Page 51 of Pressure Point

Avery froze in place, suddenly feeling like her stomach could fall out of her butt. So much for making a discreet exit. She slowly turned toward the voices, finding the TV turned on and looking like the opening theme to the Brady Bunch, with five distinct floating heads, each in their own little box taking up the screen. Liam twisted on the couch to face her, his look of horror matching hers as the group she assumed was his family looked on with great interest.

“Son, are you going to introduce us?” an older man who looked just like an older version of Liam asked. He was sharing a box with a beautiful blonde woman, who Avery could only assume was Mrs. Daley.

“Mum, Da, everyone, this is Avery,” Liam answered hesitantly, turning back to face the screen. She gave a little dorky wave, still frozen in place.

“Come sit down, love. We won’t bite,” the older man said.

Liam stood up from the couch, stretching his hand out toward her. Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his as she rounded the couch, sitting down next to him, wondering how close was too close. She didn’t need to be giving anyone the wrong idea. Not that she knew what the right idea was at the moment. The heat radiating off of him made her want to curl up under his arm, just as she had last night. She stopped herself though, remembering that they had an audience.

Everyone on the screen smiled at her, her eyes scanning over each one. Other than his parents in the square in the top left hand side, each one was filled with a Daley brother, their features so closely resembling each other it was almost scary. All but one had the same blond hair and blue eyes, as well as the rugged build that Liam did. It was hard to tell from the video, but Avery would have guessed they were all quite tall as well.

“I’m Sean, this is my Michelle,” he continued as Liam’s mom wiggled her fingers in greeting. “And then this is the rest of the Daley clan.”

“Hi,” she choked out, understanding exactly how a deer in headlights must feel.

“Finn is in blue, Ronan is the one who looks like he’s hungover, even though it’s midday in Dundalk, and the ugly sod with dark hair is Connor,” he explained, not letting go of her hand.

“Fuck off,” Connor commented.

“Watch your mouth, young man!” Michelle scolded.

“It’s nice to meet y’all.”

“Oh, would you listen to that accent!” Michelle cooed. “I’ve always thought it was just the sweetest thing. Who was the gentleman who used to visit Gunnar? He’s working with you now too, isn’t he? Britt? I could have listened to him talk forever.”

Michelle’s soft Irish lilt was a lot like her son’s, warm and soothing. In every other way though, Liam looked just like his dad. It was like getting a glimpse of what Liam would look like in thirty years, and Avery had to say, she liked what she saw.

“The team calls him Cowboy, and he’s from Texas, which is its own thing.” Avery laughed. “But I can see how y’all would think we sound similar.”

Silence fell, no one seeming to know how to respond to her statement. Avery could feel the tension simmering around her, and she desperately wished she knew what to say right now. Were they wondering why she was there? Did they know that she and Liam had slept together? Her heart raced the more she thought about it. She knew there was no way they could know, but she still felt as though it was written across her forehead. Like she was Hester Prynne walking around with a scarlet letter. Instead of an A though, hers would have just said “finally got laid.”

“You work for the Rising, yes?” Finn asked, breaking the silence.

“I do, I’m on the medical staff,” Avery answered, trying her hardest not to be weird. She had no idea what Liam had told his family about her. If he had even told his family about her. She couldn’t blame him if he hadn’t. It’s not like she’d called home to her father or brothers going “I made a new friend!” This wasn’t the third grade. “I’m a physical therapist.”

“We were so worried after Liam took that knock to the head during preseason,” Michelle said.

“No, Ma, you were worried,” Connor commented, a slight scowl on his face. Avery bit her lip to try and keep from laughing. Liam was right, he did look grumpy. “The rest of us play the game and know it happens.”

“You don’t really play, you more like stand there,” Ronan joked. “Liam, you should have seen it, Cork’s winger totally faked him out yesterday. Blew right past him, left him standing there like he was waitin’ on the bus.”

“Nice one, Connie, making Quinn work like that. You’re supposed to make the keeper’s job easier, not harder,” Liam tossed out.

Ronan and Finn burst into laughter, as Connor’s brows furrowed and he muttered another curse at them. Liam just shook his head, laughing with them. The whole family seemed to have an easy way about them, a camaraderie that only a close-knit group could have. She could easily see how they played off each other and could only imagine how dangerous that must have been when they were younger.

“We won, that’s all that matters,” Sean said, trying to settle the debate. “Although, I do still wish there were five Daleys on the pitch rather than four.”

“There were never five of us on the pitch at once, Da. I was the backup,” Liam muttered.

Five. That’s right, there were five Daley boys. Avery did a quick count on the screen, noting only four of them. She turned to Liam to quietly ask him about the missing brother, whose name she couldn’t recall at the moment, when a loud ding sounded from the TV.

A sixth box popped up, shifting the others. It was black for a moment, before the camera finally kicked on, a beautiful brunette woman coming into view.

“Sorry we’re late, long story,” a sweet, feminine voice said.

Avery felt Liam tense up next to her, and she turned to look at him. The expression on his face was unreadable, but his posture and his tight grip on her hand told him everything she needed to know. He was significantly less relaxed than he was just a moment ago.

“I…I didn’t realize you had a sister,” Avery commented, a little louder than intended.