Let Me Love You (Australian Sports Star Series Book 2) by Iris Blobel Page A

back up. Trying to sit up straight as possible, he glared at his coach. “No disrespect here, Coach, but fuck off. May I remind you it was you who sent her with me to the hospital? She was kind enough to come for a quick visit to check how I was. It shows a lot about her good manners and her upbringing, don’t you think?”
    Erik held his glare, his jaw tight with obvious frustration. “Why did she leave in such a huff?” he asked through gritted teeth.
    Oliver slouched back into the couch again.
    “Oliver?”
    “Ty’s grandma was here, about to move in for two weeks to care for me. I told her a fib saying Tamara had already agreed to do just that.” He let out a long sigh, before he continued. “How was I supposed to know she was going to turn up on the doorstep? Hazel thanked her, and she was a bit flustered. Kind of took it the wrong way.” Oliver shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not really sure why.”
    His coach was quiet for a moment.
    “She was very upset after taking you to the hospital. My fault, and I apologise,” Erik finally said.
    With a nod, Oliver replied, “She told me about Jason.”
    Erik looked at him.
    With a shrug Oliver explained, “I told you, there was a moment or two at the hospital. I have a feeling she came to explain.”
    “She’s a great girl—” He hesitated. “But not for you.”
    Oliver moved on the couch to find a more comfortable position. “For Christ’s sake. I get it, okay?”
    “Mate, you’re both fighting demons from the past, but you each do it in different ways. Since the car accident, when Erin died, you’ve consumed women. Once you’re getting too close, you leave, scared you could hurt them as well.”
    Erin!
    Everything inside Oliver stilled. His lungs constricted, and his heartbeat became erratic.
    “Get out,” he said through gritted teeth.
    “Oliver!”
    “Leave,” he repeated as he reached for his crutches to stand up. He felt nauseous, needed some water.
    There was no reason to remind him of his stupidity years earlier when he’d driven his car into a tree after an unnecessary overtaking manoeuvre. One miscalculation, an error in judgment as he’d sped down a hill that had left his mother without useful legs, spending her life in a wheelchair now.
    And Erin, his girlfriend at the time, had died instantly.
    Life for him had been hell since. The first few visits to his mother after the accident, he’d cried every time he’d seen her, not sure what to feel, or how to act. She’d accepted her predicament with so much dignity, determined to adjust to a life in a wheelchair.
    Meeting Erin’s family had been his lowest point in life. He’d avoided talking to them at the funeral, uncomfortable with himself. Uncomfortable with the situation. He hated himself for having been such a coward.
    His friends had been his steady rock. Without them, he wouldn’t have made it through. Tyson and Markus had temporarily moved in to keep him from reaching for the bottle.
    The other rock had been his coach. He’d been the one he’d been able to rely on, the one who listened when he had to vent or make decisions. But most of all, he’d been there for him to guide him through those difficult times.
    Closing his eyes, Oliver thought about Erik’s words. Had he been keeping women at arm’s length? He’d thought he could bury some of his hurt while with them, but instead his pain grew and he’d moved on.
    He didn’t want to hurt as well, or start something he’d definitely regret later on.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    The next morning, Tamara woke with her body soaked in sweat and hair sticking to her face. The clock on her bedside table read it was nearly five in the morning. She groaned as she untangled herself from the sheets. Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, but instantly stilled when the pain behind her eyes intensified so much she could barely move without being overcome by nausea. Her hand trembled as she