by Louise Hall
“Nope, everything’s done. I’m going to go through some e-mails. Go to bed.”
Cate followed her Mum’s advice and trudged upstairs to the attic. She was absolutely exhausted. “I’ll just have half an hour,” she said, looking at the clock above her head. She lay down on the mattress and hugged Kian’s pillow to her chest.
When she woke up a couple of hours later, Kian was next to her. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose.
“So tired,” Cate yawned. “What time is it?”
Kian tried to take back his pillow, which she was clinging to. “No,” Cate said, tightening her grip.
“You can have this instead,” he bartered, positioning her so her head was on his chest. “OK.”
Cate quickly fell asleep again, wrapped around Kian.
When she woke up again, the sky was getting darker. “Angel, it’s time to get up,” Kian said.
“No,” Cate complained.
Kian slid his hand under the hem of her hoodie and stroked her warm belly. “This baby’s kicking your ass, huh?”
“Yep,” Cate groaned. “Your fault.”
Kian laughed. “Come on sleepyhead. I was thinking…” he said, moving his hand up to cover her breast. “We could shower together.”
Cate narrowed her eyes at him. “You had your chance this morning. I told you, no sex for you.”
“You don’t mean it,” Kian teased, sliding his hand inside her bra. He kneaded her tender breast, feeling her nipple harden against his palm.
“Ugh, I’ve got to do karaoke tonight,” Cate winced.
Kian laughed. “I know. Ben’s not exactly talking to me right now. He cornered me and Fabrizio when we got back from training; he wanted us to spend all afternoon practicing. I politely told him to fuck off.”
“Kian,” Cate admonished.
“Hey,” Kian held his hands up. “I could either spend the afternoon at Ben’s Karaoke Boot Camp or I could take a nap with my sexy-ass wife, no contest.”
Cate got up from the mattress and winced. Kian’s face turned serious. “You OK, angel?”
“Your baby is kicking my ribs,” Cate said. “Why did I think it was a good idea to have a baby with a footballer?”
Kian quickly got up, lifted up her hoodie and put his hands on her stomach. “Wow.”
“You wouldn’t be saying that if she was doing it to your insides?” Cate tried to be cross but it was sweet to see Kian so awestruck every time he felt their baby moving inside her stomach.
“Ha,” Kian grinned. “You think it’s a girl too! You said she.”
“Humph,” Cate said. “Me and your sex-to-be-determined baby are going to have a shower, alone.”
While Kian was in the shower, Cate searched in her wardrobe for something to wear to the party tonight. “Ugh,” she sank down on the beanbag.
“What’s the matter?” Kian asked. He was wearing his faded denim jeans with the top button undone so she could see the trail of hair leading down from his navel. His bare chest was still damp from the shower.
“Go put a shirt on,” Cate scowled. “I can’t talk to you when you look like that.”
“Is my Torso of the Week distracting you?” Kian grinned, flexing his muscles.
“Come on, angel,” Kian sat down on the carpet by her side. “Tell me what’s wrong?”
“I’m not going downstairs to the party tonight,” Cate said. “I look pregnant.”
“Angel, you are pregnant,” Kian laughed. He pulled her on to his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I know,” Cate whacked him in the chest. “It’s just that last year on Christmas Eve, I was wearing Liv’s lacy dress and Sinead had done my hair and make-up. I didn’t have this bump. You wanted to kiss me.”
Kian softly kissed her lips. “I didn’t fall in love with you because of your clothes, your make-up or your hairstyle. I love you because you get so nervous walking into parties that you bite your bottom lip. I love knowing that whatever you’re wearing – whether it’s a lacy dress or tracksuit bottoms, at the end of the night I get to be the one to take them off you. I get to see the beautiful naked body underneath. I love your eyes not your eye shadow; your lips not your lipstick. I love running my fingers through your hair as you drift off to sleep.”
“You’re so good at this,” Cate blinked, fighting the tears which had settled in the corners of her eyes.
“I’m not,” Kian shook his head, thinking about the last couple of days. “I’m trying. For you, I want to be.”
Kian kissed her so tenderly that for Cate, everything else just melted away.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Kian whispered into her ear, his tongue stroking the metal stud.
“It’s not really a surprise anymore,” Cate quipped.
Kian threw his head back and laughed. “I didn’t mean that. This is a real surprise. Look under your bed.”
“Oh,” Cate said softly, her mouth a perfect O as she slid the large silver box out from under the bed.
She carefully removed the lid and peeled back the layers of black tissue paper. Inside was the most beautiful dress Cate had ever seen; it was dark violet like the paint on her wardrobe ceiling.
“Try it on,” Kian said.
“Okay,” Cate took it in to the bathroom and quickly undressed. She slid the dress over her head and even with her swollen belly, it fitted her perfectly. Just like her wedding dress, it felt like this dress had been made perfectly for her. It had cap sleeves like her favourite maroon dress, which she’d bought at the vintage shop in Vegas. The bodice fitted perfectly to her breasts and was crossed with a row of beautiful silk flowers. The skirt draped over her belly and then dropped to just below her knees. Cate twirled around, watching the skirt dance around her legs.
She opened the door a little. “Do you like it?” Kian asked.
“It’s so beautiful,” Cate opened the door fully. She watched as Kian ran his eyes up and down her body.
“You look…” He reached for her hands, which were trembling a little. “Cate, you look stunning.”
“Do you really think so?” Cate asked.
The first guests were arriving as they walked down the stairs – it was Jean, Eamon’s sister Sadie and Kian’s teammate Fabrizio.
“I can’t believe he’s dating my sister,” Kian whispered quietly.
“Be nice,” Cate whispered back. “Sinead seems to really like him.”
“Maybe I should get a bucket of cold water then? Welcome him to the family, Warner style.”
Kian took Fabrizio downstairs to the basement to find Sinead, who was setting up the karaoke machine.
“Can I take your coats?” Cate asked Jean and Sadie.
“It’s OK love, I’ll do it,” Sadie said. “Can you show me where they go?”
“I’m going to find your Mum, see if she needs any help?” Jean said.
Cate led Sadie through to the utility room, where they were putting the coats. Sadie was Eamon’s youngest sister. She had no family of her own; she’d been engaged once but her fiancé was killed in the Troubles. She’d come over from Ireland to spend the holidays with Jean and Sinead because it would be their first Christmas without him.
Sadie looked so much like her brother; they had the same twinkle in their eyes.
As Cate hung the coats up on the rack, she could feel Sadie watching her. “My goodness, please don’t think me rude. You’re just so young.”
Sadie picked up the plastic bag she’d brought with her and placed it on top of the washing machine. She pulled out a large package, wrapped up in brown paper and tied with string and offered it to Cate. “It’s a Warner family tradition. I know my brother…” She faltered just a little. “My brother would have wanted you to have one. Don’t open it now. Wait until you and Kian are alone.”
With that she was gone. Cate took the package upstairs and put it on her dresser. She was intrigued about what was inside.
As she came back downstairs, the doorbell rang. “Can som
ebody get that?” Irene called from the kitchen. Cate was nearest. When she opened the door, it was Zeke’s parents. “Merry Christmas,” Zeke’s Dad, Bill said.
Zeke’s Mum, Jacqueline, looked pointedly at Cate’s swollen belly. “Zeke’s not coming. He’s snowboarding with his girlfriend, Alex. That’s short for Alexandra. They met at university.”
Cate forced herself to be nice. “That’s great. Which university did he go to?”
“Oxford,” Jacqueline said, narrowing her eyes at Cate.
“Oxford Brookes,” Bill said to Cate. “But he’s happy, that’s the main thing.”
After hanging their coats up in the utility room, Cate was about to go downstairs to the basement when she was cornered by her Mum. “Can you do me a favour and refill the bowls in the lounge?”
As she walked through the lounge, filling up the little silver bowls, she felt as if people were staring at her.
“Excuse me, please,” Cate politely asked the neighbours from Number 37, who were blocking her way to one of the bowls.
“Oh, my,” Mr Jefferson said, as he looked down at Cate’s stomach.
He lifted up one of the chairs and stepped backwards so Cate could get through, even though she didn’t need that much room.
His wife stepped back with him and when the next set of guests arrived, opening the lounge door, they knocked into Mrs Jefferson, who spilt wine all over the widowed Mrs Hardy from Number 45. “My perm,” Mrs Hardy cried, patting her hair. White wine trickled down her face and onto her silk blouse.
“I’m so sorry,” Cate said quickly, looking around frantically for some napkins. It was all her fault.
Mrs Hardy looked daggers at her, “in my day, there were homes for girls like you.”
Mortified, Cate retreated to the utility room. She climbed up on to the washing machine, hidden behind the rack of coats.
“Cate, you in here?” Liv called. “Kian’s looking for you.”
Cate stayed quiet. It was so cold; she hugged herself to keep warm. She needed to work through this by herself. Girls like me? Ha! Cate quickly wiped away the tears running down her cheeks. She felt a surge of anger course through her veins. You don’t get to judge me. Evil Mrs Hardy, they only invited her every year because otherwise she’d call the police complaining about the noise. When Cate was little, Mrs Hardy had chopped down all the trees in the common area next to her house, covering the stumps with tar to stop the children from playing there.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. “Where are you?” Kian had texted.
Before she could reply, he texted her again. “Get your coat and meet me outside.”
Cate still didn’t feel like seeing anybody else so she grabbed her coat and went out through the empty kitchen.
Kian was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. He took her hand and led her down the side of the house; to the same spot where they’d had their first kiss a year ago.
He reached into the pocket of his coat and Cate expected him to pull out a sprig of mistletoe. Instead, he pulled out a black gift bag.
“What’s this?” Cate asked as he handed it to her.
“Open it,” Kian smiled. “Happy anniversary, angel.”
Cate reached inside the gift bag and pulled out a bottle of Fiji water.
“You’re giving me a bottle of water?” Cate asked.
“You told me that you wanted to dip your toes in the Pacific Ocean,” Kian explained. “You might not be able to go there just yet but that doesn’t mean I can’t bring a little bit of it to you.”
Cate’s eyes widened. She quickly unscrewed the lid from the bottle and took a deep breath; she could almost taste the salt. “But how?”
“One of Lauren’s friends had a layover in L.A.” Kian explained. “After the baby’s born, we’ll go as a family.”
“I can’t believe it,” Cate said, still marvelling at the bottle of water. “You brought me the Pacific Ocean. This is the nicest thing anybody has ever done for me. Thank you so much.”
“I don’t ever want to crush your dreams, Cate,” Kian said softly.
The snow was still falling, covering them in tiny, white flakes. He took her hands in his; she wasn’t wearing any gloves so her hands were freezing cold. He pulled her up on to his knee and slid her hands inside the warmth of his coat.
From his other pocket, he removed the sprig of mistletoe. “Is that the same one?” Cate asked as he fixed it to the wall above their heads. “You kept it all year?”
There were tiny snowflakes on their lips and as they kissed, they melted and trickled down their chins.
“I think you might get lucky tonight,” Cate grinned, looking down at the bottle of water.
“I knew you couldn’t resist me,” Kian smirked.
CHAPTER 40
After most of the party guests had gone home, Liv jumped up from the sofa. “It’s karaoke time.”
Irene, Jean and Sadie had agreed to judge. “Okay, who wants to go first?”
“Let’s toss a coin,” Ben suggested.
Liv lost the toss so the girls ended up going first. “Places,” Liv ordered. As Cate got up from the sofa, Kian squeezed her hand. “You’ll do great, I love you.”
The girls had chosen to sing “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge. Erin sang lead vocals; her voice had a lovely, smoky quality to it. Liv, Sinead and Cate only had to sing the chorus. When Cate looked down the line at her sisters in blood and law, she came close to crying again at just how much they’d overcome this year. There was an empty space in the room, where Eamon should have been.
When the song finished, the boys were really supportive, clapping and whooping.
“You’ve got a lot to beat,” Irene said, as the boys took up their places.
Erin went and switched off the lights, plunging the basement into darkness. A torch light shone on Fabrizio. In broken English, he sang the first line before the spotlight moved on to Ryan and then Ben.
When Kian sang the line about the only girl in town he’d marry, he winked at Cate.
For the chorus at the end of the song, they got their wives and girlfriends up to dance.
“I think we need a cup of tea while we decide,” Irene said, leading Jean and Sadie upstairs to the kitchen. “We were so much better,” Liv started the trash-talking. “Even Mum had a little tear in her eye.”
“Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” by Elvis came on and Kian wrapped Cate up in his arms, swaying them with the music. He whispered the lyrics softly in her ear.
She held his face in her hands, looking into those intense, dark-brown eyes. “I love you too.”
They were interrupted by Irene, Jean and Sadie. “Although, we were very impressed with both songs” Jean started. “The winners tonight are the girls – I loved the sentiment of your song and Erin, your voice is incredible.”
“Yes,” Liv punched the air, “in your face.”
“You only won because of Erin,” Ben taunted. “My wife.”
Later than night, they were sat on the sofa in the basement, watching Ben pretend to be Elvis again. “I’m tired,” Cate whispered to Kian. He started to get up but she put her hand on his knee. “You stay, I don’t mind.”
“Nah,” he shook his head. “I’ll come up with you.”
When they got upstairs to the attic, Kian saw the package on her dresser. “What’s this?”
“Sadie gave it to me earlier this evening; it’s a belated wedding present.”
“Do you know what it is?”
Cate shook her head. “She just said that it’s a Warner family tradition and that I should wait to open it until we’re alone.”
“Perhaps it’s lingerie,” Kian’s eyes lit up.
“Kian,” Cate whacked him. “That would be really gross if your aunt gave us lingerie as a wedding present.”
“Yeah,” Kian said. “She doesn’t realise I prefer you wearing nothing at all.”
They sat down on the mattress and opened the package; inside was a patchwork q
uilt, similar to the one draped across the daybed on their back porch. Cate thought back to the night of The Ryders concert; when Sinead had ditched her to go meet Jake and Kian had waited for her. That was the first time she’d slept with Kian in the true sense of the word. She remembered feeling his body wrapped around hers as they fell asleep covered by that patchwork quilt.
“Ouch,” Cate winced, rubbing her lower back.
“Is it bad again?” Kian looked concerned.
“Mm,” Cate nodded.
“Take your top off,” Kian said.
Cate raised her eyebrows at him. “Really?”
“It’s not like that, I promise,” Kian laughed, holding his hands up. “I was going to give you a massage.”
Cate still looked dubious, “so this isn’t just an excuse for you to see my boobs?”
“That’s just an added benefit,” Kian smirked. Cate took off her vest top, keeping her back to Kian.
He instructed her to kneel at the side of the bed, leaning forward on to the mattress. “You’d better be serious about this?” Cate said, looking over her shoulder at him.
“I am,” Kian said. “Put your head back on the mattress.”
She heard him pop open the cap and then rub his hands together. She started a little when his hands touched her shoulders, expecting them to feel cold but they didn’t; he’d warmed the oil up with his hands. After a few strokes, Cate started to relax, feeling him work out all of the tension in her muscles.
“You’re actually good at this,” she teased. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
“You sound surprised,” Kian nuzzled the back of her neck. “I can’t give you the good stuff all at once.”
“I love you,” Cate murmured. It still felt weird saying it out loud. Before she’d always held back, not sure whether Kian felt the same way; she hadn’t wanted to guilt-trip him into saying it.
“I love you too,” Kian smiled. He loved feeling her like this, her warm skin underneath his hands.
“Hello.” They both heard the door creak open at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hi,” Sinead said, peering over the banister. Cate sat up quickly, trying to cover her bare chest with the duvet.
“Ew,” Sinead wrinkled her nose. “Did I just interrupt you two…?”
