Page 7 of Try Hard
He shot me a look. “I’ve heard plenty of nicknames people have for you over the years.”
“Fair, but I was only remarking, not judging.”
He wasn’t wrong that I’d had a few nicknames. Not all of them were the kind of thing you’d want your parents knowing, but, hey, I had a not insignificant social media following and some of them could be… thirsty.
Alistair snickered. “Dads hear a whole lot of things they shouldn’t when their kid is known online.”
I shot him an amused look. “And I’m guessing you’ve heard them too.”
“Ah, just a few. You know, hometown hero and all that. We’ve all been following your career.”
“That’s very sweet, Alistair.” I waved a hand around. “And I appreciate you letting me infiltrate the group this morning.”
“Oh, of course, of course. The more the merrier.” He glanced around. “And your timing couldn’t be better, actually.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, my daughter’s here too.”
My mind jumped back to his earlier comment. I’d been so distracted by learning that my dad wasBig Jezzerthat I hadn’t really registered his comment about bringing your kid to work.
Alistair held his arms out, creating something of a bridge between me and a woman who’d been standing with her back to us the whole time. She was bundled inside her coat, hood up, and, for the life of me, I wouldn’t have been able to guess who it was. But, he called out, “Fia,” and the woman slowly turned around.
Then, I was face-to-face with an awkward-looking Ophelia Pendrick.
My breath caught and I cleared my throat in an attempt to cover it.
If she hadn’t been so hidden in her clothing, I’d have guessed it was her. There was no mistaking that flame red hair. Still the same, beautiful colour it had been when we were kids.Gorgeous.
I’d never met anyone who so perfectly matched their name. And, fucking hell, was her name incredible.Ophelia Pendrick.Like something from a fantasy novel. The red hair on top of that? She’d always been like something from a dream, and she was no different plane spotting on a Saturday morning.
Why had I been late?
“Hi,” she said, worrying her lip.
“Ophelia,” I replied, grateful to hear my voice come out in its normal, cheerful tone. “I can’t believe you’re here. It’s been… ages.”
“I don’t usually come,” she said quickly, adjusting her position almost continuously. “I’m just… in town for a bit. Although, I live in London and this is a London airport, but I mean that I was in Eddlesworth and decided to come with my dad.”
The grin that spread across my face must surely have been enough to illuminate the runway any night of the week. She hadn’t changed at all.
Well, she had, and, despite her awkward energy, she seemed a lot more confident in herself as an adult, but she was still so… perfectly spoken and precise and… fascinating. She had always beensoenchanting.
Plus, catching her off-guard and flustered was more than a little adorable. Ophelia was the kind of person who constantly had their shit together. Catching such people unaware was a gift.
“Oh, and she goes by Fia,” Alistair said, smiling widely as he placed a hand on his daughter’s back and pulled her in closer to the conversation.
I looked back at her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s fine.” She waved a hand and drew my attention to what she was holding in her gloved grip.
I laughed. “I see my dad’s been showing off again. Or, do you always carry pictures of my face around?”
She immediately turned beet red and yanked the magazine behind her back as if, when I couldn’t see it, I’d forget that she’d been holding it. “Oh. Uh…”
I smiled at her, my heart pounding more than a little bit. “You know, I can sign that for you, if you want?”
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t play into the celebrity thing, and I didn’t think I’d ever volunteered like that to sign something, but I couldn’t resist. It was worth it for the way she ducked her head, lost for words.
