Page 118 of Play On

I steel myself as I walk into the kitchen for dinner. Mum is setting plates on the table, and I see Amelia is bringing over a bowl of salad. Dad has stepped inside, and from the smell of things, he’s been barbecuing chicken. Nicholas follows behind him, carrying a tray of steaks.

“Violet, you’re just in time,” Mum says cheerfully.

“Can I help?” I ask.

“Nope, we’ve got this.”

She transfers some roasted potatoes to a bowl and brings them to the table. Amelia takes her now-usual seat beside Nicholas, and I sit down across from my twin. I told them that I’m finally going to tell Mum and Dad tonight about my plans to go to Australia next week, and Nicholas said he’s ready to back me one hundred percent.

Now more than ever, I know I’m making the right choice to take this trip halfway around the world. After spending time with Noah in his home in Surrey, I know I love him. And as the woman who loves him, I want to support him.

That means going to Australia for this friendly.

Bella helped me with my plan, and Camden was a willing participant as well—he’ll assist on the day of the match. I booked all my travel, made arrangements with Maria and Amelia tocover me in the gift shop, and this is the last little piece I need to take care of before I leave next week.

Soon everyone is seated and talking, and I wait for a lull in the conversation to bring up the topic. “I have some news,” I say, pausing to take a sip of my water. “Noah reports back to training this week.”

“He’s going to Australia,” Dad says, smiling at me. “He told me he was excited about that tour.”

“Yes, he’s very excited about it. And so am I. So much so that I’ve made the decision to go to his friendly in Melbourne next week.”

I hold my breath as I look around the table. Nicholas and Amelia look as if this is a completely normal thing for me to say—after all, they got to absorb this information weeks ago.

“What?” Mum asks, putting down her knife and fork.

“I’m going to Australia.” I take a bite of steak to emphasise how casual I am about this conversation.

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Dad says, furrowing his brow. “Is Noah paying for you to go over there and watch this game?”

“No. He has no idea I’m coming. It’s a surprise,” I say, cutting another piece of meat.

“Violet! You barely know him!” Mum cries, aghast.

“This isn’t the kind of thing you surprise a man with,” Dad asserts. “It’s too much, too soon.”

“I disagree. If Amelia surprised me like this, I’d love it,” Nicholas says breezily. “If you had the opportunity to do something like this for me right now, you would do it, wouldn’t you, Peahen?”

She beams at him. “Of course I would.”

I love Nicholas and Amelia so much.

“Grand gestures are big right now,” I say.

“Grand gestures? What does that even mean?” Mum cries in exasperation.

“I want to show Noah how I feel about him in a big way. I can’t think of a bigger one than flying from London to Melbourne.”

“Violet. This is crazy,” she replies.

“It doesn’t matter if you think it’s crazy, this is what I’m going to do,” I say in a polite but firm tone.

“Always a butterfly,” Dad says, thrusting a forkful of salad into his mouth.

My heart lurches. “What?”

He grins at me. “Once again, you’re flittering. Dropping your responsibilities at the gift shop so you can chase after some footballer. I just worry about the amount of money you are spending to do this when you’ll probably be interested in someone else in a matter of weeks. That’s what you do, sweetheart.”

I feel sick. This what my dad sees when he looks at me.

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