Finn sprang to his feet and cupped his hands around his mouth as he cheered. He’d plonked himself on his father’s lap at the start of the game, but he’d actually spent more time standing and cheering than sitting, especially after Cole had confided he was here specifically to check Ronan out for Griff King.
Finn had been team Ronan ever since, and he was now yelling himself hoarse as the player in question ran like a bat out of hell down the field, leaving everyone to eat his dust as he ran the ball over the line.
Finn turned to Cole and said, “Try!” and they high-fived.
Cole grinned at Finn’s enthusiasm and correct use of the lingo. Thanks to the clinic he’d run last week—god, was it only last week?—an explanation of the rules and terms had not been required, although Tad had asked some questions, to which Cole had responded.
“He is so good, Cole,” Finn said, excitement shining in his eyes.
Ronan Dempsey was very good. Gifted, in fact, especially considering he’d only started playing officially two years ago, at the age of twenty-three. But he’d come far in that time and was a true pleasure to watch. Griffin King had definitely made the right call.
If they could get him. Because there had to be scouts circling.
But Cole could bring to the table what rugby in the States couldn’t—serious money. Professional rugby players in the U.S. got paid a fraction of what they were paid elsewhere in the world, including Australia, and that was a big deal. Of course, money didn’t matter to some. They didn’t want to make such a dramatic move, and they wanted to play on their home soil. And Cole totally got that.
But there was no denying the career opportunities for rugby players outside of the U.S. were immense—including, probably more importantly than the money, some of the best coaches. Like Griffin King. And it’d be a real coup for the Sydney Smoke and Australian rugby as a whole to have Ronan Dempsey in their ranks.
If he wanted to jump ship.
Which was all a very good distraction for Cole, giving him something to think about other than how this day had not panned out the way he’d imagined. He’d been looking forward to showing Jane and Finn the sport that was as much a part of him as the air he breathed.
Looking forward to it—not dreading it.
Not dreading his first rugby game since the accident. That in itself was a revelation.
But now there was this third party ruining his vision, and it totally blew. He’d imagined Finn would be sitting on his lap, or Jane’s, at least. And he’d be sitting next to them, the woman and little boy who had come to mean so much in such a short space of time. Now he was sitting on one side of Tad, and Jane was on the other, and he had no idea if she was having a good time or even paying attention.
She seemed to be clapping at the right moments and appropriately excited when Finn looked to her for encouragement, but he itched to be closer. He wanted to put his arm around her, smile at her, and explain the play as it unfolded. Hold her hand. Stroke her nape. Buy her a beer and a hot dog. Lick ketchup off her mouth. Lean in and tell her how sexy she looked with her hair down and in that navy V-neck T-shirt with tough as nails emblazoned across the front.
Not that he could do those things without Tad here, either, because of Finn, but he wanted to, because she was—sexy and tough as nails—juggling everything the way she did and prioritizing her kid over everything else. Cole could tell Tad turning up unannounced had royally pissed her off. They may have only known each other for two weeks, but he knew every single nuance of her body, and she had not been happy.
Not that Finn or anyone else looking in from the outside—possibly even Tad himself, had she not taken him aside for a word—would be able to tell. She laughed and joked around with Tad and encouraged interaction and conversation between Finn and his father with apparent ease.
The woman was wasted in the renovation industry when she could have been a star player in the diplomatic corp.
It was obvious she wanted Finn and his father to have a good relationship. And he admired the hell out of her for