Free Punt: A British Bad Boy Football Romance by Vivian Wood

Failing that, he’d go for a steak.
    Sushi was definitely low on his list of favorite foods, but that wasn’t why he was here.
    “Hey,” Jack said, nudging Liam. “Look, it’s Audrey and her girlfriends.”
    “What do you know?” Liam asked, pretending surprise.
    Of course, he wasn’t surprised. He’d planned this, knowing exactly how it would go. Knowing that if he brought Jack and a few other players, Audrey’s girlfriends would pressure her into inviting them over to share a table.
    “Damn, that girl Britta’s here, too. We should go say hi.”
    “Don’t want to seem rude,” Liam agreed.
    “Is that the soccer guy?” he heard someone say as he and Jack walked over to the private area where Audrey and her friends were laughing and sipping sake.
    Audrey glanced over. Her eyes went wide when she caught sight of him, followed by an immediate glare.
    Yeah, that seems about right , Liam thought. Audrey had iced him out for the past three days, barely speaking to him past the bare necessities.
    Like it was his fault that she’d kissed him back on the balcony, his fault that she’d been every bit as turned on as he was. If it weren’t for an ill-timed interruption, Liam was pretty sure he would have found some way to get her out of that jaw-dropping dress.
    And Audrey would have loved every second of it, if he had. Even now, the sparks she was throwing, it was just more of her wildness coming out.
    She simply didn’t know it yet.
    Liam couldn’t fucking wait to show her, though. She was going to be bloody spectacular in bed, no doubt of it.
    “Audrey! Hey!” Jack jumped in, clearing Liam’s path for him. “This is a nice surprise, huh?”
    Audrey rose and came around to hug her brother, glaring at Liam over Jack’s shoulder. “Yeah, imagine that. How fortuitous.”
    “Uhhh… okay,” Jack said, picking up on her sarcasm but not grasping the meaning of it. “Look, I’m here with a bunch of the guys. Is it cool if we get this big table next to y’alls?”
    Audrey’s lips thinned, but then her friends started to stand up and chime in.
    “Yeah, Aud, let them come hang with us!”
    “Guys, let’s pull the tables together!”
    “Someone get a server, we’re going to need more drinks!”
    Two of Audrey’s friends came right over to Liam, introducing themselves and chatting with him. “Sit with us!”
    Audrey looked like she was about to die of spite, which in turn made Liam grin at her. When she huffed and went back to her seat, Liam was careful to get himself a place right next to her.
    Everyone settled in, chatting happily. Liam had intentionally picked five of the best-looking single guys on the team to accompany him and Jack to dinner, just to make sure he’d have plenty of time to chat with Audrey.
    He couldn’t help but laugh. Audrey’s friends kept shooting her wide-eyed glances, disbelieving at their luck. And Jack already had his arm around the pretty little blonde, the one he’d called Britta.
    Which was good, since Jack had dumped the girl from the other night. On the way over to the restaurant, Jack told Liam he was thinking of asking Audrey to move back in…
    And that simply would not do. Now that she’d started settling into his house, Liam didn’t want her to leave.
    Who would keep fresh juice in his fridge? Who would he catch standing in her pajamas at midnight, drinking wine out of the bottle in the kitchen?
    She’d even unpacked all his things into the new furniture that kept arriving. She was as efficient as she was alluring, though she didn’t seem aware of either. Her prim attitude seemed to clash with her sexy body, which kept him on his toes, kept him curious to see what she’d do next.
    She was a riddle wrapped in pretty paper, on top of the fact that she was managing his affairs quite well.
    Over his dead body would Liam let this assistant go.
    “What are you doing here?” Audrey asked, leaning over to whisper in his ear.
    “Careful, sweetheart, or people are