From beside me, Aiden’s coach, Duncan Dunham—or Dun for short—let out a loud whoop. He high-fived Mike, who stood next to him, and then me, followed by the rest of the team. With Dun’s blonde hair and blue eyes, it was easy to see the family resemblance with his niece, Isabelle. She’d been the one to introduce Aiden to her uncle last January after he’d mentioned needing a new coach. So far, Dun was doing a great job. And thankfully, Aiden’s dad had agreed to stop coaching him and had since moved on to training kids at a tennis academy.
“Congratulations, Aiden.” The male interviewer’s voice boomed over the microphone. “You’ve officially made it past the first round of the Australian Open. How do you feel?”
“I feel great, thanks,” Aiden said.
“That’s good to know. A straight-sets win for you is a brilliant start to this Grand Slam. But I think we’re also interested in who’s sitting in your player’s box today. Specifically, your girlfriend?”
“Ah. I was wondering when you were going to ask about that.” Aiden rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, that’s her.”
I resisted cringing at the interviewer’s nosy line of questioning. Instead, I schooled my face into the perfect picture of passivity. Thank goodness my sunglasses gave me extra cover too. I was slowly growing used to the random stares whenever someone happened to recognise Aiden in public. But inside a tennis arena? That was like another level of attention.
“I know you’re really secretive when it comes to your personal life,” the interviewer said, “so what made you decide to bring her today?”
Could this interviewer get any nosier?
Aiden chuckled. “I didn’t decide anything. The decision was all hers, not that it was easy. She didn’t want any attention, actually. But now that she’s got it…” He turned to face me in his player’s box. “Thank you for being here and supporting me, Sere.” He paused and tilted his head up, his lips pressed together. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Everyone should know that I’ve only continued to play tennis to this day because of your support.”
Oh. My. Gosh.
My face heated up like an oven. I bit the inside of my cheek in a poor attempt to keep a straight face. The last thing I wanted was the media capturing live footage of me getting cheesed-out by my boyfriend’s sweetness.
I managed to contain my emotions well—until Aiden continued.
“That’s why I want to celebrate you being here. So for every ace I hit during the Australian Open, I’m going to donate one thousand dollars to Gifts of Gold, a charity that’s close to your heart.”
I quickly cupped a hand over my gaping mouth. What in the world? He hadn’t mentioned this to me at all.
Applause echoed throughout the arena, pounding heavily in my ears. The sound still followed me when I left, my heart thumping wildly along with it as I made my way to meet Aiden.
I quickened my pace as soon as I caught sight of him.
A smile lit up his face. “Did you like the surprise?” He slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me close.
A strong whiff of his deodorant filled my nostrils. “Yes! I can’t believe you did that.”
“I’m glad I did.”
I reached up to tap his nose. “But you’ve got such a good serve. I wouldn’t be surprised if you hit more than ten aces in some matches.” He’d already hit eight in this match alone.
“That’s fine.” He grinned. “I’m living my life with no regrets.”
“Ha ha. Smarty-pants.” Using my own mantra against me.
His grin widened before his expression slowly softened as he stared at me.
I held his unwavering gaze. “What are you thinking about?”
The green flecks in his eyes twinkled. “Serendipity.”
Wait. Serendipity as in me, or serendipity as in something good that happened by chance?
Before I could press him further, he bent down to kiss me.
I kissed him back, putting all my love for him, for how he made me feel, into the kiss.
When we finally broke apart, he leaned in to nuzzle me. “And what are you thinking about?” he whispered.
What was I thinking about? How could I put it into words?
I rested my cheek against Aiden’s chest. His heart thudded, steady and solid. My own heart filled with an overwhelming rush of happiness. “I’m thinking that I’m glad I took the chance.”
And from now on, despite everything unknown in my future, I would take each and every chance that came my way.
Afterword
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Acknowledgements
It’s funny how things don’t always go as planned. When I first plotted this book, it was only meant to be a novella written as practice for my writing. But somewhere along the way, it grew into something bigger and better. It was definitely a journey to get to the finish line, but I’m so glad I stuck to it. However, this wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of people.
To my parents—thank you always for your love and support.
To my aunty, Biyi—thank you for being the original number one fan of my writing. I will always remember your excitement at reading my very first fantasy stories.
To Eric—thank you for your endless support and for reading the chapters of this book as I wrote them. You were able to reassure me that my ideas weren’t too crazy and that people out there would actually want to read them.
To my beta readers—Kirsty, Leslie, Liana, Linda, Melissa, Patricia and Rachelle. Thank you all for volunteering to read my book and for taking the time to give me so much valuable feedback. This book became so much better because of all your help.
And to you, dear reader—thank you for buying my book and reading it.
Chances for Serendipity Page 25