Page 60 of The Hellion and the Captain
“You don’t understand,” Rhys said. “For I care for her too.”
“I know you do,” she said, looking at him. “But I’mworried that you will decide you are not worthy of her and will make a stupid decision that will only hurt both of you.”
Her words hit a little too close, for they were not too far from what he had thought before.
“All I ask is that if you go forward with her, make sure that you are all in, that you are not going to change your mind or decide that it’s not right. That will only be worse for both of you, and I care about each of you. Especially Emmaline. No offense to you.”
“None taken,” he said, knowing how close the women were.
“Now, you are here because I know that you will support Emmaline,” she said, a smile dancing on her lips now as she glanced over at him. “Truth be told, it’s the only reason I am here. This would not exactly be my first choice of pastime.”
Rhys realized, then, just what they were doing here. It all made sense – the dress, the clearing… Emmaline.
“Do me one favor?” Lily asked, looking back at him.
“Of course.”
“Stay hidden until the end so that Emmaline isn’t distracted. But this should answer all your questions about what has kept her so busy.”
“Very well,” he said, settling in.
If nothing else, this should be interesting.
Chapter Twenty
“That’s it!” Emmaline called out, trying to be encouraging, but she was biting her lip to prevent her true emotions from emerging.
After months of playing and training with a team of men she had to work to keep up with, she now had a better understanding of how Rhys likely felt when he worked with her.
The women on the field before her had enthusiasm but lacked… well, everything else, for the most part.
A few had some promise, while others, such as Lily, were there solely to support her and bolster her numbers.
She loved them for this, as she knew there were an untold number of activities they would much rather be doing. But she wasn’t quite sure what to do with them.
Rhys. If only he could be here, helping her. He would know what to do, how to encourage them, just as he had with her and always did with the rest of the team.
It had taken all of her will to step back and away from him, but what choice did she have? If suspicions were placed upon the two of them, she couldn’t let him take any fall for her. The club and his job were everything to him. He hadworked so hard for it all, and for any question to land upon him for a risk she had taken that he had never asked for wasn’t fair.
So, she had drawn away from him.
And missed him so fiercely that it hurt.
Emmaline watched the women attempt to pass and dribble as she ran down the field alongside them, annoyed by the encumbrance of her skirts, despite wearing a dress with a short hem and more durable material.
She had just reached the area at the end of the field — the very trees where Rhys had always decided was her finish line when they practiced — when she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Was someone there?
“Lily,” she called out to her friend, who was bent over, hands on her knees as she breathed heavily, “someone is watching us.”
Instead of holding concern as Emmaline expected, a look of guilt flashed across Lily’s expression.
“Lily,” Emmaline said sternly, hands on her hips as she studied her friend, “what did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” Lily said defensively, “except, perhaps, allow him to follow us.”
Emmaline’s heart leapt into her throat. It couldn’t be... could it?
But then she remembered that this practice was supposed to have been kept secret.
