Darts of excitement made the hairs stand up on the back of Tally’s arms as she waited for Cash to appear on court. The buzz in the crowd was a low hum that, no doubt, would rise to a crescendo in a few minutes. Tally sat on the edge of her seat and bounced her legs. She sensed Kinga’s icy stare on the back of her neck. Kinga was spoiling for a fight, but Tally wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. Intense jealousy made her want to turn around and scratch Kinga’s eyes out for daring to lay a finger on Cash, but the more sensible part of her knew that would be a mistake. The press had pointed their cameras at her and left them there since she’d sat down a few minutes earlier, and she would never embarrass Cash by smacking his agent in front of all those photographers, much as it would give her huge satisfaction to do so.
Her phone vibrated, and she smiled at the ID. She swiped at the screen.
Hope all goes well today, babes. Love you xxx
God, she missed Emmalee. Although dreading this week ending, at the same time, she couldn’t wait for a proper catch-up with her best friend. She sent a quick reply, tucked her phone back in her pocket, and glanced at her watch. Two minutes until the players were due on court. The hum from the crowd increased, and fans pointed their cameras toward where the players would appear. Tally fidgeted in her seat until Brad leaned across Jamie, placed his hand on top of hers, and squeezed her fingers.
“You’re doing great,” he whispered. “Particularly for someone not used to being in the spotlight.”
She glanced nervously at the row of photographers courtside. Some of them still had their cameras trained on her, while the rest pointed them in the same direction as the crowd was facing.
As Cash walked onto court for his first-round match, the crowd burst into cheers. Her heart jumped up into her throat. Dressed in his customary black, he moved with poise and grace, a sight she’d never tired of in ten years of watching him play. He waved to the crowd as he sauntered over to his bench.
He dropped two heavy bags on the floor and took a swig of pink-coloured water. His gaze found Tally’s, and she smiled tentatively, the fluttering in her belly increasing when he winked.
“That boy has it bad,” Jamie said, giving her arm a quick nudge with his elbow.
Kinga coughed loudly, no doubt for Tally’s benefit.
Tally glanced over her shoulder before leaning towards Jamie. “Same for me.”
Kinga rested both her hands on Tally’s shoulders, and Tally winced when she squeezed hard. “Enjoy it while you can,” she hissed in her ear. “Eventually, he’ll realise you’re just not woman enough for him.”
Tally glanced at Jamie to see if he’d heard, but he was deep in conversation with Brad. Even though Kinga’s words stung, Tally twisted in her seat and met her cool gaze with one equally cool.
“Your hollow warnings are getting awfully boring, Kinga,” she said in a low voice with a hint of confidence she didn’t feel. “A bit like you. No wonder Cash keeps turning you down.”
The air whistled through Kinga’s teeth as she sucked in a breath. “You little bitch.”
Tally pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh, the match is about to start. Don’t go embarrassing yourself yet, Kinga. Save that for your next unrequited pass at my boyfriend.”
With a small, satisfied smile, Tally shuffled around in her seat. Em would have been so proud, and Tally was damn proud of herself at that moment. She glanced down at the court. Cash was looking up into the players’ box, a frown marring his handsome face. Realising he must have seen the exchange between Kinga and herself, Tally gave him a bright smile and blew him a kiss. Her reassurance worked, because the frown disappeared, replaced with what looked like relief. He, too, blew her a kiss, and the photographers went crazy, the bulbs flashing so rapidly she was momentarily blinded.
As play got underway, it was evident the crowd was fully behind one player, and Tally began to feel a little sorry for Cash’s opponent, a wildcard entry who was clearly out of his depth. Cash won the first set six–one in a little over twenty-five minutes, and at the fifty-one-minute mark, he served an ace to take the second six–two. The audience got to their feet and applauded loudly as the players walked off court.
“Come on, Tally,” Brad said, taking hold of her hand. “Let’s go see our boy.”
She shuffled past a few interested onlookers, their curious murmurings reaching her ears, and followed Brad inside. He led her down a narrow corridor, stopping outside a royal-blue door. Inside was an overstuffed sofa, a wing-backed chair, a coffee machine and water cooler in the corner, and a heavy oak table in the centre.
“You can wait in here while I go and fetch him. He thought you’d be more comfortable here than in the players’ lounge,” Brad said.
Tally settled into the chair and used the time to send a quick text to Em and Pete, telling them about the result. About five minutes had passed when the door opened, and she looked up with a smile. And then her smile fell. “What do you want?”
Kinga glided inside and clicked the door shut. “I don’t think we finished our little conversation before.”
“Really,” Tally said, her heart galloping. “I said everything I wanted to, thanks.”
“Well, I didn’t,” Kinga replied, planting both hands on the arm of the chair and looming over Tally. “So you are going to shut up and let me finish.”
Tally held back an overwhelming urge to swallow. She was not going to let Kinga intimidate her, so she fixed a bored look on her face and expelled a curt breath. “Okay, let’s hear it. Because you know as well as I do that at any moment, Cash will walk through that door. And how he reacts when he gets here is up to you. When we were in Paris, you told me you were the most important woman in his life. Well, sweetheart, you’d better move aside because there’s a new favourite in town, and in case you were wondering, it ain’t you.”
Kinga glared, her eyes unblinking. She didn’t move from her bent-over position, although her face coloured up.
“Wonderful,” Tally said, pushing herself upright. “Well, if that’s it…”
“Sit the fuck down.” Kinga slammed her hand hard against Tally’s chest, and she fell awkwardly, her wrist twisting painfully as she tried to save herself. Tally massaged her wrist, and the sharp pain receded.
“You have no idea who you’re messing with. Cash is mine. Mine.”
“He isn’t yours,” Tally said, and then, in an attempt to diffuse the situation she added softly, “You know Cash. He doesn’t belong to anyone.”
With a derisory snort, she turned away, allowing Tally to finally stand up. Kinga crossed over to the water cooler. She grabbed a paper cup and filled it. “I’ve waited patiently for that boy to turn into a man,” she said, her hands shaking as she clung onto the cup of water. “I watched as he screwed his way through hundreds of women from here to Australia. I kept quiet, smiled and supported him, because I knew my time would come. And then you waltz into his life with your fat thighs and big tits and fuck up eight years of careful planning.”
“I haven’t fucked anything up, Kinga,” Tally said, keeping her voice firm but quiet. “He doesn’t want you. I’m sorry, but that has nothing to do with me.”
Kinga’s eyes widened, and she threw the cup at the wall. Water pooled on the floor.
“Nothing to do with you?” She sneered, and then her face crumpled. “I love him.”
Tally blew out a breath and crossed over to Kinga, gently rubbing her arm. “Do you really want to waste your time loving someone who doesn’t love you back?”
Kinga wrenched her shoulder upwards, pure venom blasting out of her eyes. “I can make him love me. When you’re out of the picture, he will.”
“But he didn’t love you before I came along.”
“You don’t know anything about my relationship with Cash,” Kinga snapped.
“I know everything,” Tally said, her patience with the conversation wearing thin. “He’s told me how you can’t seem to take no for an answer. That you keep trying it on despite him rejecting you over and over. Sounds more like obsession than love to me.”
Tally caught sight of Kinga’s swinging fist a little too late. She couldn’t duck in time, and as Kinga’s fist made contact, pain exploded in her cheek and her legs buckled. She crumpled to the floor.