laughter faded, surprise dominated and he shook his head. ‘Oh, my poor, confused young friend!’ He grinned again and slapped Will between his shoulderblades. Again. ‘You, dude, are ass-deep in woman trouble. I love it!’
Will was thinking about punching him when he felt Lu’s approach. He looked around when a small hand rested on his bicep.
‘You arranged this, didn’t you?’ Lu asked, tears in her eyes.
God, he did one nice thing and everyone got soppy!
‘Jabu and I had a chat about it. He was bullied at school so he knows what it’s like. The Rays also promote anti-bullying on their website,’ Will replied.
‘Thank you. I’m overwhelmed.’
‘No worries. It was easy enough to do,’ Will said. He caught Mak’s eye and shook his hand, brushed off his gratitude.
It seemed as if a good portion of the school’s pupils were gathered around them when Jabu raised his hand and the crowd quietened. ‘OK—any rugby boys here?’
Hands shot up into the air. ‘Who is your favourite team?’
‘Rays! Rays! Rays!’
The Rays players smiled and after a minute Jabu lifted his hand again. ‘This is Deon. He’s a new boy here today and he’s our number one fan. We need our fans’ support, and sometimes our fans need our support. Deon needs our support today because it’s not easy walking into a new school. So, while we might not be here every minute of every day, we’re going to be looking out for him. And for when we’re not here we’re appointing our own boys to make sure he finds his way around OK.’
Jabu bent down and had a quick discussion with Deon.
‘Eleven-year-old rugby players, step forward!’ he bellowed, and a number of boys belted out of the crowd to stand eagerly in front of Jabu and the rest of the huge players. ‘You show Deon the ropes and we’ll arrange that your team gets to train with us, at our field, once a month for the next three months. Deal?’
‘Deal!’ The piping voices bounced back.
Lu lifted her hand to her heart and looked up at Will with shining eyes. ‘You’d do that?’
‘Apparently Kelby’s been asking Carter to do it as part of a community service programme but he wasn’t prepared to consider it. Old school. The other clubs do it with different schools all the time.’ Will shrugged. ‘It’s for an hour. It’s nothing.’
‘It’s everything to the kids,’ Lu said as the bell rang.
But the children didn’t move. They were too busy jostling for the players’ attention and demanding autographs.
Will grinned when he saw two boys, obviously St Clare rugby players, standing on either side of Deon to protect him from the crowd. ‘I think our work here is done.’
A shrill whistle broke their eye contact and kids and adults all froze as a short, round man bustled down the steps, his face red with what Lu knew was fake annoyance.
‘What is going on here? Why aren’t you in class?’ Mr Klimt roared, but Will saw his face soften as her eyes swept over Deon and his new bodyguards. He placed his hands on his hips. ‘What are these big men doing here? Who are they?’ he demanded, faking displeasure.
A collective groan rose from the crowd. One brave soul eventually dared to answer him. ‘Mr Klimt, they are Rays players! Jabu and Matt.’
‘Really? I thought they were ballerinas! Mr Johnson? Is that you?’ The crowd fell silent as short Mr Klimt looked up—and up—into Matt’s face.
‘Yes, sir.’ Matt over-exaggerated his grimace and some of the kids snorted with suppressed laughter.
‘And what are you doing on Friday afternoon, Mr Johnson?’ The principal demanded.
‘I don’t believe I’m doing anything, Mr Klimt...sir.’
‘Good. If I am not mistaken, I believe you still owe me two hours of detention.’
Later that afternoon Lu was in the players’ lounge, working on her laptop, when she heard low, masculine laughter and Will, Jabu, Matt and Kelby walked in. Everyone but the suited Kelby was now dressed in casual clothes, their hair wet from the shower.
Lu was getting to know their weekly schedule; it was Wednesday, so that meant that after they’d returned to the stadium from St Clare’s they’d spent the morning watching a video analysis of their opposition for the weekend’s game and then they’d hit the field. Full-contact rugby and Will had been in the thick of it.
She could see a scrape on his knee and a bruise forming above his elbow. He did not believe in shouting instructions from the sideline. He put his body on the line practice after practice. And, judging by the satisfaction she could see in his eyes, he loved it. Despite their deal to keep it friendly, he made her heart go flippity-flop every time he sent her that engaging grin, and with the way his eyes heated when they settled on her face. Lu closed her laptop lid as he took the seat opposite her and offered her a taste of his just-opened soda.
Lu took a sip and handed it back. ‘You look like you took a couple of hits on the field.’
Will rubbed his shoulder. ‘I did. Jabu is the human equivalent of a Sherman tank.’
‘Thanks for what you did this morning. Again.’
‘No problem. Again,’ Will answered as the others sat down around them.
Lu greeted them and asked what their plans were for the evening.
Jabu yawned. ‘Nothing more exciting than an early night. Training was brutal this afternoon; Wednesdays are the worst day.’
Will grinned. ‘Whiner.’
Jabu lifted a lazy middle finger and yawned again. Looking over Lu’s head to the television mounted on the wall, he sat up and reached for the remote control on the table in front of him. ‘Hey, Will—your ex is on.’
Unlike the others, who immediately looked at the screen, Lu looked at Will. His face tightened instinctively, his lips thinned and his eyes darkened. Jabu adjusted the volume control and Lu reluctantly looked over her shoulder.
Beautiful. Lean and long, finely muscled. Long blonde hair, big blue eyes, legs that went on for ever. High cheekbones and a quirky mouth completed the package. How and why had Will let her go?
‘Do you mind if we watch it, Will?’ Matt demanded. ‘Your ex is a fox!’
‘Knock yourself out,’ Will replied, looking for all the world as if he didn’t give a damn. Which he so did. She could see it in his flattened mouth, in his tapping finger on the side of his thigh.
They listened to Jo talking about her training schedule, her fitness regime. Lu cast the occasional look at Will and sighed every time. His face was a mask of control, his body seemingly relaxed but his eyes radiating tension
