Page 71 of Dominate
Gareth comforts me while I comfort Sophia. When the funeral ends and everyone makes their way back to their cars, the three of us stay behind. Once everyone is gone, Sophia lets go of me and wipes harshly at her tears as she walks over to the burial site.
“What are you doing, Sophia?” I ask.
“I want a flower,” she states and points to the spray of roses draped over the casket.
My eyes find Gareth’s and he nods his understanding.
“The pink one,” Sophia says to Gareth, pointing to the one pink rose that’s hidden amongst all the white ones.
Gareth smiles kindly and reaches his long form over to pluck the flower from the casket spray, then kneels down to hand it to Sophia. She instantly presses it to her nose and looks up at me with tear-soaked eyes.
“Grandmama said this one is for me.”
Without another word, my perfect little girl turns to walk back toward the limo, passing by a waiting Callum on her way.
I swipe at my own tears as Gareth puts his hand on the small of my back as we turn to follow.
Callum clears his throat as we reach him. “Did you get my email about the meeting next month?”
With a frown, I look over at him and nod. “With Margaret’s lawyer? Yes, I got it. I’ll be there.” I look around, annoyed that he’s bringing this up here of all places.
“Good. Don’t be late,” he tuts, then eyes Gareth for a moment before turning on his heel to join Callie and Sophia in the limo.
“What’s that about?” Gareth asks, watching Callum with cautious warning in his eyes.
I shake my head. “Probably Sophia’s inheritance. But with Callum, I’m always wary.”
OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, life becomes a bit unusual. Photos of me and Gareth at the funeral appear in several gossip magazines. My website engagement spikes to an all-time high, and my dormant Instagram profile that I set up for my business suddenly gains twenty thousand new subscribers.
I also get a handful of phone calls from potential clients who are searching for custom designs. Freya is busy vetting everyone to establish if they are legitimate. If they are, we may be running a slightly different business in the near future.
I even receive a couple of emails for interview requests which Gareth instructed me to forward to his agent. I suppose this is what dating a Manchester United athlete gets you.
But Gareth takes it all in stride, clearly used to ignoring this sort of attention. He told me that it’s the way his father raised them. No social media and no interviews unless thoughtfully coordinated. Vaughn’s ideals are also why Gareth doesn’t have excess staff members or luxury vehicles and homes like other athletes. The Harris family—dynamic and interesting as they may be—tends to keep a low profile for the most part.
It’s kind of a relief. It means that when Gareth’s not travelling or training, he’s at my house, just being normal despite the current attention we’re receiving. We have dinner together with Sophia and Freya. Then Freya and I try to hide our heart eyes as we watch him play with Sophia in the garden nearly every evening. For being a highly-paid, highly-famous athlete, Gareth is very good at the whole domestic, average life thing. It makes me think there’s a good chance for some normalcy once he decides to retire someday.
And after the argument Sophia broke up in the kitchen between Gareth and I, it’s clear she’s getting very attached to him. The notion scares me because I don’t want her to become overly dependent on him. There’s still so much that can change between us. There’s no ring, no commitment. And even that doesn’t guarantee anything. I mean, he’s still a famous soccer player—modest as he may be. Who knows what our future holds?
I’m riffling through my closet, on the hunt for Sophia’s umbrella, when my phone vibrates in my pocket. It’s Callum. He’s due to pick up Sophia in an hour, so seeing his number gives me a bad feeling.
“Hello?” I answer, my voice wary.
“Sloan, hello. Look, I’m not going to be able to take Sophia this weekend.”
“Callum, don’t do this,” I reply through clenched teeth. “You already cancelled your weekend with her two weeks ago, and she was so disappointed.”
“I know, but I’m swamped at the office and Callie has family in town.”
“So take Sophia!” I exclaim, my voice high-pitched. “You two are engaged! I’m sure Sophia would love to meet some of her future family.”
“Sorry, not this time.” Callum’s voice is so smooth and business-like, my anger spikes.
“Callum, you can’t keep doing this,” I grind out. “She just lost her grandmother whom you knew better than anyone. She could use your comfort right now. Please don’t cancel on her again. At least take her to lunch or something.”
“Sloan, look, I have to go. Tell Sophia I’m sorry.”
With that, he hangs up, my phone going silent as I begin to tremble. Releasing a mighty cry, I chuck my phone against the closet wall and cover my face with my hands.
