‘To be fair, Amber, he hasn’t got a clue what that job entails just yet.’
‘No, but then, neither do I. And I’m scared out of my wits about how I’m going to cope, so…’ She stopped talking, staring straight ahead again.
‘So, what?’ Ronnie asked.
She shrugged, shaking her head. ‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter.’
Ronnie put his arm back around her, pulling her closer, her arms circling his waist as she snuggled in against him, neither of them saying anything, letting the noise of the growing crowd of people now leaving the stadium after the charity dinner fill the silence for a few minutes.
‘You know, I actually think, for the first time since all of this happened – since Jim and I split up, since this surprise pregnancy… since Ryan crash-landed back into my life … ’ Amber pulled away from Ronnie again, suddenly feeling something click inside her, something that told her the time had come to step up and take control of this situation, before it was too late. ‘For the first time since all of this happened, I actually feel as though I know what I need to do now.’
‘You do? Care to share?’
She smiled, leaning forward to plant a quick kiss on his unsuspecting mouth. ‘Not yet. I’ll let you know.’ She quickly winked at him before almost running back inside, bumping straight into Ryan. Literally.
‘Hey! Steady on there, beautiful,’ he laughed, gently grabbing hold of her arms. ‘I was just coming to look for you.’
‘Well, looks like you found me.’ She smiled, and for the first time in days she began to feel a confidence she’d lost somewhere along the way slowly start to return.
‘Something up?’ He let go of her arms, resting one hand on her hip and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear with the other.
‘No. Nothing’s up. Everything’s fine.’ Well, maybe fine was pushing it a bit, but things were slowly starting to become clearer.
He frowned slightly, before letting that frown give way to a small smile, but even that managed to light up his beautiful face. Her hot, handsome footballer.
She reached out to stroke his rough chin with her fingertips, leaning forward to lightly kiss his slightly open mouth. But with Jim’s kisses still tingling on her lips, she didn’t linger, pulling away after just a few seconds.
‘You sure everything’s okay?’ Ryan asked, that frown reappearing.
Amber cocked her head slightly, taking a couple of steps back. ‘Everything’s fine, I told you.’ And maybe she was right. Maybe one day everything would be okay. If she let it. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but it didn’t have to be impossible.
‘Amber, listen…’
She looked at him, right into those deep, dark blue eyes of his, the memory of that night’s incredible sex still very fresh in her mind, and although the idea of a replay was something she briefly considered – anything to make her forget Jim, to help her push him further and further away, back into the recesses of her mind where she didn’t have to think about him too much or wish for that life she just couldn’t have – she let the sensible part of her brain take over. For once.
‘You and me…’
She may not be living the life she’d dreamed of, but she still had a great life. A life she should be more than grateful for, whether Jim was a part of it or not. She was just going to have to learn to let go. Finally.
‘I can’t make any promises, Ryan. I told you that.’
‘I know. I know you did.’
‘I said maybe. And I said I couldn’t give you any more than that, not yet. It wouldn’t be fair on you.’
‘Shouldn’t I be the judge of that?’
She moved closer to him, reaching out to gently touch his cheek, kissing him quickly. He really did have the softest lips.
‘You still need time, don’t you?’ His voice had a resigned tone to it. And there was a part of her that just wanted to throw all caution to the wind and see where this new journey with Ryan could take her. But there was also another part of her that didn’t want to hurt him. He wanted more than she could give him right now, so the last thing she wanted was for him to believe that their relationship was anything close to being back on track.
‘And so do you,’ she whispered, putting up no fight as his arm circled her waist, pulling her closer against him. ‘But, if you’re up for some fun… I mean, there’s no harm in mummy and daddy-to-be spending some time together, is there? If that’s okay with you?’
His face broke into a wider smile, that slightly cocky edge to him now shining through. ‘Oh, that’s absolutely fine with me, babe.’
‘There’s a lot to do before this little one gets here, so we may have to see quite a bit of each other.’
‘I’m sure we’ll work something out,’ he said quietly, his mouth almost resting on hers now.
Ryan Fisher was back in her life, whether she wanted him there or not. But, as far as their relationship was concerned, whatever happened there was still a long way off being decided. Right now, though, she was willing to see what the future had in store for her. For both of them. For all three of them.
‘So, beautiful, where do we go from here?’
She smiled, she couldn’t help it. Her heart was still breaking, but this man here in front of her could help to ease that pain, help her to at least put some of her past behind her. If she let him.
‘Watch this space, Mr. Footballer. Just, watch this space.’
It was impossible to be 100 per cent sure of anything anymore, but there was one thing she was certain of – Amber Allen may be history, but Amber Sullivan was making a comeback…
The game continues …
Final Score
August 2014
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Copyright © Michelle Betham 2014
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