I lurch myself at Oliver and wrap my arms around his neck, careful not to mess his man bun. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me, and knowing Harry is going to be okay.”
Oliver pats my back. “It’s fine, Mace. He’ll be fine here with us. We’ll look out for him.”
I ride the happiness high for the next two hours, and when Oliver closes Lombardi’s at eight for my farewell, the smile hasn’t left my face.
“You think she’d be sad she’s leaving us…” Oliver says to Dad, “… but she won’t stop smiling.”
“I am sad I’m leaving,” I butt in. I rest my head on my dad’s shoulder, and he pats my back.
“You’re going to miss everyone, my girl, like we’ll miss you. But the change will be good for you.”
“I told her she has a job here anytime if she’s ever back on a visit,” Oliver tells Dad. He holds out his hand for Dad’s empty beer glass.
“Just one more,” Dad says and hands it to him. He turns to me. “Because it’s a special occasion.”
Georgia walks over with her wine glass and loops her arm over my shoulder. “Don’t expect me to say g-goodbye because it’s not.” Her voice cracks mid-sentence.
“I know.”
“I want only the best for you… anyway. I’ll come visit every chance I get.”
I give her a warm smile. “You better.”
“And you better check out the best nightclubs.” She takes my empty wine glass to refill.
Shit. Tonight is going to be tougher than I imagined.
Reef waltzes through the door with Hunter, Brody, Davidson, Liam, and Marcus, who all squish me with hugs. Oliver loads their hands with beer glasses.
Reef waits until last to give me the strongest of hugs. “How you holding up?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“We trust you to take care of our wingman,” Hunter says, bumping us apart. “We’re going to miss you both.”
“I’ll see you on the field soon enough, brother.” Reef clinks his glass with Hunter’s. “See how you feel about me then.”
They chuckle, and his other friends push him in the shoulder in banter until he stumbles. “Hey, hey,” he says, balancing his beer and doesn’t spill a drop.
He’s going to miss his teammates. To the point, he mentioned only to me that he might return to play in Adelaide again one day because it also feels like home.
“Hold up.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone and grins at the screen. “Hey,” he answers. “I’m handing you over to her.” Reef hands it to me on loudspeaker.
“Hello.”
“Macy, sweet cheeks.”
I smile at Reef. “Hey, Chance. How are you?”
“I’ll be better when you get your sexy ass to Melbourne so I can hang out with you.”
“Oi,” Reef interrupts.
Chance chuckles. “Knew he’d be listening. Seriously, Mace, I wish you all the best. Enjoy your night, and I’ll see you in Melbourne in a couple of weeks.”
“Thank you. How’s your knee? Are you back in the team?”
“Training my arse off. Not quite ready, but hopefully after Christmas, I’ll get my shot.”
“I’m crossing everything for you. I already have your guernsey and badges on a scarf.”
Chance lets out a hearty laugh. “Tell me you have more of my merchandise than Reef’s?”
“Maybe I do—”
“Because you send it to her,” Reef says loud enough for Chance to hear.
Chance chuckles again. “See you soon, Mace.”
No sooner do I give Reef back the phone than he tings a knife against his beer glass to gain everyone’s attention. “Firstly, I want to thank you all for coming to have farewell drinks with Macy. I’m sorry I’m taking her from you…” he nods to my father, “… but I promise it’s not forever. I’ve promised her father I’ll bring her home when we are married.”
I gape at him and hold up a bare ring finger.
“Put a ring on it,” Hunter shouts, and Reef raises his glass in response.
“Something I won’t be doing in front of an audience, especially you bastards, no offence. Mr Reynolds… you’ll be the first to know.” Reef smiles at my dad, lowers his gaze, and dips his chin. He peers up at me with pink cheeks. God, I love this man. “I’m excited to start a new phase of my life in Melbourne with Macy…” he holds my gaze mid-sentence, “… but before we leave, I have a surprise. Macy, can you come here?”
This is not like Reef. I make my way to his side. “What are you doing?” I whisper.
Reef wraps his strong arm around my waist and pulls me closer to his side, kisses the top of my head. “I asked Macy to finish a week earlier than planned because I’d already booked our flights to Paris. So, I want to thank Oliver for approving her leave.”
Everyone has a chuckle, but my mouth is still open, comprehending.
“Paris?” I murmur.
His hand reassuringly squeezes my side. He turns away from our small audience and looks down right into my eyes as though we’re the only ones in the room. “With your father and Bernadette. We’re all flying business class… it’s better for your dad,” he says in a lowered voice.
I turn to Dad, and he smiles warmly and nods. Tears welling, I turn back to Reef. “You’re amazing and so damn secretive.” I poke his stomach—a hard wall of muscle.
Reef pulls me into his arms and kisses me hard, not caring about the cheering around us.
“Why Paris?” I ask when we come up for air.
“The city of love? Thought it was an obvious choice.”
Seventeen Months Later
We pass each other in the ladies’ room.
I don’t look her way, and she barely gives a sideways glance.
I expected nothing more, and I’m relieved not to have to speak to her.
Part of me is sad my own mother has chosen this path, and we’ll never be friends.
I don’t have time to dwell for the walls echo with cheers and screams of excitement. Electricity buzzes in the stands above, and I rush to get back to my seat. The line to the restroom was long and it stole valuable time from Reef’s game.
A grand final.
A dream come true.
They’ll win as the game is almost over, and his team is up by ten goals.
Regardless, I want to enjoy every minute and share in his dream.
Dad sits beside me, along with his wife, Bernadette. They were married in Paris, and I’ve never seen Dad happier. Reef had booked flights every six weeks for them to watch him play. Chance managed tickets to the occasional soccer game for him, so he is living a sports fan’s dream.
I take my seat between Dad and Chance. Georgia sits on the other side of Chance.
“What took you?” Chance asks.
“A bloody long queue.”
Georgia leans forward and mouths, “Are you okay?”
I nod, mouthing back, “I’ll tell you later.”
She frowns at me before settling into her seat.
“He kicked another goal,” Dad quips.