Page 18 of We'll Meet Again

It bolstered the team. The frustration of the first half dissipated in the glow of taking the lead. And Ethan was well on his way to furthering that lead when a Crystal Palace defender slid right into his legs, studs up.

“Referee!” burst from Billie’s lungs before she could even stop herself.

“Christ!” Tessa gasped with a start.

Billie’s heart galloped inside her chest at the injustice, especially when Ethan took several moments to stand back up. The referee did blow the whistle and he issued a yellow card to the defender, but Billie wasn’t convinced that was enough.

“That’s a red card, isn’t it?” she demanded. “That was intentional violence!”

Tessa only looked Billie up and down. Only then did Billie realize she had leapt to her feet as well. Like someone who was…invested. Her eyes went wide with horror.

“Okay…” she said, steadying herself against the arm of the couch. “I do not care about this man, I just…”

Tessa raised a brow. “You just what?”

Billie swallowed. “I just won’t speak to him again. This…” she made a vague gesture in front of herself with her hands. “This cannot happen. I’ll keep avoiding him until we’re strangers who just happen to work for the same company.”

“I’m afraid I’ve thrown a wrench in that plan already,” Tessa said.

“How’s that?”

“I invited him over for dinner tomorrow night.”

Billie blinked, stunned. “What?”

“It seemed like the neighborly thing to do,” Tessa said with a shrug.

“How did this even happen?” Billie pressed. “Do you have his phone number? Did you slide into his Instagram DMs? Did you -”

“Neither, I went to his flat,” Tessa said.

“How’d you know which was his?”

“I didn’t, I just went over and knocked on doors until he was the one that answered.”

Billie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, the picture of her spacey, Irish flatmate just appearing at stranger’s doorways coming all too easily to her mind. “Of course you did.”

“I hope he likes pasta,” Tessa said dreamily. “Even if he doesn’t, I reckon he’s too polite to say so.” She paused. “He seems awfully kind.”

That was just the problem. Billie watched him on the screen again, the camera zoomed in on his face as he threw the ball back into play, and felt that odd stirring inside her chest when she got a look at his eyes. She shook her head.

“Alright, starting after dinner, I’m never speaking to him again,” she said firmly.

She just hoped she could stick to it. If she didn’t, the consequences could be more than she was ready to face.

Chapter 6

Ethanknockedthreetimeson the door, a bottle of wine cradled in the crook of his elbow. He’d had to ask the salesperson, a young guy named Nick, to help him decide on something good, since he didn’t drink himself. But Betty taught him to never show up to someone’s home empty-handed, even if they tell you not to bring anything. Tessa hadn’t said one way or the other. All she told him in that dreamy voice of hers was her apartment number and that she lived in the building across the street. The latter, he already knew, having spied her and Billie peering at him through their window.

After hearing Tessa speak, he was a bit surprised that she and Billie were roommates. They seemed an unlikely pair. Billie was so polished and serious, while Tessa had a more free spirited air about her.

To his surprise, it was Billie who opened the door. His heart did its usual flutter at the sight of her. In jeans and an oversized, cable knit sweater, she looked far more approachable than she did at work. The navy blue made her eyes seem even bluer. And her dark curls were held loosely back in a scrunchie, instead of the usual French twist or claw clip. God, she was stunning. He shook off the shock and offered a smile.

“Well, hey,” he said. “We just keep running into each other, don’t we?”

“Let’s get this over with,” Billie answered.

She turned away from the door - that scent once again triggering his desire to pull her into a hug - and disappeared back into the apartment. He followed her. This pattern of theirs was becoming quite routine now, he thought, amused. And he didn’t mind one bit.

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