Sweet Spot Read Free Page A

away a little. I supposed I couldn’t blame her—if I’d been
within a hair’s breadth of a major title and then lost, I wouldn’t want people
banging on about it either.
    But then, it was a party—if she’d really wanted to avoid
people, she probably shouldn’t have come. She must have had her reasons for
attending—pressure from Austin possibly. Not in a spiteful way, of course—he
just wasn’t that kind of guy. But he wouldn’t have wanted her to hide away in
her room being miserable, I was sure of it.
    “Here you go.” The cute-if-you-like-that-sort-of-thing
barman returned with our drinks and I thanked him before grabbing them and
heading toward Nadia. I felt his gaze on me as I walked away.
    “Hey,” I said when I reached her, holding out the glass. She
took it quickly and I noticed she’d finished the other drink. Wow—seemed as
though she was downing the booze as much as I was. But then, we both had our
grounds for needing it that night.
    “Thanks. I don’t normally drink this much—hardly anything,
actually—but it’s been a bit of a shitty day.”
    “Yeah, I hear ya.” That was the moment when I decided to
abandon my plan. I couldn’t do it, no way. And not because I’d chickened out
either, but because of Nadia’s “shitty day” as she’d so bluntly put it. How
could I lumber her with something like my feelings for her when she was having
such a tough time? Even if she returned them she wasn’t in the right frame of
mind to talk sex and relationships, I was sure. No, what she needed was a good
old-fashioned fun night, no complications.
    My plan would go on the back burner for a more suitable
time. Given that she was going to be around at least until the Australian Open
I had bags of it.
    By now the room had filled up and I could see that things
were really getting started. The whole team—players, coaches, support staff and
more from the academy were now here. Except for… Oh no, there they were—Travis
Connolly and Marie Sherratt, over in the corner by Austin’s table. They were
both grinning from ear to ear as someone I suspected was one of Travis’
sponsors talked to them. Probably discussing their good news. Not imparting
it—everyone in the world knew about it by now.
    I shuddered. Ugh. As happy as I was for the two of
them I wouldn’t want my personal business out in the open like that. Sure,
proposing right there and then had been romantic but imagine if she’d said no!
Or if things fell apart between them. It was now common knowledge to any person
on the planet who owned a TV or a radio or had internet access. God, they were
probably trending on Twitter. His US Open win alone would have set those wheels
in motion but coupled with the impromptu proposal…the Fail Whale had probably
made an appearance.
    “Right,” I said, more loudly and emphatically than I’d
intended, startling Nadia. Now it was her turn to slosh her drink over her
hand. She gave me a sheepish look.
    “Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to make you jump. But I’ve got an
excellent plan. One that will turn your shitty day into an excellent one.”
    She raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
    “It’s simple but effective, I promise you. And very British.
It’s called ‘drowning your sorrows’.”
    “I think I’m familiar with the concept. And I’m all for it.
Great plan, V.”
    Holding up my glass, I mentally applauded myself for my
genius. The idea could have other benefits too—like maybe sending us into the
drunken stupors so often associated with spilling secrets. We’d know each
other’s deepest, darkest thoughts—maybe—and emerge from the other side of this
party better friends than ever. Or maybe even more than that. “Cheers.”
    Taking my cue, Nadia clinked her glass against mine and we
beamed at each other before slurping down our respective drinks.
    “Hey, V,” Nadia said a few seconds later. “Mine are obvious
but what are your sorrows?”
    Just before I replied a slightly