Page 13 of Ignite

I shot a glance over to Ophelia who’d walked in wearing baggy grey sweatpants and a light pink crop top. She hadn’t flirted with any of the players, or done anything more than give me a series of eye rolls each time a woman looked my way.

“Oh, her.” The cute blonde in tiny bike shorts and singlet followed my gaze. “I don’t know what you guys see in her.”

“It’s not like that,” I tried to explain. Hooking up with the woman in front of me would be as easy as ordering coffee. But I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Ophelia.

“Maybe not, or maybe you’re just gonna be the last person to realize it.” She turned and slapped her ass. “Say goodbye to what you’re never gonna get.”

The problem being I didn’t care what she had or what she thought I’d miss.

Only one woman had grabbed my attention, and she’d become an itch I needed to scratch. Ophelia and I were destined to hover in the same orbit. She pretended not to care when women flirted with me, and I pretended not to care when my team fawned over her.

My players. Wherever Ophelia went, there they were. Hovering around her like she was—their little sister.

I gave up on paperwork and decided to grab some gloves and work out my frustration on the bag. When she moved to my side of the gym, I threw away the gloves, gulped down more water than I should have, and then almost threw it up on the treadmill.

I couldn’t avoid her forever. But right now, all roads would lead to how we met, and I still had a ute to fix.

Only when my muscles screamed for relief and I proved to be at least as strong and fit as any guy on my team, did I take to the showers. Under yet another ice-cold shower I decided that this town wasn’t big enough for us to keep ignoring each other.

Tomorrow, I’d go down to Rylee’s Beat and see how much it would cost to fix my ute.

Then, I’d have a reason to track down Ophelia and ask her to reconsider putting the repairs through her insurance.

What was the worst she could do? I didn’t have another car for her to hit.

Chapter 6

She's A What?

“Goodmorning,Meringa.Bushfireseason came early yesterday. A huge thanks to our local heroes from the RFS who put out a grass fire along the Princes Highway before it reached the National Park. With the whole country in drought, it won’t take much for the dry tinder to ignite, and we rely on our brave volunteers to keep the community safe. If you haven’t signed up for next season, why not? Your community needs you. In other local news…”

Rylee

“Has he come in yet?” Reece asked as soon as I answered the phone. I had to hand it to Reece, he didn’t waste time with small talk.

“No, and hello to you, too. Has he signed up for the RFS yet?” I laughed, knowing the man and the answer.

“No. Stubborn bastard. I told him about pole bunnies, half-price gym membership, and the deal we have with your garage. He’s a stubborn bastard.”

“You think?” I asked, my sarcasm thicker than butter as I tried not to think of the women who’d been fawning over Ethan at the gym yesterday.

“He needs your loving touch. You should have let me introduce you.”

I laughed. “We’ve already met, remember?”

“How could I forget.” I recognized Reece’s forced chuckle. He only did it before bringing uphim.

“Don’t, Reece.” I lost all joking and sarcasm. On this, Reece needed to back off. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Darin called me. Wanted to make sure you hadn’t been hurt in the accident.”

What part of backing off did Reece not understand?I tried not to flinch at my ex’s name.

“Not his problem. Nothing to do with him.”

“It’s a fucked-up situation.” Reece always tried to be a peace-maker and had become a second big brother whether I wanted or needed one, or not.

“Of his own making.” I blinked furiously out of habit, but for once there were no tears to be shed.Progress,I thought. At long last. “Getting back to the problem at hand, Ethan Cooper can either come and see me or find his way back to Sydney.”

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