
It was good advice. Just a pity she couldn’t stick to it. Whenever the ball came near her, Maggie panicked and sent it flying toward someone on the opposing team. The fact that the score was nil on both sides was only slightly reassuring.
