Page 58 of Dominate
“You’re a professional athlete who’s training for the World Cup. It’s a very, very big deal.”
I roll my eyes as she stares back at me with her jaw dropped. “I do have one condition, though.”
Her brows lift. “Name it.”
My brows lift right back. “You never saysocceragain.”
She laughs at my response and thumps my chest playfully. “And what if I slip?”
I lean down and playfully kiss her nose. “Then I get to use the handcuffs again.”
“Deal!” she replies with a giggle, her face so beautiful and full of light. I can’t help but pick her up and prop her on the counter so we’re eye-to-eye and I can take it all in.
“This is going to be good, Treacle. I can feel it.”
“It’s already more than good, Gareth.”
“Hello there, Sophia. It’s nice to officially meet you.”
The brown-eyed stunner eyes me carefully from her spot on the grass in the back garden of Sloan’s home. I’ve set up a child-sized goalpost, along with several bright cones for some drills we’ll play a little later.
After a minute, Sophia accepts my outstretched hand in hers. “You can call me Sopapilla if we become friends, but I’m not sure we are friends yet.”
With a smile, I drop down on one knee so we’re eye level. Sophia’s chestnut hair is tied up into a high ponytail, and she’s kitted out in bright pink and green footy gear all the way down to her multicoloured football socks covering her shin guards.
Her mother certainly dressed her for this occasion.
I begin digging out several balls from the sack I brought with me and ask, “Do you remember me from the Kid Kickers camp?”
“Maybe,” she replies, pressing her pointer finger to her chin in thought. “But there were a lot of you big guys running around.”
I nod knowingly. “Three of those guys were my brothers.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s a looot of brothers. Are they quite noisy?”
I frown and do my best to answer her question with a serious face. “Quite noisy. But they live in London now, so I don’t hear them nearly as well as I used to when we were young.”
“London is where the Queen lives!” Sophia peals excitedly.
“Do you like the Queen?”
“Oh yes, I love her a lot. Mum took me to see Buckingham Palace once, and the Queen actually drove by while we were there. It was fantastic. I think she waved right at me!”
I lift my brows in appreciation. “I’m sure she did.”
Suddenly, her face falls. “I wasn’t invited in for tea, though.”
“Are you mates with the Queen?” I ask, trying my hardest not to smile but failing quite a bit I fear.
“No, but my class had a tea party in honour of her birthday. We sent her an invitation and everything, but she didn’t come.” She stares down at her feet with disappointment.
I nudge her on the shoulder. “I’m sure she had a full schedule that day.”
She thinks on that logic for a minute, then says, “Or maybe the postman lost the invitation.”
“I bet that’s it,” I reply with a wink. “So, Sophia, would you like to play some football today?” I ask, handing her the special pink ball I bought for her to keep.
Sophia clutches the ball in her hands and looks over her shoulder at Sloan, who’s standing watch from the paved area by the house with Freya right beside her. The two women have their hands covering their mouths as they appear to be whispering back and forth to each other.
