Page 141 of Power Play
I glance around the pub and lower my voice. “The next home game’s the charity one, yeah?”
Jacko nods. “Broadcast live, packed house, big sponsors,”
“Exactly,” I say. “So, I get on the mic after the match. Or during an intermission. Doesn’t matter. I tell thetruth. Not the tabloid version. Not the stupid photo with that girl clinging to me like a piranha.The truth.”
Mia folds her arms. “And what truth is that?”
“That I didn’t cheat on her,” I say quietly. “That she saw a snapshot of a thing that wasn’t what it looked like. That I froze. That I let the story run because I didn’t know how to fix it.”
Jacko’s expression softens. “And you’re gonna say all that on the tannoy?”
I nod. “In front of everyone. The team, the crowd, the cameras. She’s not gonna trust words whispered in her flat anymore. She’s not gonna believe a private apology. So, I’ll do it the one way that can’t be ignored.Loud. Honest. Public.”
Ollie blinks. “Mate, that’s either the bravest thing I’ve ever heard or the dumbest.”
“Why not both?” I say with a crooked smile.
Mia studies me for a long moment. “And if she doesn’t forgive you?”
“Then at least she’ll know I meant it.”
Later that night, when the pub’s emptied out and I’m the last one nursing a pint as if it’ll offer answers, Dylan drops into the seat across from me.
“You sure about this?” he asks.
I glance up. “Heard all that, did you?”
“Everyone did.”
I exhale through my nose. “I’ve been trying to do this quietly. Let her breathe. Let her figure it out on her own. But now, I don’t know. I feel like if I don’t tell her the truth, properly, then I’m not giving her all the information. I’m just letting her sit in a lie.”
Dylan nods slowly. “You love her.”
“More than anything.”
“And this isn’t a stunt? You’re not doing it because you want people to see you as the good guy?”
I meet his eyes. “I don’tcarehow I look. I care thatsheknows. That I didn’t give up.”
He rubs a hand over his jaw. “Then I’ll talk to Coach. Get you five minutes on the mic. You’ll have to clear it with the event organisers, but if you want a stage, we’ll find you one.”
I blink. “You’d do that?”
“You’ve been my mate through a lot of shit,” he says simply. “And I believe you. I see it in your face. You’re not broken over getting caught. You’re broken overlosing her.”
I nod. Once. Twice.
And then, finally I say, “Yeah.”
He slaps the table and stands. “Right. Let’s go make history, Murphy.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
MURPHY
I’ve never planned anything this complicated in my life, and I once organised a surprise birthday for Jacko that involved a chocolate fountain, a fire-eater, and a rogue alpaca.
This? This is bigger.
