“Yo Minnie Mouse!” Frankie said when he answered the phone. “How is my little sister on this fine evening?” Mia rolled her eyes. “Fine.” “What do you need, princess? I’m just getting ready to go out.” Mia huffed out a breath. “I need a favor,” she said. “Can I meet you at the pub? I’m just headed to Ma’s to drop my washing off, can I meet you after?” “Sure. See you soon.”“Minnie Mouse!” Frankie cried as he walked into the pub and saw her sitting in their regular booth. It wasn’t one of the fancy gastropubs that were popping up all over the place. It was an old place that had been the regular haunt of the Carrs through the generations. Frankie waved to a few of the regulars sitting at the bar and called to Rachel behind the bar. “I’ll have a Carlton Dry.” She nodded and Frankie made his way over to where Mia waited nervously nursing a Raspberry Vodka Cruiser. “So what’s up?” He asked, sliding into the seat opposite her. “I need a favor,” she said. “It’s for work.” Fr
“They’re here,” Taylor, one of the editorial assistants, said, sticking her head in Liam’s office. “Carter wants you in the conference room.” Liam nodded and pushed up from his desk. He felt like shit. He’d barely slept and the very last thing he wanted was to deal with Carter and this stupid competition. Mia was at her desk as he stormed out of his office. “Come on,” he said to her over his shoulder. “Carter wants us.” Mia scrambled after him but he didn’t shorten his stride. It was better if she stayed behind him. He couldn’t smell her shampoo or body lotion or perfume or whatever it was that triggered those sensory memories and tied him all up in knots. Carter was standing at the head of the conference table and two men stood on either side of it, staring each other down. One of them he recognized—Darius Fucking Carathurs in all his tattooed footballer glory—and the other one looked familiar, but Liam couldn’t place him. Carter looked like the fucking cat who swallowed the
Frankie shifted beside Liam. “Speak like that about my sister again, arsehole. Go on. Do it. I’ve been looking for an excuse to throat-punch you since you came to the Cougars. I won’t even feel bad about it if it means you’re out for the season. In fact, me and my brothers would throw a fucking party. So go on, just do it again.” “Fuck off,” Darius said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away. “I’m back,” Mia said, coming into the room with a tray. “I grabbed us some coffee and there was a cheesecake in the kitchen—” Darius paled and Liam grinned. Maybe Mia would be just fine, but he and Frankie would be watching just in case. The conference room was completely glass and everyone could see—if not hear—what was going on. She would be safe with the footballer and he and Frankie wouldn’t be far away. “Come on Frankie,” Liam said. “Let’s get this over and done with.”Mia took a seat at the conference table and invited Darius to join her. He sat in the chair she indicate
“What do you even know about me or football? You’re just a chick.” “Maybe, but I’ve been watching the Cougars play since I was born. I grew up in a household who have been a fan for generations. I know you’re a talented footballer and your stats are off the charts. Cheese and rice! That mark you took in the fourth quarter against the Nomads was pure gold. But it doesn’t matter how good you are because everyone thinks you are an a-hole. You could be the best forward to have ever lived but you will never get the respect and admiration of the fans unless you get your marshmallows together and start acting like a grown-up.” They stared at one another for a moment before Darius sunk back into his chair. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s get on with it then.”“You going to deal with that?” Frankie asked as they walked away from the conference room. “Deal with what?” Liam asked. “That fucker. You’re going to make sure he doesn’t touch my sister, right?” “Yeah,” Liam said. His gut was churnin
It was a few days later and the first day of the style-off and Liam was pretty sure he was going kill Mia’s brother before the day was done. The guy had an opinion about everything and it very rarely lined up with what Liam wanted. Right now Frankie was complaining about the fit of the jeans Liam picked out for him. He had a long and convoluted opinion on the downfall of the denim industry over the years. According to Frankie, skinny jeans had been the ‘jumping-the-shark’ episode for all the jean companies, not that Liam was trying to get Frankie into a pair of skinny jeans. But according to Frankie, the cut of a good pair of jeans had never been the same since the insane ‘skinny jeans’ trend. “Just put the fucking jeans on and let me have a look at them,” Liam growled. They were in one of the photographic studios on the floor above The Playbook offices. Liam had gotten racks of clothing delivered from some of the local stores so he could find Frankie’s first look for the blog. Th
“I suppose these are alright,” Frankie eventually said. “Not a fan of the dark color or the button fly, but they could be worse.” “Believe me, the button fly will win you over. There’s no chance of getting your dick caught.” “Yeah, but it takes so long to undo them and do them up again.” “Not so much,” Liam replied. “To get them undone, just unbutton the top couple and pull the fly apart and the buttons will come undone quicker than a zipper.” “Yeah?” Liam nodded. “Try it when you get changed. I want to see the other pair on you too.” “Fine,” Frankie said, moving back into the changing room. “So if you’re here with me, where’s Mia and that Darius fucker?” “She’s with him doing the same thing I’m doing with you.” Frankie grunted and then came out to show Liam the second pair of pants. They were chinos this time, a mustard color and more of a slim fit than Frankie was used to. “I look like some hipster try-hard,” he said, pointing at himself in the mirror. “Next I’ll b
Darius coughed out a laugh and then winced. “What? What did you call my dick?” “Um…twig and berries?” Cheese and biscuits, she could feel her face flaming with embarrassment. “Honey, this is definitely not a twig,” he said, cupping his…package. “If it’s going to be compared to anything in nature then it would be one of those massive big redwood trees that are so huge you need a group of people to link hands just to surround it.” Mia looked away. The last thing she needed to be thinking about was what Darius was packing in his pants. Thinking about it would only lead her to think about Liam’s…dangly bits, although they hadn’t really been dangly the last time she saw them. “Do they fit?” she asked, not game to look at him in case he was still cupping his bits. “They fit, they just…they’re not really me, you know?” “It’s just because you’re used to wearing shorts or sweats all the time,” she replied. “Not true. I wear suits too. These just don’t feel ri
When he lifted his arm, she got an eyeful of his happy trail and turned away, blushing. “I like it,” she replied, turning back to hand him a black vest. He held it up between two fingers and narrowed his eyes at her. “You want me to wear this?” “Yeah,” she replied. “It finishes the outfit.” He pulled it on, still glaring at her, before turning to look at himself in the mirror. “I look ridiculous,” he said. “You look great,” Mia said. A burst of laughter made her swing around. Liam and Frankie stood in the doorway. Frankie was bent at the waist laughing his butt off. “Oh god, Minnie Mouse,” he said through his laughter. “I needed a good laugh today. Thanks for that Princess.” “Um, Mia?” Liam said, looking between Mia and Darius. “Are you sure you really want to go with that look?” Mia looked back at Darius who stood with his fists clenched at his sides and a murderous look on his face. “Shiitake-mother-fluffing-mushrooms,” Mia muttered.