Final Score

by Michelle Betham

  ‘Let’s go hit that casino, huh?’ Jim smiled, stroking her cheek with his fingers, his eyes staring deep into hers.

  ‘Jim – thank you.’

  ‘For what, honey?’

  ‘For opening up to me. For coming back to me.’

  ‘Baby, I never went away. I never went away.’

  ‘If I lost you…’

  He silenced her with a kiss, and once more she just fell against him, a ridiculous need to be constantly close to him taking over. ‘I’m not going anywhere, Amber. Believe me, baby. I’m not going anywhere.’

  And all she had to do was believe him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘You should go.’ Ryan stood at the back of the room, watching as Ellen pulled on her clothes, running her fingers through her hair.

  She looked at him. ‘Now? Don’t I even get the option of staying for breakfast?’

  ‘I need to see to Rico. He’ll be awake any second now and…’

  ‘I get it.’ She cut him off, her tone quite abrupt. But then, this wasn’t working out quite the way she’d planned. She hadn’t banked on Brandon being at Tynebridge for Jim’s final game in charge, and she certainly hadn’t banked on him seeing her with Ryan. And even though Ryan had asked her to come home with him last night, and she hadn’t even had to think twice about her reply, despite what had happened with Brandon, she hadn’t expected to share him with his four-month-old son. ‘I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I’ve got my things together.’

  Ryan threw his head back and sighed heavily, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. ‘You can stay for a coffee. I’m not gonna throw you out on the street, I just meant that I really need to be with my son today, that’s all. Amber’s back home tomorrow, and I want to spend as much time as I can with him before she takes him down to London.’

  Ellen looked at him. He was just-stepped-out-of-the-shower handsome in nothing but the sexiest of low-slung jeans, with those incredibly hot tattoos on show. All she wanted to do was throw him back on that bed and spend the morning underneath him. She was desperate to have him again, to feel him making love to her, as he had done for most of last night. But that baby of his was becoming a major form of extremely unwanted contraception. As cute as he was, she wished Amber would hurry up and take him away so she could concentrate on winning this man back.

  ‘Don’t you feel in the least bit guilty?’ Ryan’s voice interrupted her daydreaming of endless sex with one of the country’s hottest football players.

  ‘Guilty?’ She knew what he meant, she just couldn’t quite get her brain into gear quickly enough today.

  ‘Brandon. Don’t you feel guilty about what you’re doing to him?’

  ‘He doesn’t want to speak to me,’ Ellen said, rummaging around in her bag for her phone.

  ‘That’s not what I asked, but, can you blame him?’

  Her head shot up as Ryan said that, agitation suddenly flooding her. ‘When the hell did you get so holier than thou, huh?’

  ‘I’m not…’

  ‘You’re seriously going to stand there and take the moral high ground with me after everything you’ve done? After everything you’re still going to do?’

  He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. ‘I’m sorry? And what the hell is that supposed to mean?’

  ‘Oh, come on. The world and its frigging mother knows you can’t leave Amber fucking Sullivan alone. The second she sets foot back in this country you’ll be there, hanging round her ankles like some lovesick puppy…’

  ‘Like I said, Ellen, I think you should go.’

  She closed her eyes for a second, breathing in deep, desperate to claw some composure back. The last thing she should be doing was pushing him further away. She’d just killed her relationship with Brandon Palmer. Was she going to allow all that to be for nothing? ‘I’m sorry, Ryan, I just… I’m just tired. I didn’t get much sleep.’

  ‘Yeah, well, that’s what babies do for you. They don’t always let you sleep.’ The sound of Rico’s crying immediately turned Ryan’s attention to the baby monitor on the sideboard. ‘I’d better go get him. Help yourself to coffee but then I really think you need to go.’

  Ellen watched as he walked out of the bedroom, along the hall to the nursery. She listened as he spoke softly to his baby boy, so quietly she couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying but she felt a pain, a stab of jealousy so strong it cut into her chest that it shocked her. This baby meant Amber Sullivan had a hold over Ryan. She had something that meant Ryan would never be out of her life, and Ellen wished with all her heart that she had that same kind of hold over him.

  She heard Ryan’s voice grow a little louder and she watched through the slightly open door as he made his way downstairs, his baby son balanced on his hip. He was still talking to him, and Ellen felt that jealousy burn even hotter now.

  Taking a minute to compose herself, to try and get some rational thought back into her muddled head, she finally picked up her bag and made her own way downstairs. She could hear the sound of the TV coming from the family room adjacent to the kitchen, and the faint muffle of Ryan’s voice. Jesus, just what kind of conversation could you have with a four-month-old baby?

  Walking through the archway that led to the kitchen and family room, she stopped, leaning against the wall with her shoulder as she watched Ryan, his son still balanced on one hip as he moved around the room, taking Rico’s bottle out of the microwave and checking the temperature by quickly drinking a bit. She watched as he smiled the biggest smile at his baby boy, leaning back against the counter as he cradled Rico in his arms, staring down at him as he took his bottle.

  He leaned over and gently kissed his son’s forehead, and Ellen felt that pain, that jealousy rush through her all over again. She couldn’t watch any more. She turned on her high heels and walked out into the hall. This was going to be a lot harder than she’d ever thought it would be. But maybe there was a way to make it that little bit easier. Maybe there was a way…

  *

  The sun was just beginning to rise, but even at that early hour the Las Vegas streets weren’t exactly deserted, although they were far quieter than they had been a few hours ago, which was the last time she and Jim had ventured outside.

  But, after a night of doing things they’d never dream of doing back home; of partying hard, fucking even harder, and playing the roulette wheel like their life had depended on it, the only thing they both wanted now was some fresh air. They hadn’t even known what time it was when they’d walked out of the hotel, but the fact that the sun was coming up told them the night was now over, and that another new day was dawning. Their last few hours in Vegas lay ahead of them, and even though she should be feeling like the only thing she wanted to do was sleep, Amber had never felt so awake. To sleep would be to waste what precious little time they had left in this place, a place that had made sure they forgot everything else and concentrated only on themselves. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave that behind just yet.

  Leaning into Jim as she held onto his waist, his suit jacket flung loosely around her shoulders as they walked along the Strip, she felt like her sixteen-year-old schoolgirl self again. Her stomach was filled with butterflies, her heart couldn’t control itself whenever he looked at her; all she wanted to do was be with him.

  ‘Everything looks so different in daylight,’ she said quietly, her head resting against him as they walked.

  He squeezed her shoulders, quickly kissing the top of her head. ‘Everything?’

  She looked up at him, smiling slightly. ‘Not you. You look just as hot as you did when this night began. I mean this place. It looks different at this time of the day, when all the lights are turned off and the streets are quiet. I kind of like it. I’ve always liked this time of day, those early hours of the morning when so few people are out and about. It feels almost ethereal.’

  ‘We should be in bed. We’ve got a plane to catch in a matter of hours.’

  ‘I’m not tired.’
<
br />   He smiled at her, pulling her into his arms, gently stroking the hair from those beautiful pale-blue eyes of hers. ‘No. Neither am I. We should still be in bed, though.’

  She returned his smile, tipping her head back slightly as he kissed her slowly, his hand lightly rubbing her back. ‘I couldn’t have wished for a more perfect wedding,’ she whispered, and she meant it. Just the two of them, nobody else there to invade their time, nobody else trying to hide disapproving looks or congratulate them when they really didn’t mean it. It was just the two of them. The way she’d always wanted it. ‘But we’re going back to things that aren’t perfect, Jim.’

  He shook his head, pulling her in against him as they started walking back towards their hotel. ‘Don’t, Amber. We’re still here, and while we’re still here I don’t want to think about what’s going on back home or what may or may not happen once we’re there. Because we’re still here.’

  She clung tightly onto his waist, holding her left hand up in front of her, smiling as she looked at her wedding ring against the backdrop of the early-morning Las Vegas sun. ‘I’d get used to this time of day if I were you.’

  He kissed her forehead, rubbing the top of her arm as they walked. ‘And why’s that? You planning on waking me this early every day for some pre-dawn exercise?’

  She laughed quietly, stopping for a second to slip off her heels, not caring that the sidewalk was actually quite cool against her bare feet. ‘Oh, you wish, handsome. But I think you’ll find your stepson will have one or two things to say about that.’

  He stopped walking again, pulling her back into his arms. ‘My stepson…’

  ‘Yeah. We’re kind of equal on that one now. I’ve got Brandon, you’ve got Rico. Although, yours isn’t all that great as far as conversation goes at the minute.’

  ‘I’m gonna do my best to look after you both, Amber. I mean that. I… I know Rico’s not mine, but… I’m gonna love him as though he were.’

  She smiled, reaching up to touch his face, that once-light stubble now forming a darker shadow on his strong jawline. ‘And he’s gonna love you right back, I know he is.’

  ‘But, right now…’ Jim squeezed her waist, his mouth moving closer to hers as he spoke. ‘Right now, I’m gonna take his mommy to bed, and love her like nobody else has ever loved her before.’

  ‘You’re such a sweet-talker,’ Amber breathed, closing her eyes as his fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her head back slightly as their mouths touched, his kiss plunging her deeper and deeper into a web she now never wanted to break free from.

  ‘Let’s go,’ he whispered, his hand slipping into hers as they resumed a pace that was almost a run now, both of them realising how little time they had left in this place. And neither of them wanted to waste any of it. ‘Six hours and counting.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Max threw his head back and closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. He needed this the day news had broken about Amber’s ‘surprise’ Vegas wedding to Jim Allen. His phone hadn’t stopped ringing since the crack of dawn, and this was probably going to swamp anything else out there. And both stories breaking on the same day was just destined to give him a headache he could really do without.

  He got up and walked over to the windows of his plush Covent Garden offices, staring down at the crowds of people darting this way and that, rushing to work or heading off early to the next tourist attraction London had to offer. He checked his watch before sticking his hands in his pockets. Amber and Jim were due to land back in the UK within the next hour or so – should he ask her to come in? Did he have time before his flight up to Newcastle? She wasn’t going in to work until tomorrow, he knew that, although he also knew Freddie Sullivan was arriving in London later that day with the baby. So dragging her away from home when she hadn’t seen her son for days wasn’t going to go down well. But he really needed to see her. However, Max knew he was just going to have to wait.

  Giving up another heavy sigh he turned and walked back over to his desk, sitting down on the edge of it as he picked up his phone, scrolled down his list of speed-dial numbers and pressed call. It was answered within seconds, the voice on the other end of the line a little muffled. Probably because he’d woken them up.

  ‘What do you want, Max? Have you seen the frigging time? Even Rico doesn’t wake me this early.’

  ‘It’s twenty past eight, Ryan.’

  ‘I know, Max. That’s my point. What’s up?’

  ‘I’m assuming you haven’t seen the papers today? Or switched on your TV yet?’

  ‘No. Because I was asleep. And because Freddie now has Rico I assumed I’d get a bit of a lie-in this morning seeing as training isn’t starting until ten… why? Oh, hang on…is this to do with Amber? Shit! She’s gone through with it, hasn’t she?’

  Max closed his eyes for a beat, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. ‘Yes, she’s gone through with it. But that’s the least of your worries, kiddo.’

  ‘You think? Jesus! I can’t believe she’s married him – again!’

  ‘What did you think would happen, Ryan? That she’d arrive in Las Vegas, suddenly realise what a massive mistake she was making, get on a plane back home and run straight into your arms?’

  ‘What the fuck is wrong with you this morning?’

  ‘Switch your TV on, get on the laptop, read a newspaper… then call me back. I won’t go anywhere until I hear from you.’

  ‘Max? Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?’

  ‘Just do it, Ryan. Then, please, call me back.’

  *

  ‘Did you organise this?’ Amber gasped as she walked into the nursery of their new London home. When she’d last seen it the room had been a canvas of beige, with nothing but a chest of drawers and a wardrobe filling the emptiness. But now the walls were painted a vibrant yellow, a huge wooden cot sat in the centre of the room, an oversized chocolate-coloured corner couch rested against one wall and on the other side of the room was a long sideboard decorated with cuddly toys and assorted baby paraphernalia. There was a new changing table, a large flat-screened TV on another wall, and yet more toys and baby clothes were piled up in boxes next to the couch. It was too much for Amber to take in.

  ‘I wanted him to have a perfect place to come home to.’

  Amber smiled as Jim walked around the nursery, making sure everything was in place. ‘Thank you.’

  He looked at her, returning her smile, and once again Amber felt her stomach contract in a barrage of waves that made her feel weak – both physically and mentally. That was what this man did to her, and she was just going to have to learn to deal with it.

  ‘We’re a family now, Amber. And I want this to be a perfect family home, for all of us.’

  She walked over to him, sliding her arms around his waist. ‘I love you, Jim Allen.’

  He pulled her closer, kissing her gently, and just that brief touch of his lips on hers caused her to fall against him, like some invisible magnet was drawing her to him. ‘I love you, too, honey.’

  She looked up into his eyes, touching that beautiful mouth of his with her fingertips. ‘I guess we’re back to reality now, huh?’

  He took hold of her hand, his fingers closing around hers as he lifted them to his mouth and kissed them. ‘Nothing is going to tear us apart again, Amber. Nothing.’

  ‘Promise?’

  ‘I thought you didn’t want me to ever promise you anything?’

  ‘Do you promise, Jim? Do you promise me that nothing will ever tear us apart again?’

  He stared into her eyes so deeply he felt as though he was falling. But he wanted her to believe him this time, he needed her to do that; to believe him. ‘I promise,’ he whispered, his mouth lowering down onto hers again, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. ‘With every beat of my heart, I promise.’

  Amber felt her own heart skip those proverbial beats and those butterflies fly loose inside her as his lips touched hers, and she pulled away only
briefly to let out a tiny gasp as he pushed her back towards the couch.

  ‘In the nursery?’ she asked, raising an eyebrow, a slight smile on her face.

  ‘Hey, come on. His mommy and step-daddy have got to make sure this couch is comfortable.’

  ‘Seriously?’ But she wasn’t really putting up much of a fight. She was already pulling the belt out of her jeans, her eyes telling him she wasn’t exactly going to object.

  ‘Seriously.’ He pushed her gently back onto the couch, that smile of his almost sending her crazy.

  ‘What are you waiting for, Mr. Allen?’ She smiled back, pulling off her t-shirt and whipping off her bra, throwing her arms above her head, arching her back as he slowly pulled her jeans down over her legs.

  ‘I have no idea,’ he groaned, his hands on her knees, pushing her legs apart. ‘You know, we really have to start behaving ourselves, beautiful. Or neither of us are gonna get any work done.’

  ‘Just get inside me, handsome. Before I get bored and do the job myself.’

  He grinned, lying over her, his hand covering her breast, and just the touch of him set her skin on fire. ‘Baby, as long as I can watch, you can get there any which way you want.’

  ‘I want you inside me,’ she breathed, burying her fingers in his hair as she moved her mouth close to his. ‘All that solo stuff, I’ll leave that for the days when you’re not with me, when the only choice I have is to think of you and touch myself. But right now you’re here, and I want you inside me.’

  ‘Oh, Jesus, I love you so fucking much.’

  ‘I know. Now stop talking and show me how much you love me.’

  ‘You’re such a turn-on when you’re like this, do you know that?’

  She couldn’t help smiling, reaching down to take him in her hand, their eyes still locked together. ‘Yeah, well, I’m back home now, aren’t I? So I need to lose that lovesick wreck of a woman and bring back the professional presenter the rest of the country sees.’