my parents used to have. In one split second, she assessed me with unguarded caginess. Are you a friend or a foe? That was what I saw in her eyes, with her arm around her younger sister.
Lia looked over, and the brilliant smile on her face swept away just a bit of my awful day.
"Hi," she said. "Rough game. I'm sorry."
If Isabel hadn't been there, I would've wrapped my arms around her to take whatever comfort she may have given me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that like the guard dog on my parents farm, she'd rip my arm off if I made the wrong move.
I attempted a smile. "Can't win them all, right?" Lia gave me a curious look, then slipped her arm around my waist. I sighed, kissing the top of her head. I'd missed her smell, missed the feel of her next to me over the past couple of weeks. My hand found her belly. "My how you've grown."
She pinched my side. "Thanks for pointing it out." She turned, gesturing behind her. "This is my sister, Isabel. Isabel, this is Jude McAllister."
I held out my hand, which she shook firmly. "Welcome to England, Isabel. I'm sorry we couldn't have given you a better match today."
Her smile was small, but her eyes had lost that initial wariness. "Can't win them all, like you said. Besides, it was a good match for the Spurs fans, right?"
I rubbed the spot on my chest over my heart. "I hope you're not describing yourself. I can't take it."
She laughed. "No. I'm a fan of sports, honestly. Any time I can see someone compete doing something they love, that's what I'm a fan of."
"A testament to your upbringing, no doubt. Unsurprising that you'd elevate the athlete over the team."
Isabel hummed, sharing a look with her sister. "Athletes are just normal people …"
"Who do abnormal jobs," finished Lia.
I raised an eyebrow.
Lia grinned. "Something drilled into our heads growing up so we didn't place athletes on a pedestal. Because when they mess up, and they will, you know they have bad days just like the rest of the world."
"Very smart," I said. "I know I said you could plan dinner wherever you wanted after this, but do you mind terribly if we stop by Lewis's pub after we leave? He asked if we would. Said he had something for us."
"Of course, we don't mind." Lia took my hand as we started walking, explaining who Lewis was to her sister.
"We're all going to be one big happy family now, right?" Isabel asked. "Might as well meet him now."
My head snapped in her direction because I couldn't tell if she was being serious or if she was baiting me. But from the look on her face, she meant it, which meant Lia probably hadn't told her about our stop at my parents' farm.
“You don’t need to ride with the team back to the hotel?” Lia asked.
I shook my head. “Cleared it with my manager because of Isabel visiting.”
She smiled widely, and after my day, it was one small, sweet relief that I could still do that.
"Did you take the Tube out here?" I asked, holding the door open for them as we made our way to get a black taxi. Lia nodded. "Wasn't too bad."
"I love the whole mind the gap thing," Isabel said, sliding into the back seat. "I swear, in America, it would be like, don't fall on your frickin’ face, and if you do, no one will help you up."
I laughed for what felt like the first time all day. "That can't be true."
She shrugged. "Maybe it's a slight exaggeration, but I do think Brits are more friendly than we are back home. To tourists at least. Even when they're trash-talking the Shorthorns, they're so pleasant."
I glanced sideways, and her face held a Cheshire cat grin. Lia nudged me with her elbow. "Ignore her. She's testing you because she's obnoxious."
Their teasing was so natural. And the entire drive to my brother's pub, it was bizarre to bear witness to how easy their interactions were. They had inside jokes. They laughed at each other and at themselves so effortlessly. They spoke of their family, of holidays, of watching games together. How Isabel flipped a table once when she lost a seven-hour-long match of Monopoly to their nine-year-old nephew. It was a glimpse into how our child would be raised, and it dug like a burr underneath my skin.
When it was just me and Lia