Cash positioned a chair close to the middle of the court and made sure Tally was comfortable before heading back over to Brad and Jamie, who’d taken up residence at the far side of the court. Thank God they seemed to like her. All that worry had turned out to be unfounded. Brad’s comment for her to keep doing what she was doing seemed a little odd. She hoped to get a chance to ask what he’d meant.

Cash picked out a couple of rackets, tested the tension by hitting one against the other, and carefully placed one back in the bag before getting to work. She’d never seen a practice session before, and watching Cash was fascinating. Engrossed, she didn’t notice Kinga pulling up a chair beside her until she heard a delicate cough.

“Oh, hi,” Tally said, one eye on Cash to see if he’d noticed Kinga had arrived. No such luck. He and Brad had their heads together in discussion, their backs to her.

“Hello,” Kinga said, her voice clipped and unfriendly. She dug a compact mirror out of her purse and proceeded to apply a glossy red lipstick, the sort of colour Tally would love to wear but knew she could never pull off, even though Em had confidently loaded her Rotterdam make-up bag with those kinds of shades.

“I suppose you expect me to apologise for this morning,” Kinga said.

“You’re entitled to your opinion.”

Kinga cast her a withering look, and Tally forced her face to remain impassive. She had no doubt Kinga’s tongue was as sharp as the designer suit she was wearing, and while Emmalee would absolutely hold her own, Tally never had been quick when it came to a sharp retort, always thinking of the right thing to say about half an hour too late.

“Yes, I am,” Kinga said. “And I stand by what I said. You won’t last. None of them ever do, and you’re not even his type. Cash prefers his women a little more…” She looked Tally up and down and smirked. “Lean.”

Tally held back a wince at Kinga’s nasty remark. She did not need Kinga pointing out her ample curves. Heat rushed to her face, and she glanced over at Cash. He’d stopped talking to Brad and was now staring at her and Kinga. After a slight pause, he propped up his racket against the back fence and sauntered over.

As he reached them, Kinga stood and clasped his upper arms, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Tally couldn’t help the scowl, nor the stab of jealousy, as she watched Kinga possessively touch Cash.

“Cash, darling, don’t let us interrupt your practice session. Natalia and I are getting along famously.”

Tally’s scowl deepened at Kinga’s barefaced lie. She certainly was a hard-nosed cow.

“Natalia?”

As Cash said her name, she lifted her head and, smoothing her forehead, gave him a bright smile. “Everything’s okay. Like Kinga said, don’t interrupt your session. Go on. I’m fine.”

He frowned, glancing between the two of them. Then he bent down, gave her a hard kiss along with an equally hard stare, and walked back towards Brad and Jamie.

“Well,” Kinga said, “I’m surprised. I’d expect someone like you to bleat like a lamb.”

Tally’s stomach churned. Conflict wasn’t something she excelled at, but she had no choice if she was going to stand a chance of handling Kinga. She shifted in her seat and tried for Cash’s tough look.

“Contrary to your low opinion of me, I’m not only discreet but also loyal. You’re clearly important to Cash, and as such, I’ll refrain from telling him about the vile things you’ve said to me because that would hurt him.”

“Yes, you’re very discreet,” Kinga said with a sickly sweet smile. “So discreet that you took the personal details Cash was stupid enough to let slip and plastered them all over that rag you work for.”

Tally leaned closer in. “That was before I knew Cash. I was only doing my job. You’ve made it pretty clear you don’t like me, but know this: if you continue to push me, you’ll find out I can more than hold my own.”

Kinga’s lips pressed into a thin line, but before she could respond, Tally leapt up and headed over to where Cash was preparing to start playing again. His eyes narrowed as she hovered next to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, reaching up for a quick kiss. “Just wanted a closer look.”

He grinned and tugged her in front of him, pushing the racket into her hand. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

She tried to wriggle out of his grasp. “Cash, no. I can’t play.”

“Sure you can. I’ll lead. Brad,” he said, cocking his head. “Set the machine up.”

Brad jogged to the far end of the court and fiddled with a machine that looked like a water pistol anchored to a barrow full of tennis balls.

“Ready?” Brad shouted.

“Yep. Let ’em rip.” Cash held her close, his hands covering hers on the racket. The first ball came at them so quickly Tally barely saw it, but Cash did, and they took a swing. The ball landed perfectly on the right side of the deuce court before another one headed their way. One after another, the balls were pelted at them, and as they hit every one back over the net, Tally started to enjoy herself.

“I can play,” she said gleefully, knowing full well that Cash was doing all the work.

“See? I told you, baby,” he said, hitting another perfect volley over the net. “You’re a natural.”

She laughed as they took another swing, then another, then another.

“Okay, time out.” She tried to catch her breath. “I’m exhausted.”

Cash dropped the racket. “Can’t have that, sweetness,” he said, bending her into a deep arc before kissing her. “Better crack on. Sooner I’m done here, the sooner I can do you.”

Tally giggled as she wandered back to her seat. Kinga’s expression was so sour Tally almost asked her if she was sucking on a lemon. She gave Kinga a false smile as she sat down.

“Never knew I could play tennis.”

Kinga shot her a withering look, and Tally gave herself an internal high five. She was beginning to learn how to play Kinga, and the woman who’d scared the hell out of her only that morning already seemed easy to annoy rather than a threat.

This was going to be fun.