Page 163 of Off the Pitch

I could see the two of us lounging on the sofa as rain pattered the windows, snuggled up under blankets as we watched old films, or read books, or talked about everything and nothing, simply enjoying each other’s company.

I could see the house and garden full of our friends—Christian, David, Lily, and Harper sitting on sofas and playing boardgames, filling our house with laughter.

So far, it seemed to be just what we wanted.

I followed Kit up the first set of stairs and peered into the bedrooms, noting that the master suite had a walk-in wardrobe, which would definitely come in handy for my ever-expanding collection of clothes. But it wasn’t until we reached the top floor that I knew the house was perfect for us.

Kit gasped as he stepped up the stairs, practically vibrating with excitement. “Oh, Hugo! You have to see this!”

The stairs led to an open loft space that stretched over the entire floor with a door off to one side which seemed to be another bathroom. The high, sloping ceilings held more windows, each one covered in a blind that would make it easy to adjust the light levels.

It was the ideal studio space.

“It’s perfect,” I said, watching Kit bounce happily across the wooden floor, unable to stop myself from smiling.

“Isn’t it?! I could work up here all day and it wouldn’t matter if I made a mess, and I’d be easy to find if you needed me, and I’d never run out of space. Well, at least not to start with, I mean there’s plenty of room for my computer and my canvases, oh, and I could get a fancy worktable too. I’ve always wanted one of those.”

Mark led us down the stairs, answering Kit’s rapid-fire questions with the best answers he could manage, especially since some of the questions were complex ones to do with finance and building regulations and insurance. Kit might appear to have his head in the clouds, but at times like these I had to remind myself he had a first-class business and economics degree.

Kit went quiet, though, as soon as we descended the stairs into the basement.

“This was added by the previous owner because they wanted to use it year-round and didn’t want to contend with British weather. I’ve got copies of the planning permissions and the details of the installers if you want to see them,” Mark said as he opened the door to the swimming pool.

The water was perfectly still, a sheet of blue glass in the middle of the room that made me want to dive straight in. I’d always loved swimming and the idea of being this close to water was heavenly. There was a built in jacuzzi at one end and a large shower space off to one side. It was lit with low, warm lights that made it feel like we were in some sort of underground lagoon.

Kit looked at me and smiled, but there was a serious look in his eye that said he meant business. “What do you think?” he said, leaning close, his voice brimming with excitement. “I mean, I’d want to have it surveyed obviously, and we need to have a talk about our finances, but I want to know what you think.”

“I love it,” I said, sneakily pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “It’s perfect for us. Wherever I look I can see us living here. We could make this our home.”

Kit nodded and turned back to Mark. “What did you say the asking price was?”

Chapter Thirty-Two

KitBeloved, how many pairs of shoes do you actually own?

HugoIn total? I’m not sure

HugoIn my defence, lots of them are for work

KitI’m not sure any of the six pairs of Balenciaga leather boots in your wardrobe are suitable for football…

Hugo

“Nervous?”

“Just a bit,” I said, trying not to grimace at Christian, who was giving me his best encouraging smile. My stomach was currently tying itself in knots and not the good kind.

“Excited though?” he asked, a genuine note of concern in his voice.

“I think so.” I nodded, attempting to convince myself that I was actually looking forward to this moment. “I mean, I might not even play, so I don’t even know why I’m nervous.”

“True, but I don’t think Trossero would have put you on the bench if it wasn’t an option,” Christian said. He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “You’ve got this. I know it. You’re going to be fine.

From the end of the tunnel in front of us, I could already hear the excited hum of the stadium. It looked like it was already half-full, and we were only just about to warm up. Today was the first day Lucas had put me on the bench for a game, and even though there was a good chance I wouldn’t get to play, the very idea of getting into my kit and getting onto the pitch, even just to warm up, had me shaking with nerves.

Back in May, I’d never thought I’d get to this point again. Even back in July it had seemed like a pipe dream, and yet there I was, standing with the rest of the team, waiting to be allowed onto the pitch to warm up. I’d even managed to beat my goal of returning to full fitness by a month.

I subtly pinched my thigh, trying to check I wasn’t dreaming.

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