Page 111 of Play On

Yet somehow, he found the courage to let Camden into his life this past year. Deeper friendships with other teammates followed.

And then me.

Is it too early for this kind of grand gesture? Most sane people would say yes. But those same people haven’t had the past few days that I have with Noah. He’s already willing to drive hours to have dinner with me, only to have to drive right back to Surrey. I know our feelings are happening quickly, but that doesn’t make them any less real.

Or Noah any less worthy of having someone make a grand gesture for him.

I smile. The best part? I know this won’t scare him. My own twin said he’s all in.

And flying to Melbourne to see a friendly is my way of saying I’m all in, too.

I put a hold on a roundtrip ticket—I want to get my game ticket and hotel sorted before I purchase something so expensive. I pop over to a ticket resale site. I want to be as close to the Stonebridge United bench as possible.

Luckily for me, they have the team benches designated on the stadium map, and there are premium seats in the section near the bench, in the front row.

My jaw drops. For more than a thousand pounds, that is.

I bite my lip. This is going to be one expensive trip.

I consider my seating options. Of course, I could sit somewhere much more affordable than pitch side. But for this game, it’s important that I’m somewhere that Noah can see me. I open a spreadsheet in another tab and start entering numbers. Next, I need to find a hotel in Melbourne for two nights for mywhirlwind trip. I peruse a couple until I find one that is a close distance to the AAMI Park. Okay. That rate isn’t too bad, so I reserve a room that has a cancellation policy. I go back to my spreadsheet and put in the remaining estimates and the number is a bit jaw-dropping.

I’ll be buying the equivalent of a third of a car with this trip.

Thousands of pounds. All for one fixture.

And for a man who hasn’t told me he loves me, nor I him.

Yet I know with every fibre of my being that I’m doing the right thing.

Next, I flip over to my schedule for the gift shop and look ahead to that week in July. Okay. I’m scheduled for Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. I can work Monday, then drive to London after work. I’ll need to swap with someone for Thursday. I look to the next week and find some dates I can hopefully swap with someone. If not, I’m pretty sure I can get Amelia to cover that one day for me.

I chew on my lip again. Okay. With that settled, I can show my parents I’m still reliable and not flaking on my responsibilities. I’m working all this week, and as soon as I get back from Australia, I won’t be switching shifts.

Which will still set me up to approach Dad about hosting an art event at Wintersmith Hall.

“What are you doing?”

I jump, startled by Nicholas’s deep voice. He’s standing in the doorway, mug in his hand, watching me work.

“You scared me,” I say, putting my hand over my racing heart. “I’m doing some maths.”

Nicholas quirks a brow as he walks into the library. “Maths? Must be serious if you are willingly doing maths on a Sunday night.”

“It is. You can sit down if you want. I’d like to tell you my plan.”

Nicholas pulls out the chair across from me and sets his mug down on the tabletop, and the scent of hot hazelnut coffee drifts towards me. Ooh. I want a mug of that. When we’ve finished talking, I’ll have to go make some.

“The art plan?” he asks as he sinks into his chair.

“No. The ‘fly to Melbourne and watch Noah play in a fixture’ plan.”

Nicholas stares at me. Then, when he sees I’m not laughing or smiling, his jaw drops open in surprise. “You’re serious.”

I nod. “Yes, I am.”

“You’re going to fly toAustraliato watch him play?” he asks, incredulous.

“I am. By myself. I’m doing two things I’ve never done before. Travelling abroad alone and attending a football game.”

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