The packed stadium buzzed with excitement as Tally slid into her allocated seat beside Rupe on the day of the final. Ball boys and girls stood to attention, waiting for the players to appear, and pop music rang out from multiple speakers set up around the periphery. She placed her handbag at her feet and shrugged off her jacket.

Rupe looped his arm casually around her shoulder. “How’s our boy?”

“Antsy and eager to get going.”

“Should be a close match. About time he worked for a living.”

She laughed. “Don’t be mean. He works really hard.”

“Says the woman who is looking through glasses that are so rose tinted I’m surprised she doesn’t keep bumping into things.”

Tally dug Rupe lightly in the ribs, and he grunted.

“She plays rough too. No wonder Cash is obsessed.”

“You’re incorrigible,” she said with a shake of her head.

“But you love me anyway. Not surprising really. I am incredibly loveable.”

She giggled. “I am so going to miss you. Wish I didn’t have to go back to work tomorrow.”

Rupe shrugged. “Then don’t.”

“Easy for you to say, moneybags. I have bills waiting.”

“Screw ’em.”

Tally twisted the cap off a bottle of water and took a sip. “You’re a bad influence.”

“Have you spoken to Cash about going back to work?”

“No. He knows I am, though.”

Rupe cocked his head to one side. “Knowing and accepting are two different things, darling.”

Tally frowned. Cash knew she was going back to work because he was the one who had organised her time off with Pete, and neither of them had discussed anything different since then. Even if they had, it wouldn’t be possible. She had a living to earn and a job she loved.

She shrugged off Rupe’s comments, certain he’d got the wrong end of the stick. “By the way, now I’ve got you alone, I want to ask you something quickly before the others get here.”

Rupe wiggled his eyebrows. “Darling, we shouldn’t. Especially in public.”

Tally giggled. “I’m trying to be serious.”

“Wrong guy for that. I think I’m missing the serious gene.”

“Who’s Gracie?”

Rupe must have been lying when he said he didn’t have the serious gene, because she’d never seen someone switch from lighthearted to deadpan so quickly. His eyes drained of the bright smile he’d been wearing, and his jaw locked in place.

“I’m sorry, Tally, but you need to have this conversation with Cash.”

“So you know?”

“I’m not going to talk about this. It isn’t my place. And if I did, that would probably be the end of my friendship with Cash. As much as I’ve come to love you in the short time we’ve known each other, Cash is the closest thing I have to a brother. I would never betray him.”

She lowered her gaze, picking at some dry skin surrounding her thumbnail. “Is it bad?”

Rupe clipped her under the chin, and she raised her head to face him.

“What has Cash said?” he asked.

“To trust him.”

“Then can’t you do that?”

Before Tally could respond, Brad and Jamie slipped in beside her at the same time as Cash and his opponent walked on court. The crowd applauded loudly, and an excited buzz raced around the stadium. Cash was dressed in his customary black, looking like the dark assassin he was––on court at least. She couldn’t help glancing around in case Kinga had turned up, but there was no sign of her. Cash had point-blank refused to talk about Kinga since he’d sacked her on Monday. The atmosphere was certainly a lot more comfortable without Kinga around.

The match was a closely fought battle, and Cash fell behind for the first time that week. As he dropped behind, he showed absolutely no reaction, seemingly unruffled by being on the back foot.

Tally, on the other hand, found herself holding her breath on every shot. Her legs jiggled up and down, and nervous tension bit at her insides. “He can’t lose. He can’t lose,” she muttered under her breath. She chewed at the skin surrounding her nails until Rupe tugged her hand out of her mouth, but not before she’d drawn blood.

Just as it looked as though the match had slipped away, Cash changed up his game, and with a few outstanding shots, he drew level.

“Yes,” Tally shouted, jumping to her feet.

“He’ll win the next two games now,” Brad whispered in her ear as she sat back down. “Just watch.”

Brad was right. Cash didn’t lose another point and went on to win the championship. He dropped his racket and leapt into the air with a victory punch. Tally clapped so hard her hands ached. Cash tugged off his wristbands and threw them into the crowd. He looked over at her seat and blew her a kiss. Intense pride flushed through her, and her cheeks began to ache from smiling so widely as she celebrated along with the rest of the crowd.

After the presentations were over, Tally slung her jacket over her shoulders. She began to follow Brad. Then Rupe tugged her back.

“Tally, about the work thing. You need to talk to Cash.”

She groaned. “I’d rather talk about the Gracie thing, but I’ll take your advice on that one and let Cash tell me in his own time. Stop trying to cause trouble, Rupert Fox-Whittingham,” she added with a grin to soften her rebuke. “Cash knows I’m going back to work tomorrow.”

She set off after Brad again. Rupe fell into step behind her, and she was certain he muttered, “Don’t be so sure.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said, giving her an innocent stare.

She didn’t know what Rupe was on about, but it was moot anyway. Whatever Rupe thought he knew about Cash’s plans didn’t matter. Her holidays were over, and she was due back in work the next day.

A heavy weight settled on her shoulders. Just a few weeks before, she’d have been chomping at the bit to get back to work, but after spending time with Cash, the thought of going back to a job she adored didn’t seem nearly so appealing.