Picking up on my unease, she titled her head to the side. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay. I’m here if and when you do.”
I reached across the table, took her hands and ran the pad of my thumb over her knuckles. “I appreciate it.”
The hostess came and took our orders, and we continued chatting as we waited for our meals to arrive.
“How are things going with Ollie?” Megan asked.
“Mostly good. He’s helped me realise a lot of things, and to start challenging behaviours that had a negative effect on my life.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here.”
I laughed. “You know me too well. On the whole, his advice is good, but he’s clueless as to how the MMA world works.”
Meg leaned forwards, her eyes focused on me. “Yeah?”
I paused for a moment. Not because I didn’t want to tell her, but I wasn’t used to someone listening to me without distraction. Outside of Davi and my family, no one paid me this sort of attention. Like I mattered, not just that they were waiting to jump into bed.
I smiled. “A couple of sessions ago, he suggested I apologise to Bagley for breaking his arm.”
Megan actually snorted as she laughed. “Yeah, because guys who beat the crap out of each other for a living are into saying sorry.”
“Exactly. I get it, breaking Bagley’s arm was a shitty thing to do, and I need to not let my anger control me, but Bagley doesn’t give a damn if I’m sorry or not.”
“Yeah. It wouldn’t be about making amends with him. He probably doesn’t care what you’re doing now, as long as you’re not in his life. Although, I think the act of physically apologising isn’t important. It’s more about you showing you’re willing to say sorry when you mess up.”
“Maybe you’re right, but the rest? Ollie doesn’t seem to understand that.”
“Can you blame him? Fighting is a million miles away from being a therapist. He’s just trying to help you, though.”
“I get that too. It’s just frustrating at times.”
“I can imagine.” Megan took a sip of her water, and her eyes drifted to a spot behind me then she smiled. “Food’s here.”
I turned to see the waitress approaching with our plates.
We tucked into our food, falling silent as we ate. As I was enjoying my steak, I could feel someone’s eyes on me, and I scanned the restaurant. A few tables away, a guy sat alone, tapping away on the screen of his phone. I continued eating, but watched him out of the corner of my eye. When he thought I wasn’t looking, he raised his phone a little and tapped the screen, as though taking pictures of Megan and me.
It wasn’t unusual for reporters to hang around popular locations in the city, hoping to get a glimpse of someone famous, and it wasn’t the first time someone had taken a picture of me without my consent while I was out. But it happening during my first ‘official’ date with Megan rankled me. I’d hoped since I’d stepped out of the limelight, the days of reporters taking my picture while I ate were over. Apparently, ten weeks wasn’t long enough for them to be over The Kian Murphy, like I was.
Clenching my jaw, I took a deep breath, and tried to focus on my food.
“Are you okay?” Megan asked, looking up from her burger.
“There’s a guy over there taking our picture.”
Megan’s head whipped in his direction, and he became fascinated with the menu, even though he had a half-eaten meal in front of him.
“Want me to say something?”
“No. What I want is to be able to take you out without some weirdo spying on us. I didn’t want to drag you into all this shit. Not after what happened last time some journo spotted us together.”
“Kian, you’re not ‘dragging me into all this shit.’ I knew when we got together that randoms taking an interest in your life was something I’d have to deal with. Besides, what harm can a few pictures do? Everyone knows we’re having a baby together. Who cares if they see us out on a date?”
“I care. This isn’t who I want to be anymore. I don’t want all that celebrity bullshit polluting what we have.”
Megan reached across and took my hands. “Believe me, it won’t.”
Maybe she was right. Some guy taking pictures of us didn’t change the fact that this was the first date I’d had where I saw a future for me and the person I was with.
The last twenty-four hours were the happiest I’d been in months, and some scrub reporter wasn’t going to change that.
I grinned at her. “Yeah, sod ‘em. This is our night.” I leaned forwards and kissed her hard.
I cupped her cheeks as our lips parted, and my tongue darted inside her mouth.
The sound of someone clearing her throat caused us to break apart, and when I looked up, the waitress was standing beside our table.
“Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to check if I could get you guys anything else?”
Megan smiled sheepishly. “Another drink would be good, thanks.”
“Of course. And you, sir?”
“I’ll get another water, too, thanks.”
The waitress scurried away to get our drinks, and from the corner of my eye, I saw the reporter had finished eating and left the restaurant.
“I guess he got what he wanted.” Megan shrugged and carried on eating her chips.
I tried not to think of the pictures the guy had taken and instead focused on my food. I finished off my steak, and swatted Meg’s hand away when she reached for a chip from my plate.
“No way. I don’t care if you’re carrying my baby. You don’t steal my chips.”
Megan gave me the puppy-dog eyes. “But Ella is still hungry.”
I faked a sigh and laughed. “Fine. You can have them.”
Megan pulled my plate over to her side of the table.
“Want some dessert?” Megan threw me a look as if to say ‘are you being serious?’ “Right. Of course you want dessert. An ice cream sundae?”
“Fuck yeah!”
When the waitress returned with our drinks, I ordered the ice cream sundae for Megan.
“You’re not having one too?” Meg asked.
“Nah. I need to think about getting in shape again. Monday, after we’ve signed the contracts, I’m going to do a few hours in the gym.”
“Sounds like a plan. When this little one is born, I’ll start working out again, but until then, I really don’t care.”
“Enjoy the excuse to eat ice cream while you can.”
“Oh, I fully intend to!”
Once we’d finished our meal, we got into the car, and went back to her place.
“You coming in for a coffee?” she asked as we pulled up outside her flat.
I looked at the time on the dashboard. Eleven-fifteen. “I should probably shoot. If I come in, I won’t go home.”
She smirked. “A bit presumptuous, aren’t you? Who said I’d even ask you to stop again?”
“And after I made you breakfast this morning!”
“You said that was a one-time deal.”
“You’ll never know now, will you?”
She laughed but quickly followed it up with a frown. “Well, if you’re coming in or not, hurry up about it. I gotta pee. Damn baby is pressing on my bladder.”
I unfastened my seatbelt and opened the car door. “Okay. I’m coming in.”
There was no way I was leaving without properly saying goodnight, something which wasn’t possible if Megan was desperate for the loo.
Megan climbed out of the car, and I followed her up the pathway to the front door. She rushed to open it, and hurried to the bathroom, not bothering to take her shoes and jacket off.
“Put the kettle on,” she called as she slammed the door behind her.
I made my way through to the kitchen and did as she asked. When the kettle had boiled, I made the tea and took it through to the living room. When Meg came through, she’d changed into her pyjamas, removed her make-up, and pulled her h
air back into a ponytail.
With a relaxed sigh, she plopped down onto the sofa next to me. “As fun as today was, it’s good to be in comfy clothes again. I’m knackered.”
Stifling a yawn, I nodded my head. “Tell me about it. Things were kind of crazy last night.”
She snuggled up to me. “Yeah, but totally worth it.”
I wrapped my arms around her, and rested my chin on her forehead. “Totally.”
We sat in silence, cuddled up on the sofa, sipping our tea and watching some late night bollocks on telly. I wasn’t even paying attention to the show. As I held her in my arms, slowly my eyes drifted closed.
Sometime later, I was woken by Meg turning around in my lap. “Come on, Kian. Let’s go to bed,” she whispered.
She stood up from the couch and grabbed my hand.
I glanced at the clock and saw it was almost half-twelve.
Screw it, I thought, and followed her into the bedroom.
Silently inviting me to join her, Megan climbed into bed then shuffled aside to make room for me, and pulled back the covers.
I stripped down to my boxers, then got into bed next to her, where she quickly snuggled into me, her head tucked beneath my chin like it had been the night before.
I woke up the next morning to an empty bed, and the smell of bacon and eggs cooking. Not bothering to put any clothes on, I made my way through to the kitchen, where Megan was standing at the counter, serving up breakfast.
“Hey,” she said, greeting me with a smile. “Want some tea?”
“Sure. I’ll make it,” I said, switching the kettle on. “You know, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
Meg shrugged and buttered some toast. “You made breakfast yesterday; I figured I’d return the favour. Besides, Ella woke me up early. I think our little one is going to be an acrobat.”
“You should probably get used to sleepless nights. It won’t be long until you’re up at all hours for nappy changes and feeds,” I said, settling at the breakfast bar, as Megan brought two plates over.
“Yeah, but then I’ll have you around to help,” she said, placing a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast in front of me.
I paused for a moment as a realisation hit me.
Before Meg and I got together, I assumed I’d see Ella regularly on days I wasn’t working, but now we were in a relationship, we’d be spending even more time together. With the added responsibilities that came with a baby, it didn’t make sense to add even more strain by travelling to and from each other’s houses, carting around all the things a newborn would need.
Before I’d even had time to process the full implication of my words, I blurted out, “Move in with me?”
Megan almost spat out her tea as she looked up at me, her mouth hanging open. “Are you being serious?”
“Sure. Why not? Then we’ll both be there to look after Ella. Plus, now we’re together, we’re going to be hanging out a lot more.”
“We’ve only just got together. Isn’t it a bit soon to be living with each other?”
“We’ve having a baby together. We’re going to be seeing each other most days anyway.”
Megan put her cup down and stared at me. “How romantic! I guess, but I’ve just got settled here, and Ella’s room is all decorated.”
I took a sip of my tea to give myself a moment to process her reaction. Was she just being practical? Or did Meg not want to live together?
Biting my bottom lip, I said, “Its fine. If you think it’s too soon, we can wait. I just thought I’d be good for Ella to have us both around.”
“It would, and I’m not saying no. Can we just think on it a little longer? Maybe you should talk things over with Ollie or your family?”
“I don’t need to talk anything over with anyone. I want to wake up with you every morning.”
Megan grinned. “I want that too, but I want you to be sure. This is a huge leap. Just think on it a little longer, yeah?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I hadn’t been this nervous about getting a result on something since I’d taken a pregnancy test. I hit refresh on the university website, and waited for the page to reload.
Still nothing.
The sound of my phone beeping made me jump, and I looked down to see a message from Stacey:
>>OMG! Have U seen?<<
I hit F5 on my keyboard, but the uni site remained unchanged.
>U got ur results? I don’t see mine. :(<<
>>NO! Still nothing. I meant the news. U & Kian made headlines again!<<
A link followed her message, and I clicked through to the local paper’s website where the headline announced:
‘Loved up Kian Murphy Spotted With Baby Mother on Cosy Date’.
The article that followed went on to explain how just days before announcing he was taking a hiatus from fighting, and buying into Silva’s gym as a new partner and training coach, Kian had been seen at a local restaurant with me. Accompanying the article was a picture of Kian leaning across the table to kiss me. I smiled, glad to be making the news for something positive this time around, and sent a reply to Stacey.
>>God, you’d think they’d have something more interesting to talk about! :P<<
>>LOL Right? That pic is totes adorbs tho!<<
I looked at the picture again. Stacey was right, it was pretty cute. I saved it and set it as my new phone wallpaper, then hit refresh on the uni website again.
I held my breath as the site took an extraordinarily long time to reload. I figured hundreds of other students were waiting to see their results, too.
The page reloaded, and I was prompted to enter my student ID and password.
Oh my God!
This was it. In a matter of seconds, I’d have my results, and I’d know if I’d flunked everything, completely screwed up my future, and would have to resort in working in a fast food restaurant.
My heart hammered.
The page loaded, and there was my result:
‘2:1’
I’d gained upper second-class honours.
I slowly let out the breath I’d been holding. Tears welled behind my eyes, and for a second my whole body went limp.
I’d done it.
This was the grade most employees looked for when hiring, and the minimum required to continue postgraduate studies. This, coupled with my portfolio and references from my tutors meant that when my maternity leave ended, I’d have a decent chance of finding design work.
As if sensing my delight, Ella somersaulted in my tummy.
I rubbed my ever-increasing bump and said, “I did it, baby girl. Mama got a two-one.”
My phone rang, and I scrambled to answer.
“Oh my God!” Stacey screeched. “I got a first!”
My heart pounded as her excitement surged through the phone line and consumed me. She’d achieved the highest grade possible.
“No way! Congratulations, Stace.”
“I can’t believe it,” her voice was choked with emotion, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.
“Why not? You deserve this after how hard you worked.”
“Yeah, but a first? That’s insane!” Stacey took another breath then asked, “What did you get?”
“A two-one,” I replied, trying to keep the pitch of my voice even. We’d done it! We’d both done enough for employers and future courses.
“Congratulations, Meg. That’s wicked. As soon as we graduate uni, the world is ours. I’ll be starting at the bridal company soon, and once you’re finished with your maternity leave, I’m sure you’ll land a job.”
“Well, the two-one will certainly help, as will the freelance work I’ve been doing online. My portfolio is looking great.”
“I saw some of the stuff on your new website. It looks fantastic.”
“Thank you.”
Stacey sniffled. “I can’t believe how far we’ve come. Do you remember when we first met?”
“How could I forget the ball of blonde
hair and glitter that bundled into me as I was trying to find my dorm room. I knew as soon as I saw your bright pink, glittery backpack we were going to be friends.”
On the other end of the line, Stacey giggled. “I know on drunken nights out we said we’d be friends forever, but did you ever imagine our lives would be like this?” Even though she was on the other end of the phone, I knew she was grinning inanely. “Both going out with fighters from the same gym, you with a baby on the way, and me about to start my dream job.”
“Stace, if you’d have told me this was going to happen nine months ago, I’d have said you were insane. I never dreamed of having a baby this young, let alone meeting and falling in love with a guy.”
“Right? Remember that night at O’Neil’s, when Josh invited me back to his hotel?”
I patted my baby bump. “How could I forget?”
“I never imagined we’d still be together all these months later, let alone living together. You know me and my luck with guys.”
“That was before.”
Stacey laughed. “And remember that night in the restaurant, when I found out Kian was the father of the baby.”
I groaned and covered my face, even though she couldn’t see me. “God, things were such a mess back then. How did we ever get to where we are now?”
“Some things are meant to be.”
“Shut up, you lemon! You haven’t even had any alcohol and you’ve gone all soppy on me.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.” Stacey took a breath then asked, “How are you feeling today? Did you get much sleep last night?”
Since hitting the third trimester, I was feeling more and more tired. Not only was Ella growing rapidly in preparation for birth, but I’d started getting Braxton Hicks contractions, and finding a comfortable sleeping position was near impossible. Then when I finally did drop off, I woke up needing to pee.
“I had to get up twice in the night. I swear Ella knows when it’s bed time, and uses that exact moment to begin her gymnastics routine.”
Stacey chuckled.
“Laugh all you want. When she’s born, you and Josh are on babysitting duty so I can have a decent nap.”
“Gladly. If you and Kian need a break, you know all you’ve got to do is ask.”
“Thanks. I was kidding, but I appreciate it.”
All It Takes Page 30
