I Think I Love You (Australian Sports Star Series Book 3)

by Blobel, Iris

  Tyson snorted. “Katie made me go and buy a present, but I told her she can give that to Tamara when she comes over.”

  Markus did the thumbs up sign. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  He grabbed a beer and sat as well and within minutes they talked about the honeymoon, mainly about Tyson’s diving. Oliver updated them on the story behind the engagement, considering that only a few weeks ago, he didn’t even want to hear her name.

  “It just happened. Things fell into place,” he explained.

  Tyson looked at Markus, and they both shared a grin.

  “Saz said something about a job interview in Sydney,” Ty suddenly said.

  Markus took a sip and leaned back into his chair, telling his friends about the meeting he had with the sports TV producers.

  Ty asked, “So no more playing for you?”

  Markus shook his head. “Nah. After twelve months of enjoying life, the chances of getting into a first league club are near zero. You need to stay in the game to be at the top of it.”

  “Do you think TV is for you?”

  He shrugged. “Talking about the game I love is for me. Let’s hope having a mic in front of me doesn’t make a big difference.”

  His friends laughed, probably remembering the many times he tried to explain the rules of soccer like offside, penalty kicks, or free kicks. He joined their laughter as they’d had many discussions about rules in Australian football, soccer, and baseball.

  “So what’s the news with you and Saz?” Ty asked as he checked the time on his watch. “Where is she anyway?”

  Markus leaned back into the chair and dragged his hand through his hair as he said, “I fucked up. Again.”

  There was no laughter from the guys this time, but silence, and when he looked at them, he rolled his eyes at their curious expressions.

  He told them how Sarah had been so reluctant about a relationship, simply because she was afraid of losing him as a friend. Then there was also Rachel, who’d moved in with her. Sarah wanted to help her sister get her feet back on the ground, and she wanted to do it on her own, without help from anyone. Markus kept the fact that he had walked out on her after the first time to himself. He felt bad enough; he didn’t want his friends to give him a hard time for his stupidity.

  “Why is she so afraid of giving it a go?” Tyson asked.

  Markus shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Oliver stood, walked over to the bin, and chucked his bottle inside. On the way back, he started the barbeque and grabbed another beer. “She’s always been our little girl. Whenever she needed help, we were there. She’s sharing two of us now with someone else. Losing Markus by way of a failed relationship would devastate her. Then there’s the fact that her mum and Rachel have always given her a hard time about how much we spoil her. I think she wants to prove something.”

  Markus stared at his friend. It all made sense, but how the hell had Oliver seen all that, and he hadn’t?

  “Well,” he said quietly, avoiding looking at his friends. “We kinda had the relationship sorted.” He took a sip of his beer. “Until this morning that is.”

  “Fucked up again,” Oliver asked with a smile.

  “Fuck off,” Markus replied.

  Tyson slightly punched him against his upper arm. “What happened, mate?”

  Shaking his head, he started to recount what had happened earlier. Sarah picking him up from the airport and spending the afternoon at his place. He told them about Dakota, the sexy new neighbour from next door. Although she hadn’t seemed so sexy anymore that afternoon.

  “When Saz called her a bitch, I freaked and thought she’d turned into one of those possessive girlfriends. Dakota had seemed really nice to me.” He chugged the rest of the beer before he stood. “Hey, she’d just moved her with her little kid. She’s Mrs. Gibson’s granddaughter, so of course I said yes to a dinner. I thought of a dinner next door.” Frowning, he added, “Not taking her out for dinner.”

  “And now?” Tyson asked.

  “Isn’t that the million dollar question?”

  Oliver checked his watch. “Where is she?”

  Markus lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. I’m probably on the black list.”

  They all let out a small chuckle, when Ty grabbed his phone. While Markus disposed of his bottle, Oliver went inside to grab the meat. He heard Ty talking, assumed it was Katie on the other line. Young lovers, he thought, but was surprised when he figured it was Saz on the other end of the line.

  “C’mon, sweetheart. We’re celebrating. It’s not the same without you.”

  Markus’ heart sank. Without you?

  “Can’t you take some pills?” Ty asked.

  With his interest sparked, Markus rushed back and sat down, trying to hear the whole conversation.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, but Ty just shushed him with a wave of his hand.

  “Sweetheart, the man’s here and he’s really sorry. That should help the headache, right?”

  Markus stared at him, not believing what he was hearing. “Zip it, mate, that’s my business,” he whispered, but Ty shushed him again, only this time by turning his back on Markus.

  He was about to kill his friend.

  “No worries…okay…gotcha.”

  And he hung up.

  Oliver came out with the meat when Ty stood. “Pack up the meat. We’re having the barbeque at Sarah’s.”

  “Say what?” Oliver and Markus asked.

  “She’s got a headache, Rachel’s out, and I have a feeling instead of pills, it’s us she needs.”

  Oliver glared at them. “She’s hijacking my celebration?”

  Markus tried hard to hold back a smile, but failed miserably. “Hijack?” Then turned to Ty. “Remind me to connect my fist with your beautiful face later on.”

  Tyson laughed, despite his attempt to ignore him. “C’mon, guys. That headache is fake. I have a feeling she’s sitting in her little house with a bottle of red, because Romeo here—” He nodded towards Markus. “—had his—”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, we’re not all going,” Markus interrupted.

  Oliver turned in silence and headed back into the house.

  The friends looked at each other. “You really think he’s pissed because we’re—”

  “Let’s go then,” Oliver shouted from inside the house, holding up a cooler bag. “Grab the beer and turn off the barbie,” he instructed. “Mark’s car is the last in line so we’re taking his.”

  “I’m not—”

  Tyson clapped him onto his shoulder. “Of course you are.” And flashed him a big grin.

  ***

  Despite telling herself that it was her own fault, Sarah cried all the way home. The whole ten to fifteen minutes replayed over and over in her head, but she wasn’t able to pinpoint where things had gone wrong. Well, she knew that as soon as she’d opened that door things had started to go wrong. Once Dakota had started to be snippy, things had been beyond wrong.

  Admittedly, she’d been snippy as well, but something had snapped inside her when she’d realised the way Markus had looked at her. Like it’d been her fault.

  And now, what she’d been afraid of was happening. A good friendship was over because she wasn’t able to keep her hands off him.

  At home, she took off her shoes and jacket, headed into the lounge room where she saw Rachel’s little note informing her that she’d gone out to attend an information session for her studies. As much as she’d have liked some company, she was glad nobody was home, and she was able to feel miserable in peace and quiet. She grabbed a bottle of red and a glass before she curled up on the couch. Pulling her knitted blanket over herself, she picked up the remote control and flicked through the channels.

  So much for her best intentions not to drink again. Or for her best intentions to not fall for a man again.

  She’d failed so appallingly on both accounts.

  Her phone bu
zzed and adrenaline pumped through her. She checked the ID, relief and disappointment rushing through her when she recognised Tyson’s number.

  Yet, Sarah shouldn’t have answered the phone. As Oliver said the other day, he had a way of making people talk. She stuck with her excuse of having a headache, but wasn’t able to shake the feeling that he saw right through her.

  “Yes, I’m okay. Just a little headache.”

  She was able to hear him shushing one of the other guys, probably Markus. Closing her eyes for a short moment, she tried her best to let the wave of dizziness pass.

  “Honestly,” she said as he kept persisting. “I’m fine…I know…he’ll have a big party and I’ll be there.”

  Sarah hung up and cried again. She missed the guys, and although she felt guilty for not celebrating Oliver’s engagement with the three of them, she knew it was for the better. What would she say anyway? It was obvious, she’d been crying since leaving Markus’ house. Her eyes were puffy, her skin all blotchy red. She’d catch up with Oliver over the week and invite him to a nice dinner.

  Sarah had tried to sound as convincing as possible on the phone, but it’d been Ty she’d been talking to, and there was no kidding him.

  Not that she cared much. After all, she decided it was Markus who was to blame for the situation. And the bitch from next door. Damn, it made her angry just thinking about her. With her fake smile, blinking eyes, red lips. How could he fall for someone like her?

  She was about to start the movie when the doorbell rang. Doing a quick pro and con about whether to open the door or not, she decided to ignore the visitor.

  The doorbell rang again.

  Damn it.

  Then she heard Tyson’s voice and nearly dropped the remote in her hand.

  “Sweetcakes?” Oliver shouted.

  She stood and walked towards the hall. Speechless with surprise to see all three of the guys walking down the hall, she stood there, bottle in one hand, DVD in the other. She stared at them. Ty carrying a cooler bag, Oliver holding the beer, and Markus…Markus looked like he didn’t want to be there.

  Well, join the club, she thought. Neither did she.

  “Sweetcakes, throw on the barbeque,” Oliver said as he held up the bag. “Meat’s in here. Ty reckons your headache’s a fake, so apparently we’re celebrating here.”

  “And—” Tyson added as he lifted an eyebrow towards Markus. “You guys can sort things out.”

  Although desperate to say something, words simply failed her. A lot of things came to mind, for example, that she wanted to be alone, or that she really did have a headache, but most importantly that there wasn’t anything to sort out.

  The headache might have been a stretch, but she was sure that once she was finished with the bottle of red, the headache would come sooner or later.

  And she preferred the headache to sorting out issues.

  Her gaze went to Markus and by the way he avoided looking at her, she assumed he thought along the same way.

  One by one, her friends walked past her, placing a kiss on her cheek.

  “Okay, here’s the deal,” Tyson said. “We set the barbeque on fire, you two talk.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Markus complained.

  His outburst hurt her a little. Had he been forced to come here? She had no intentions talking to him if he was in a lousy mood like this.

  “Rachel around?” Oliver asked.

  Shaking her head, Sarah said, “No.” Surprised she actually still had a voice. “She’s at some information session.” She looked around the corner and into the kitchen to check on the time. “I don’t expect her back for another hour or two.”

  Ty placed his hand around Oliver’s neck and pushed him towards the back of the house.

  When Sarah heard the sound of the backdoor fly screen, she turned to Markus and met his gaze.

  “Baby.”

  She held up her arm.

  “I’m sorry. I was an ass. Big time.”

  Although happy to hear his words, Sarah was suspicious. After all, once bitten, twice shy. And she’d been bitten more than once. She studied him, standing there in front of her, and the expression on his face close to blank. It took all her strength not to touch him, not to throw her arms around his neck.

  “Did the others put you up to this?”

  He frowned. “Up to what?”

  “Apologising.”

  A sudden thin chill hung in the air, and she felt vulnerable as she watched his lips thin and his nostrils flare. “Excuse me?”

  You heard me was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit her lips, instead returning his glare.

  He blew out a breath, and then rubbed his hands over his face. “You met her the other day, didn’t you? She was nice. Okay, she’s sexy as well, but when I agreed to dinner, I had a dinner in mind with Mrs. Gibson and Dakota’s son. Not a date.” Markus moved and leaned his shoulder against the wall. “When you called her a bitch, I was a bit taken aback.”

  When he crossed his arms in front of his chest, Sarah worried he was backing off.

  “Baby, I handled the situation wrong. I’m sorry for that. I am truly sorry.”

  Trying hard not to let her tears win the battle, she blinked a couple of times.

  He pushed away from the wall and stepped closer. Placing his finger under her chin, he tilted her head back up until she met his gaze.

  “How can I convince you that you’re the one I want to be with?”

  Her heart pounded in her throat. Staring into his eyes, she thought she saw his sincerity and regret. She took his hand and moved it away before looking up at the ceiling. Taking a couple of deep breaths, she knew deep inside he wouldn’t lie. She knew she could trust him. After all, she’d trusted him most of her life, with everything.

  “Honest, baby, I mean what I said.”

  She swallowed hard as she met his gaze, confused about her emotions. Hope and confusion spinning around in her head, creating a big mess.

  ***

  Markus saw it in her eyes. She still doubted him. How could he make her believe that he wanted her? He said sorry and really meant it. What else did he have to do to convince her?

  Caressing her cheek with his thumb, he said quietly, “We Italians are big on families, and the funny thing is, when I think of the future, I see you in it. You and me.”

  “Marky.”

  He moved his finger to her lips. “Shh. You, me, little bambini.” She watched him warily as he drew in his lips before he said, “I think I love you, baby.”

  Sarah was too startled by his words to say anything.

  Markus pressed his forehead into hers and brushed her lips with his. “Let me rephrase this. I do love you.”

  His body pounded as he waited for her reply.

  She bit at her lower lip and whispered, “Marky, you’re talking family and babies, yet when one sexy neighbour pops up, things are going haywire.”

  Letting out a long sigh, he nodded. “I learn from my mistakes.”

  The smile on her face gave him some hope, so he continued, “And I rarely make a mistake twice, especially not when I know how much I could lose.”

  Raising her eyebrows, she looked at him questioningly.

  “You,” he whispered. “I don’t want to lose you, baby.”

  Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his friends’ shadows at the back door, which meant he had an audience for this. The more important to get this right.

  Saying the right thing had never been one of his strengths. He realised he was still waiting for her reply, so he ignored his friends and said, “Baby, I did the wrong thing this afternoon, but when I heard the door shut it was like someone had pulled both my legs from underneath me.”

  “Marky,” she whispered.

  Markus felt the helplessness grow within him. “I hurt you.” He drew in a breath. “I hurt you at a time when you needed to trust me the most. I was an idiot, I admit that. But I learn from my mistakes. I love you, Sarah.”

  �
��Damn!”

  He blinked a couple of times.

  “When you call me Sarah, I worry about what I’ve done wrong.”

  He smiled and slid a hand to the nape of her neck. “You haven’t answered me, yet.”

  “Why now?”

  When she met his gaze, he thought he saw every little worry in her eyes. “Because when you lured me into your bed, it was like someone lifted a fog, opened a door, call it what you want…the penny’s dropped.”

  She laughed, and damn he thought it’d been the best thing he’d heard all afternoon. With a thought popping into his mind, he leaned back and crammed one hand into a pocket. He got out his key ring and slowly removed the few keys on it, sliding them through the circle one by one.

  “Marky?”

  “Hold that thought, baby.”

  When the ring was free of keys, he reached for her hand and kissed her palm.

  “I think you’re the most amazing person. You deal with life and everything it throws at you with dignity and a whole lot of humour. You treat everyone the same, and you do the best to help everyone. I want to be part of this world, baby.”

  “I’m not like that. I’m the one you spoil.”

  “Yes, you are all that and I’m not spoiling you, I’m giving back in a way I can. You’ve given me so much more in life. You think the money I gave you is spoiling you?” He choked back a laugh. “It’s nothing compared to the days you held my hand when I needed to make decisions, or staying up in the middle of the night because I was on the other side of the world needing to talk to someone.”

  He heard a collective aww from the backdoor, but ignored them.

  Sliding the key ring onto her finger, he asked, “Will you marry me, baby?”

  “What?” she nearly screamed at the same time as he heard the guys spilling their drinks.

  His whole confidence almost shattered into a thousand pieces. It was nearly the hardest thing he’d ever done.

  “What about your job?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “It’s mostly here in Melbourne, apart from the occasional jobs in Sydney.”

  “But Rachel.”

  “What about her?”

  “I can’t. I promised her—”