Page 10 of Shes my 1 Try

“You’re gonna make me beg, aren’t you?”

“I should, you know. Making everyone suffer through your moodiness. I swear Billy’s ready to take you up to the bluff and drop you off the edge.” There’s a softness in her eyes, understanding, but she’s not wrong. I’ve been an utter ass since the shoot. Only training and acting like a damn stalker, trying to find the woman taunting me, has kept me somewhat sane.

“Please, Mandy. I’ve done everything I can think of to find out who she is.” I get down on my knees, my face just visible over the top of the counter, and clasp my hands in front of me. “Please. If you know how to…”

“Oh, just stop,” she groans, a shiver running the length of her body as she comes around the counter, grabbing me by the elbow and hauling me to my feet. “I thought I’d love to see you begging, but it’s wrong on every level.”

Does it make me an ass that I knew this was the string to pull to get my cousin to help me? Maybe, but I’m desperate.

“Do you have the contract you signed for the photoshoot?” Her head tilts to the side, an air of doubt in the movement.

I might be a lot of things, but complacent about my career isn’t one of them. “Yeah, of course, but how’s that gonna help?”

“Just give it to me,” she snaps, waving her hand at me expectantly.

“Geez, fine.” Walking back into the lounge area, I grab my phone and bring the contract up, offering it over to her.

Mandy hums to herself, her tongue poking out as she scans the document. Even as kids she was the smart one and I never understood why her mum was so disappointed when her daughter decided to pursue a career in rugby league. We all know it won’t last forever. We’re like falling stars, bright in the sky for a moment of our lives before dipping away into obscurity. Well, I mean, there are legends of the game whose names are synonymous with footy—Churchill, Lewis, Thurston. We all strive to be one of those names. And neither of us takes for granted what we’re privileged to be doing. With her smarts, though, Mandy will have plenty of options after she’s done with the game.

“Well?” I shift on my feet impatiently, peering over her shoulder.

“Give me a minute, would you,” she grunts through clenched teeth, taking a step away to escape my hovering. “Ah-ha! There.”

“Where? What? C’mon, Mandy, what is it?” I dodge and weave to try and get a glimpse of what she’s found.

“Be patient.” She waves a hand at me, picking up her phone and double checking something on it before typing furiously on her keypad.

Snatching up my phone, I scan the screen she was on, but it’s all a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to me. I mean, I know the parts that pertain to me specifically. I make sure I understand that, but this?—

“Holy. Fucking. Shit!” Mandy exclaims, one hand coming up to cover her mouth.

“What? What! What the fuck, Mandy?!”

“Dude! She is hot as fuck!”

“You found her? Show me. How the fuck did you find her so quickly?” Reaching for her phone, she dances away, holding it aloft.

“Say I’m the best. The best cousin in the world,” she teases, a smile a mile wide on her face.

I’d be her slave for the rest of my life if she shows me, but I won’t tell her that. “You’re the best. The most wonderful, beautiful, smartest cousin in the world. There, is that good enough?”

She keeps her phone just out of reach, both of us adept at evading other thanks to our training. “She really is gorgeous, Ash.”

“No shit,” I snap, my anger bubbling up. “Hey, you have a girlfriend already.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a beautiful woman when I see one, geez. Fine, here you go, you big baby.” Handing me her phone on a grunt, I snatch it away, cradling it in my hands like it was some precious thing. “You’ve really got it bad, huh?”

“What? No, don’t be stupid,” I snark, hoping she doesn’t spot the insecurity, the lie in my words.

“You know there is such a thing as love at first sight, right?” Offering her a cutting glance, I twist away, scrolling down the Instagram account Mandy found.

“That’s only in your dumb romance books.” I wave her away, consumed by the fucking angel before me.

Feminine Wiles. And doesn’t she have that in spades.

It’s obviously a business account. There are images of women and men with before and after shots of the makeup she’s done. Time-lapse videos of doing different makeup tutorials on herself. Fuck, I could sit here all day and watch her. Get lost in doing it. Forget the outside world. Fuck?! Is Mandy right?

“Scroll back to the top, lover boy,” Mandy says, a laugh in her voice. “I think you’ll like what you find. And FYI, love at first sight is a real thing. You’re living proof.”

---