Page 39 of Power Play
And I can’t.
Because this thing between us? Whatever it is? It only works if webothpretend it doesn’t matter.
Even if it already does.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MURPHY
The first rule of any PR day is don’t swear in front of the kids.
I remind myself of this as I step off the team bus and immediately nearly stack it over a rogue scooter on the pavement outside the children’s hospital. Ollie sees me flail and laughs so hard he nearly drops the teddy bear he’s carrying.
“Mate,” he wheezes. “Five seconds in and you’re already a hazard.”
“I’m a walking public service announcement,” I mutter, straightening up and brushing invisible dust off my joggers. “Safety first.”
The hospital entrance is already decked out with bunting and balloons in the team colours. A laminated poster of our squad leans against the reception desk with a Sharpie taped to it. Jacko’s face is right next to mine, both of us mid-roar, looking like we’re about to eat the camera.
Mike claps his hands. “Alright, team, same deal as last year. No swearing, no roughhousing, no sneaking off to the vending machines. That last one is mostly for you, Jacko.”
Jacko salutes with the gravity of a soldier. “Aye-aye, Captain.” Mike shakes his head, dismissing him instantly.
“Rooms on the first and second floors,” Mike continues. “Split into pairs. You’re there to listen, smile, and make the kids feel like stars. Got it?”
Everyone nods.
And then I see her.
Sophie Hart, hair pulled back, clipboard in hand. Leaning casually against the nurses’ station as though she owns the place, legs crossed at the ankle, mouth twitching with something halfway between amusement and mild exasperation.
She sees me too.
And God help me, the way her gaze flicks down my body like it’s accidental but absolutely isn’t? I feel it like a punch behind the ribs.
“Fancy seeing you here,” I say as I stroll over, keeping my voice low. “You stalking me now?”
“As if I have the time or the interest.” Sophie clicks her pen without looking at me. “Besides, Claire begged me to help run this thing. I tried to say no; it’s really not in my job description. You’re welcome.”
“You just couldn’t resist another morning with me.”
Her lips twitch again. “You thinkveryhighly of yourself, Murphy.”
I lean a little closer. “I had help.”
She doesn’t smile, not properly, but her eyes are warmer now, even as she flicks through her clipboard like I’m not unravelling slightly just looking at her.
Fake relationship, she said in the message last night. No more staying over.
But here we are.
Jacko claps a hand on my shoulder, jarring the tension. “You’re with me, Murph. Let’s go bring joy to the masses.”
“Try not to traumatise anyone,” Sophie calls after us.
“No promises!” Jacko chirps.
The first few rooms are easy. A mix of shy smiles, awkward handshakes, and wide-eyed stares. Ollie gets mobbed by a gaggle of kids who think he’s on Fortnite. Jacko tells a little girl we call him The Cookie Monster and then does a cookie-eating impression so realistic she shrieks with laughter.
