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‘I don’t like it.’

Eddy steps closer. He’s just inches away from me now.

‘I’ve been trying to ignore it too,’ I admit. ‘That kiss after the final…’

‘I know, I shouldn’t have done that,’ he says.

‘But I really liked it,’ I tell him. ‘In fact… I wanted more.’

He glances down at my mouth, then back up at my eyes.

‘Really?’ he checks.

‘Mmmhmm,’ I say with a nod.

Neither of us says anything after that. There is no discussion about whether this is sensible, what it means for the job or how two people are supposed to transition from a fake relationship to a real one without a conversation about logistics. Instead, we move at the same time, snapping together, locking lips.

Eddy’s hands wrap around my waist, pulling me towards him. My arms go around his neck as we kiss – properly kiss. It’s a hungry, desperate kiss – the kind that builds up over time. He pushes me back against the wall, the showers raining down over both of us. I feel the cool tiles against my back and I lock my legs around his waist. He wants me – he actually wants me – and I want him too.

Rain falls around us from the shower, soaking my dress through within seconds. My hair is drenched too, but I don’t care.

Eddy’s hands tighten at my waist, as though now he’s got his hands on me, he’s unwilling to let me go. I kiss him back like my life depends on it.

It’s like we’re making up for lost time. Every moment we dismissed. Every time he looked at me and I convinced myself I had imagined it. I wish I could go back and kiss him each time I thought about it, but it doesn’t matter now we’re here – exactly where we should be.

Everything about it feels right, which is as terrifying as it is hot, because very little in my life has felt right lately. Everything has felt either fake or fragile – but this feels right.

There’s definitely no turning back now.

23

We arrive back at the hotel and, genuinely, it looks like we swam here. We’re both wet – although Eddy’s clothes are dry, at least.

My dress and my hair are still soaking, despite the warm sun, and my make-up is smudged beyond repair.

Eddy has dry joggers on – that’s all – because once again he has to give me something of his to wear. I’ve got his grass-stained vest over my dress, but it isn’t doing much to stop me looking like I just got hit by a tidal wave. To be honest, I feel like I just got hit by a tidal wave, not only emotionally, but physically too, because oh my God. It’s like he takes all of his power and skill from the field and channels it into a whole other skill set.

On paper, I feel like things should be awkward now, but they’re not. They feel great. I feel like I’ve finally got something that I’ve wanted for the longest time, and I’m on a high. Every few seconds I just look at him and think about exactly what happened.

After weeks and weeks of pretending, we’ve finally owned up to what was real – pretty much all of it.

Eddy’s hand brushes against mine as we cross the lobby. We look like swamp creatures – me more than him – but we don’t care. I am beginning to think we might reach the lifts without seeing anyone, which would be great, but when the doors open, Jamie steps out.

He is wearing shorts, a white polo shirt and trainers – he looks like maybe he’s going out somewhere. He’s looking at his phone at first, but eventually he glances up and sees us.

He glances back and forth between us, trying to figure out what he’s looking at, Eddy shirtless, both of us soaking wet, holding hands, looking kind of sus all of a sudden.

‘You’re wet,’ he says.

‘Yeah, we got caught in the rain,’ I blurt, before I think it through.

‘It didn’t rain,’ he replies.

‘Did it not?’ Eddy asks, trying to stifle a laugh. ‘It did where we were.’

Jamie isn’t stupid, he can tell that something is up – he already thought we were a couple but, now that Eddy and I have admitted it to each other, it’s like there’s this glow around us.

Whatever he thinks it is, he can see something in Eddy’s face. Probably in mine too.