Man of the Match: hot celebrity romance (FULL NOVEL)

3. An apology

[RECAP: Matt Curran struggles with his attraction for Cara. Meanwhile, she's horrified to find out he's a famous sports player supposedly with a celebrity girlfriend]

They had training that morning but Matt's heart wasn't in it. He was too hungover and stressed with everything that had happened. And even more stressed about what he had to do: apologise to the girl.

After arriving back at the hotel and showering he looked out for her but couldn't see her. He couldn't ask anyone where she was since that would only create greater complications.

He was supposed to be having lunch with the rest of the team but he wanted to clear his head. His preferred method for doing this was to go for a walk, so he set off through the nature park behind the hotel.

Being surrounded by nature in the cooler shade of palms and other tropical plants was soothing and by the time he reached a clearing he was much calmer than he had been all day.

Until, of course, he saw the girl again. Cara. She was sitting on a bench by herself, reading. Didn't she have any friends? Was she here alone?

It was now or never, and he owed her some kind of explanation, so he went over to her and sat down next to her.

"I wanted to apologise for earlier." He didn't have any excuses, not ones that she would understand anyway, so he didn't offer any. "I was rude. I had no reason to be."

He wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting but it wasn't this, a shy and grateful smile, and it made his heart turn over despite himself.

"I didn't realise who you were," she said. "Until breakfast when someone pointed you out."

There was an awkward silence again. They were both aware that he wasn't free to do what he had done, he had known all along and now Cara knew. He had led her on, if anything. She had hardly led him on. What an idiot he had been to even suspect her.

"I'm sorry about the reporter thing," he told her. "That stuff tends to happen, and I was on edge." He knew as he spoke how ridiculous it had been. If she had been aiming at a kiss-and-tell, or some kind of honey-trap, she would hardly have turned him down the previous night.

Why had she turned him down? Matt wasn't used to being turned down, and if he was going to be honest with himself it had partly added to his frustrations.

But looking at her it was obvious why. She was younger than he had first imagined and was clearly not the kind of jaded, groupie type who usually hung around sports teams.

"I promise you I'm nothing do to with newspapers or anything. I'm a student," she said.

She didn't owe him any promise and he felt bad that he had put her in a position where she felt the need to reassure him. She had such honest eyes as well. They showed every emotion, which was why he could tell how much he had hurt and embarrassed her.

But Matt found himself looking from her eyes to her lips. They were full, sensuous and slightly parted. Before he knew what he was doing he was running his hand down the side of her face, cupping her jaw, gently tilting her head up to meet his lips as they came down on hers.

This time this kiss hit him like a shockwave. It was like being back at school again, she reminded him of the first girl he'd ever kissed. The thrill, the excitement, the innocence.

His other arm went around her, drawing her closer to him.

She was such a relief, such an escape. So different to everything else in his life. He felt free of everything with her, even though she was actually complicating things even more than before.