Losing Game: A Winning Ace Novel (Book 2)

by Tracie Delaney

  Natalia didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to him. “When do we leave?”

  He brought her trembling hands to his lips and kissed first one, then the other. “Tonight.”

  Natalia nodded and got to her feet. She gathered the dishes together as Emmalee scrambled out of her chair and followed her to the sink.

  “I’m sorry, babes,” she said, rubbing Natalia’s arm. “Really, I am.”

  Natalia wrenched her shoulder upwards, and Emmalee’s arm fell to her side. Natalia spoke over her shoulder. “Can you both give us a minute?”

  Cash nodded and cocked his head at Rupe. “We’ll be outside.”

  Although the decision to fly to Ireland immediately had been impulsive, Cash knew it was the right one. Natalia hadn’t shared what she’d said to Emmalee, but given the grim expression on her face when she’d joined him outside, he was thankful Emmalee had been on the receiving end of her wrath rather than him.

  As the plane descended, his stomach churned, and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

  “Almost there, ace.”

  He briefly smiled at the nickname and gripped her hand as the plane sank another few hundred feet.

  “Fuck,” he gritted out as his stomach rolled. He squeezed her so tightly she winced. “How close?”

  She glanced out of the window. “Two thousand feet max. Won’t be long now.”

  He didn’t let go of her hand throughout the rest of the descent, although he did loosen his grip. After about ten minutes, the wheels touched down. As the captain throttled back, the engines screamed, and the momentum threw him forward slightly in his seat.

  “Maybe we should get you on one of those fear-of-flying courses.”

  “Done ’em,” he gritted out. “Did fuck all for me.”

  As soon as the captain switched off the seatbelt sign, Cash bounded from his seat. He never could wait to get off planes, although at least he didn’t have to suffer commercial airlines. Trying to cope with other passengers at the same time as his fear of flying? Urgh. The thought made him shudder.

  Patrick, a driver he occasionally used when Isaac wasn’t around, was waiting at the bottom of the steps as they descended. The driver was okay, but he didn’t know Cash nearly as well as Isaac did. Talked shit a bit too much for Cash’s liking. Isaac always managed to tune in to Cash’s moods and act accordingly, whereas Patrick seemed to have only one mood—too fucking happy.

  “Mr Gallagher,” he enthused. “Great to see you, sir.” His gaze fell on Natalia and lingered. “Miss,” he finally said.

  Cash set his jaw. “If you’ve finished staring rather inappropriately at my girlfriend, Patrick, perhaps you can put the bags in the car.”

  Patrick’s face reddened, and he muttered, “My apologies, sir,” before grabbing the bags.

  Cash seized Natalia’s arm as she glared at him, her eyes full of reproach. After they’d climbed into the car, Cash slammed the door and immediately put up the privacy screen.

  “Was there any need to embarrass him like that?” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

  “Yes, there was. And next time, if there is such a thing, he’ll know his fucking place.”

  Natalia cast him a withering gaze and turned to stare out of the window, her shoulders set in disapproval. Cash let out a soft sigh. Maybe he had been a little rude to Patrick, but he couldn’t help the surge of jealousy whenever anyone looked at Natalia, especially the way Patrick had. Cash was the only person allowed to look at her like that.

  He switched on his phone, and it immediately pinged with an incoming text from Emmalee. He swiped the screen, and his eyebrows shot up as he read her message:

  Cash, I’m sorry my big mouth made you both leave so soon. Tally’s forgiven you, and if she can, then so can I. Friends? Em xx

  P.S. Tally’s bloody mad at me. Can you use some of your famous charm and calm her down a bit?

  P.P.S. Rupe is an absolute card. I love him.

  Cash began to laugh.

  Natalia glanced over at him, her face still set with exasperation. “Who’s that?”

  “Emmalee.” He showed her his phone, and despite her annoyance, she chuckled when she read the texts.

  “I had a feeling those two would get along. Peas in a pod.”

  “Yeah,” Cash said. “Or pains in the arse.”

  “I didn’t exactly hold back before,” she said with a grimace. “Em’s intentions are good, but sometimes she treats me like I’m five.”

  “She loves you,” he said with a shrug, typing out a quick text in return. “I’ve told her she’s forgiven, and she’s welcome to keep Rupe.”

  “I’ll call her tomorrow.”

  Cash knitted their fingers together. “Am I forgiven too?”

  Her mouth creased in thought. “You can be very cutting at times. The poor man didn’t know what to do with himself.”

  “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”

  She let out a sigh. “Are you going to embarrass every man who glances my way?”

  “Yes.”

  Her lips twitched. “What am I going to do with you?”

  Cash grinned. “Not sure, sweetness. But regardless, you’re stuck with me.”

  When they reached home, Cash helped Natalia out of the car. Patrick kept his gaze well averted. Cash dismissed him with a curt nod, grabbed their bags, and opened the front door.

  “Tired?”

  Natalia nodded, yawning on cue. It was already past midnight, and a fun night had turned rather quickly into an unexpectedly stressful one. Cash dropped their bags in the hallway.

  “We can unpack tomorrow,” he said. “Let’s go to bed.”

  They trudged upstairs, and Cash flicked on the bedside lamps as Natalia wandered over to the window. She stared into the blackness, her shoulders bowed in defeat.

  He followed her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You okay, babe?”

  She sighed softly. “I’ve had better evenings.”

  He rested his chin on her shoulder. “I don’t like it when you’re sad.”

  She twisted in his arms. “I’m not sad. I just don’t like arguing with my best friend.”

  He bent his head and brushed his lips over hers, desire spreading through his chest when she kissed him back.

  “Your pace, Natalia,” he murmured against her cool lips, which were chilled from the night air. “You decide.”

  She stepped away and, holding his hands, backed towards the bed. “If only every decision was as easy.”

  10

  When Tally woke the next morning, it took her a few seconds to remember where she was. She rolled onto her side and squinted. Cash was lying beside her, one arm flung over his head, fast asleep.

  That’s right—I’m at home.

  Her eyes opened wide. Home? Is that what I really think? She flopped onto her back and shifted her gaze to the ceiling. Her mind turned over and over. As much as she’d told Cash she wanted to take things slowly, her insistence was because she thought she should, rather than being what she actually wanted. Now that they were back together, she realised she didn’t want to take things slowly. She wanted to rush headlong into the unknown with all the worry and risk and excitement that would bring.

  Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she scanned the room for her stuff before remembering Cash had left the bags downstairs the previous night. She wandered into his dressing room and threw on one of his shirts. She loved wearing Cash’s clothes. They made her feel even closer to him than she already felt. She sniffed the sleeve, savouring Cash’s unique scent, which reminded her of thyme mixed with citrus fruit. When she walked back into the bedroom, he still hadn’t woken, so she decided to go downstairs and grab a coffee.

  Cash’s kitchen was exactly as she remembered—large but welcoming. Tally put the kettle on and began opening cupboards. On the fifth attempt, she found a jar of instant coffee. She put a couple of heaped spoonfuls into two mugs and grabbed milk from the fridge. She was midpour when a l
ight tap on the kitchen door made her spin around, spilling the milk in the process.

  “Shit,” she said, glancing around for something to mop it up with.

  “Here, allow me.” A woman in her early sixties with short, greying hair wandered over to the far side of the kitchen and removed a few sheets of kitchen paper off a stand. She bent down and mopped up the spillage.

  “You must be Anna. Cash’s housekeeper.”

  “I am,” Anna said, speaking in the same warm Irish lilt as Cash. She had kind eyes and a homely face. She smiled and held out her hand. “And you must be Natalia.”

  “Tally, please,” she said, shaking Anna’s hand. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here. Otherwise, I’d have dressed more appropriately.” She shifted from one foot to another, tugging on the tails of Cash’s shirt.

  “Not at all,” Anna said as she crossed to the waste bin and tossed the milk-soaked paper towel inside. “I’m the one who’s intruding. Can I get you anything?”

  “No. I’m only making coffee, then I’ll be out of your way.”

  Tally couldn’t help feeling self-conscious. She’d never been around staff and didn’t know how to behave. She willed the kettle to boil faster as Anna busied herself around the kitchen.

  As Tally set off with two mugs of coffee, Anna smiled brightly. “Shall I make breakfast for you and Cash?”

  Tally mumbled something about him not being awake yet and shot out of the room.

  When she nudged the bedroom door open with her hip, Cash was lying on his side, his palm holding his head up. He gave a slow, sexy smile that made her knees tremble.

  “Morning, baby.” He raked her with his gaze. “Nice outfit.”

  “I’ve met Anna,” Tally said in a reproachful tone. “You could have warned me she’d be here.”

  “And where’s the fun in that?” He waited for her to put the mugs down before snagging her around the waist. He pulled her horizontally across his body, and she giggled as he covered her face and neck in kisses. “I never get sick of seeing you in my clothes. It’s almost as good as seeing you out of yours.”

  “Well, if Anna wasn’t here, I might parade around like this all day.” She slowly trailed her toe up and down his leg.

  “In that case, I’ll send her packing.”

  She chuckled. “What do you have planned for us today?” she said, knowing lazing around doing nothing wasn’t Cash’s style.

  He tilted his head to one side. “I thought we might go and visit Mum.”

  Tally inhaled quickly. Although visiting Cash’s mum was the sole reason they’d come to Ireland the night before, she hadn’t expected him to suggest doing it quite so soon. Nerves gripped her insides, and her palms became clammy. What would she find to say to a woman she didn’t know—and who’d been in a coma for almost thirteen years?

  “Are you sure?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Totally. Let’s find out if she approves,” he said with a wink.

  Cash’s attempt at a joke did nothing to calm her down, and she must have been wearing her fear on her face because he clipped her under the chin.

  “Stop worrying. She’ll love you like everyone else does.”

  “Kinga didn’t,” Tally said with a grimace.

  “Don’t put me in a bad mood by mentioning that woman,” Cash said, his brows knitted together in a deep frown.

  “Have you heard from her at all?”

  He shook his head, his lips pressed into a firm line. “Lucky for her.”

  Tally shuddered. Cash could be fearsome when crossed, and now that he’d shared the story of his violent childhood, she completely understood his reaction to Kinga hitting her.

  “Come on,” Cash said, bounding out of bed. “Let’s get ready, and then you can meet the only woman, apart from you and Anna, that I give a shit about.”

  A modern red-brick house came into view, familiar only because of the photographs of Cash kissing Gracie. Tally’s teeth repetitively grazed her bottom lip until Cash cradled her chin, stopping her. “You worry too much.”

  He helped her out of the car, his arm comfortingly around her waist. They walked towards the front door, but before they got there, Gracie appeared.

  “Hi,” she said with an affectionate sweep of her hand down Cash’s arm. “Someone is going to be happy to see you.” She turned to Tally and smiled. “You must be Natalia. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to meet you.”

  Tally glanced out of the corner of her eye at Cash and tilted her head. He caught her confused look and shrugged.

  “You too,” she said, shaking Gracie’s outstretched hand.

  “How is she?” Cash asked.

  “Making improvements every day. She continues to astound her doctors. Your mother has the most immense strength, Cash. Come and see for yourself.”

  Cash’s hand was warm and steady at the base of Tally’s back as he ushered her through the door.

  Tally bit back her surprise at the normalcy of the house. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but as they walked down the hallway, she spotted a large kitchen, a living room, and a fully kitted-out office. And at the back, overlooking a pretty garden with colourful borders and a neat lawn, was a bedroom that would have fit right in with an exclusive private hospital.

  Over by the window, half-sitting up in a bed with guardrails on either side, lay Cash’s mum. She must have heard them as soon as they entered, because she twisted her head, her eyes shining as her gaze fell first on Cash and then on Tally.

  “At last,” she said, her voice stronger and more assured than Tally had expected. She lifted her hand off the bed in a half-wave, and Cash inhaled sharply.

  “She couldn’t do that last time I visited,” he whispered.

  Tally squeezed his arm as tears pricked at her eyes. She’d assumed visiting Cash’s mum would be quite emotional but hadn’t been prepared for the intensity of it.

  Cash pulled a couple of chairs close to the bedside and nodded for her to sit. He reached over and kissed his mum on the cheek. “Mum, this is Natalia. My girlfriend.” The pride in his voice as he introduced her made Tally’s heart soar.

  “Hi, Mrs Gallagher.”

  “Rachael,” she said. “Mrs Gallagher makes me feel about a hundred.”

  Cash glanced over at Tally. “I’m sure Mum wants to hear all about you. I’ll leave you two to have a chat, and I’ll grab a couple of coffees.”

  “That would be nice,” Rachael said.

  Tally gave Cash a hard stare as a wave of panic gripped her, but he simply clasped her shoulder and then left the room.

  “It’s awful, isn’t it, meeting parents for the first time?” Rachael said, gracing her with one of the most sincere smiles Tally had ever seen.

  “Yes, it is.”

  Rachael patted her hand. “Don’t be nervous. Tell me how you two met. Cash has mentioned but not in any detail. Men,” she added with a roll of her eyes.

  Tally laughed, instantly relaxing under Rachael’s warm gaze. “I’m a journalist, and I was asked to cover an event Cash was holding as a fundraiser for his foundation. Well, ‘asked’ is a bit of a lie. I begged my editor to let me do it. I knew Cash hated journalists, so I used my press pass to gain entry. Once inside, I hid it in my bag.”

  Rachael chuckled. “I like your creativity.”

  “When he found out… well, let’s just say he made his feelings clear. But he forgave me in the end, and here we are.”

  Rachael nodded sagely. “Do you like being a journalist?”

  “Yes. It’s all I ever wanted to be growing up, although”—she shrugged—“I’m not so sure it’s as important to me as it once was.”

  Rachael squeezed her hand. “It’s crucial to have something other than a man in your life. I can tell you love my son, but don’t make your relationship with him the centre of your universe.” Her eyes lost focus for a moment, then she shook her head. “I did that. It was a mistake.”

  Tally chewed the inside of
her cheek, unsure how to respond. “Meeting Cash is the best thing that has ever happened to me, but I studied hard for too long to ever give up journalism.”

  “Good,” Rachael said.

  “I do love him, though. I want you to know that.”

  Rachael’s whole expression softened. “He’s easy to love.”

  “He is. Complex, and difficult to get close to, but once you dig beneath the face he shows the world, he’s one of the warmest and most caring people I know.” She cracked a smile. “He has a fearsome temper, though.”

  “He was the same as a boy. He’d get these flashes of frustration, usually when he was trying to do something he was having trouble mastering, but they never lasted long.”

  Tally kept quiet. Cash’s temper was more than flashes of frustration. The boy Rachael had known must have been different from the man he became, and Tally wouldn’t have been surprised if the guilt he felt had a lot to do with his anger issues.

  “He never stops talking about you when he visits or calls. I think my boy’s in love,” Rachael said.

  A warm glow spread through Tally’s limbs, making her skin tingle deliciously. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

  Rachael pushed herself a little more upright, waving Tally away as she stood to help. “So tell me about your family.”

  Tally held back a wince. “My dad died when I was sixteen. Cancer.”

  “Oh, that’s terrible. That must have been very difficult to deal with at such a young age.”

  She nodded. “I still miss him.”

  “And what about your mum?”

  Tally clamped down on the usual flood of pain her mother’s abandonment caused. “She walked out on me when I was four,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Rachael covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

  She shrugged. “It’s old news. It was harder on my father than me, I think. I don’t remember her at all.”

  “How are my two favourite ladies getting along?” Cash’s timely appearance stopped the conversation from taking a melancholy turn. He handed a cup of coffee to Tally.

  “Famously,” Rachael said.