Page 11 of Thunderstruck
He’s already the reason I moved across the country. I don’t need him helping me make a fool of myself. Again.
Freya smiles and tucks her thin fingers around my wrist. She looks so delicate. And gorgeous. But there’s an intelligence in her eyes that tells me she’s probably a force to be reckoned with in that whole political arena I dislike. “I happen to adore politics, but they are not for everyone.”
“Your accent is so beautiful.”
She laughs, and the sound is…less beautiful. It’s a real, hearty laugh that instantly sets me at ease because it makes her feel more human. “So I am told, though I am partial to your American sound,” she says with a wink. “Now, Darcy tells me you have just moved to California. What brought you here?”
I look at my sister, who raises her eyebrows as if to say I’m on my own from here on out. She made the introductions, and now I have to look out for myself. I swallow. “I just got a job with the Los Angeles Thunder. Sports medicine.”
“Oh!” Freya’s grip turns stronger, her excitement clear in her eyes. “With Cole!”
With the ultimate grumpy man who, for some reason, seems to think very little of me. I’m blaming the unicorn tank top, though it could have been any number of things. It’s terrible of me, but if I had known I might see Cole today, I probably would have worn the tank top again. Just to spite him. Instead, I’m in a yellow sundress that is adorable but looks extra frumpy next to a princess. “Yep,” I squeak. “With Cole.”
“They met yesterday,” Darcy throws in. “Though I think Tamlin Park might have put him on edge because she was there too.”
Freya clucks her tongue. “Oh, I do hope he was not short with you.” I can’t stop my grimace, and the princess droops. “Oh dear, he was. I will make him apologize.”
My eyes go wide. “No!” I wince when the word comes out louder and sharper than I would have liked. “No, you really don’t have to do that, Your Highness.”
Laughing, Bonnie pulls up a chair to join our group and holds out a tray of veggies. “You can call her Freya,” she says to me.
“Yes,” Freya agrees. “Please do. I come here to get away from the importance.”
“You’re still more important than anyone I know,” a male voice says right as I’m reaching for a stalk of celery.
I flinch, nearly knocking the veggie tray out of Bonnie’s hand, though she manages to hold on to it and save the food. I turn to see who just arrived, my pulse spiking in anticipation.
It’s not Derek Riley, like I feared, but that doesn’t mean the sight of rockstar Liam Connolly isn’t just as discombobulating as my introductions to everyone else this far.
“Oh my gosh,” I whisper as blood rushes to my head, making me dizzy. “You’re…”
Liam grins as he bends to give Freya a hug from behind. “Glad to see you one more time before you head home, Peach. I see we’ve made some new friends.”
All I can do is squeak.
“This is Houston’s wife, Darcy,” Bonnie says cheerfully. “And her sister, Carissa. Darcy, Carissa, this is—”
“Liam Connolly,” I finish for her. Like an idiot.
Thankfully, he laughs and holds out his hand for a handshake, which I manage with a bit of fumbling and only because I stare at the tattoo of a whale on his inner wrist. It’s really him. And he’s just as beautiful as he was on stage when I went to his concert a couple of years ago. His blond hair is longer than it was then, and his eyes are bluer in the Malibu sunlight than they were when he was on stage in Philly.
I feel like giggling, which is seriously dumb because the guy isn’t even single. Everyone knows he’s madly in love with a girl who once delivered his lunch to his house. His initial romance with Kasey was straight out of fanfiction, and I ate the whole story up. According to the tabloids, they never leave each other’s sides.
“Where is Kasey?” Freya asks, as if reading my thoughts.
Liam shrugs and snags a handful of carrots before dragging a chair next to Bonnie and widening our circle. “Deep in conversation with your new tank,” he says to the princess. “Where’d you dig this one up?”
I have no idea what he’s talking about, but Freya groans and shakes her head. “He is abominably dull, but at least he is keen to keep me safe. Perhaps too keen.”
Oh, they must be talking about the bodyguard who frisked Darcy and me when we arrived, though Bonnie tried to stop him.
“Better that than someone who would rather let you get into trouble.” Chuckling, Liam turns his attention to Darcy and me. His gaze fills my belly with butterflies, but from what I’ve heard, he’s one of the nicest guys on the planet. That’s assuming everything the internet says is true, which I know is not. “Houston’s wife, huh?”
Darcy nods, and I have no idea how she looks so relaxed right now. “You met him when he was dating Bonnie, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. Nice guy. Congrats on getting married.” Liam’s eyes flit back to me, and suddenly they’re a little less friendly. “What brings you two to California?”
When Darcy doesn’t reply, I force myself to answer. She’s only here because of me, after all. “I, um, I’m going to be working with the Thunder for a while. Alongside the athletic trainer.”
