Page 32 of The Game

"I didn't say I went to a specialist."

"You didn't need to."

He frowned like he hated me being able to guess him right. I could see why his two marriages had ended in divorce. Living with a man who was never wrong must be unbearable.

"Did you see a specialist about your knees?" His words were softer, his northern drawl blurring the syllables until they lilted like a lullaby.

"Yes," I returned but my response was too quick and my blush too bright. "How do you know about my injuries?

"I'm captain of the team, it's my business to know everything about everyone." He searched my face for a long moment before saying, "Rotator cuff damage."

I sighed, breathing out and finding myself ducking away from the scrutiny of his intense gaze by popping the tomato sauce back in the cupboard. "Well, that's not too bad. With physio, it can be worked on, and the stiffness lessened."

There was a deafening pause.

"It started two years ago."

My face froze into a frown. "But it should have been treated."

He shrugged in response.

"You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Another shrug.

"Have you torn them?"

Another shrug.

I sighed. "Listen, Willis, I don't know how much I can help. I can work with your general fitness, and build stamina and flexibility, but I'm not a physio, and I'm definitely not a doctor."

He shook his head slowly. "I just need to practice, somewhere that I won't be seen while I work on the damage that's all." His face creased and his hands fell loosely to his sides. "There are just people watching everywhere, all the time."

I knew this. Jase Willis' personal life had filled more print space than any other player in the cricketing profession. There was something about him that screamed celebrity, not just sports star, and the papers were always trailing a story. Hence when he got caught out with a hooker, it made it onto the front pages: broadsheets not just the dailies.

"Come on, let’s go and play catch with Sammy."

"Catch?" he asked but I pulled on his arm and yanked him out of the back door, my hand sparking as it landed on the warm skin of his arm.

"Wait, don't I need to get changed?"

"How sweaty do you think playing catch is going to be?" I grinned at him as I jogged backwards over the grass.

He glanced at Sammy over my shoulder. "I don't know, he looks like a Duracell Bunny."

I laughed, taken aback by how natural the sound came out in response to his words. "Oh, that he is."

We played a simple game of catch, the Lion taking his throws easy and rotating his arm before and after each attempt. I tried my hardest to make him miss a ball, but I never succeeded. Sammy was in seventh heaven and just ran around grinning, throwing a whole heap of pie shots. Jasper got the catch of the night when he landed in the pond, tennis ball in mouth.

When the light was fading, and the Lion mentioned that I needed to have flood lights installed, I called it a night and sent Sammy in for a bath.

I walked the Lion to his parked SUV.

"Thank you," he said with a curt nod of the head.

"No problem, Willis."

His eyes flashed. "See you at work, Rivers."