by Maya Hughes
An insistent buzzing woke Aedan from some of the best sleep he had ever had. He knew that part of that was from crashing after the flight from the States, but he attributed the majority of it to sleeping beside Jess all night and knowing he would get to do it until she left. He gazed down at her, drinking in every detail. She was sprawled across his chest, her hair fanned out and tickling the bottom of his chin. He smoothed back her hair from her face. This woman did things to his heart that he just didn’t understand sometimes. He couldn’t wait to show her everything she wanted to see—and more—while she was in London.
The insistent buzzing was back in two different tones now and Aedan realized it was the ‘do not disturb’ he had put on the elevator that opened into the apartment. He’d set it to emergency mode only, which meant anyone that did have a keycard, like Steven, James, his mom, or his cleaner couldn’t just barge in at any time. Nothing like getting walked in on while you’re naked and in mid-stride to grab something from the kitchen. Aedan let out a huff and started to get out of bed, not even bothering to check his phone because he knew who was calling.
Aedan gently eased himself out from underneath Jess. She made a grumbling noise before quickly burritoing herself back into the duvet as he made his way out into the living room. He turned off the ‘do not disturb’ and went to grab a cup of coffee out of the machine. He’d set the timer last night knowing it he would need some in the morning. Aedan grabbed two mugs and began to make his morning cup and one for Jess.
He was just adding his sugar to the coffee when the elevator doors opened. James pushed into the room like he was expecting some kind of invisible barrier to have been erected by Aedan to keep him out.
“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” James groused.
“James, good morning to you too,” Aedan grunted. “It’s nine in the morning. We flew in yesterday and are a bit jetlagged.”
“I have a lot I need to go through with you and a lot you need to get done before training starts.”
“It’s Thursday. There is still time and I’m not doing anything but taking Jess around until then. I’ll do training, but I’m not doing any events or publicity. I’ve already had more than enough after what happened at the airport yesterday. What was that about James?”
Freezing a bit, he answered, “What do you mean?”
“There were tons of photographers and paparazzi at Arrivals at the airport. I’ve never had an issue with this before; they were swarming us,” Aedan said on a yawn.
“Maybe they thought there was a story and wanted to get a glance of you with the woman they’ve been hearing about.”
“I understand that, but how did they know which flight we were on? There are plenty of flights from the US every day; how did they know when we would be there?” James stopped again and looked at Aedan, quickly shuttering his expression.
“I haven’t the foggiest. I’ll be sure to go over our confidentiality agreements with anyone we contract with for services to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen again. Now we need to go over how we should handle the Jess situation.”
“I keep telling you there is no Jess situation. And there will be no handling. Jess is here, we are going to sight see a bit, and then she’s going back to America.”
“Ah, so this will just be a temporary thing. In that case—,” James started.
“No, it’s not a temporary thing. She has to go back to work at the end of her holiday, but that does not mean that our relationship will end,” Aedan interjected.
“It’s a relationship, huh?”
“Yes, it’s a fecking relationship,” Aedan barked.
“So, what do you propose we do about the Kate situation?” James asked, changing the subject.
“I told her she had seventy-two hours to sort this thing out. If she hasn’t, I’ll call every paper and give them the truth.”
He slapped down a paper on the counter and pointing at the headline, “Looks like she might have beat you to it.”
Aedan O’Connell Breaks Kate’s Heart
Kate Replaced by a Yank?
Aedan Steps Out on Kate with an American
“Fuck,” Aedan wheezed out, nearly choking on his coffee.
“Exactly, so would you like me to help you handle this situation now?” James grumbled.
Plopping down onto one of the kitchen island stools, Aedan looked up at James with a stricken look. “Yes, what do we need to do?”
Aedan was surprised by just how much Jess wanted to walk the city. And almost three hours in, even his legs were getting tired. At least his endurance training tomorrow wouldn’t be so bad after this. Jess was initially hesitant to go out because she didn’t want there to be a scene or be recognized.
“Don’t worry about it. I told James I was going to stay at home and work out in the flat today, so he will be no bother. And as long as I keep the sunglasses on and wear the baseball cap, no one will recognize me.
Paired with the cargo shorts and t-shirt, I’m the perfect American tourist,” he chuckled.
“Sure, just don’t open your mouth,” Jess teased.
“Well, Ms. Montgomery, you’ll just have to come up with a way to keep my mouth shut,” Aedan bent down to give her a peck on the lips. They took the tube to Piccadilly Circus, which Jess was disappointed to learn just meant a giant traffic circle.
“What’s the big deal about this?” She scoffed and looked around at the bustling intersection.
“Hell if I know, people just always want to see it. Perhaps the whole circus thing has people thinking there will be elephants on tight ropes or something like that,” Aedan said hustling her through the tourist trap restaurants and stores.
They took a ride on the London Eye, and stood about two hundred people back for the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Aedan was sure that most people there couldn’t see more than the tops of the hats of the guards. Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and St. James Park were next. At the park, they sat out on a blanket recreating their DC botanical garden night out.
Aedan planned to have a picnic prepared for them and set out in the park in an out-of-the-way area. The assistants sent him a pin of the location, which he tracked with his phone to find. He led her through the clearing in the trees, where they found twinkling lights set up around the nearby bushes. There was a blanket spread out on the ground, a bottle of wine chilling in a small ice bucket, and two glasses tucked into the picnic basket.
Jess turned to him with wonder in her eyes and a hand on her chest.
“Is this all for us?” She asked, holding onto his arm.
Aedan took ahold of her hand on his arm and brought it up to his face. He kissed her palm and could feel her pulse racing through her wrist.
“Of course it is. I wanted to make sure you had the perfect day.”
“Aedan, this is so thoughtful,” she gushed and whirled around, taking in the scene.
Aedan uncorked the wine and poured a glass of wine for both of them. Jess started poking through the picnic basket to see what was inside.
“What do we have in here?” Jess asked, pointing to the wrapped items.
“I don’t know, I told them to surprise us,” Aedan said, enjoying just how happy Jess was with his surprise.
Jess unpacked the basket, which was filled with smoked salmon, quiche, salad, a fruit platter, cheese, crackers and even more.
“Is this supposed to be for just us,” she asked, her eyes wide at the sheer amount of food they were able to pack into the basket.
“It’s not the end of the world if we have to take it with us.”
“I guess not. Where would you like to start?” Jess asked, kneeling in front of the plates of food. “These are the most perfect looking strawberries I’ve ever seen in my life.” Jess took a bite of a strawberry, then stretched out on her stomach on the blanket and looked up at him.
The twinkling lights were reflecting off Jess’s chestnut hair and the slightly mussed curls were caressing her neck. Aedan had never s
een a more beautiful picture in his life. His heart pounded, and he realized he was absolutely and completely in love with this woman. Jess got up on her hands and knees and crawled over to where Aedan was standing next to the blanket and grabbed his hand.
“What are you doing over there? Come and lay down with me.” Still in a state of mild shock from that revelation and how much he wanted to be with Jess, Aedan popped off his trainers and lowered himself down to the blanket. Rolling over onto his back, Aedan propped up his head on one hand and used the other to pull Jess close to him.
She reached over to the basket and pulled out a few more snacks and began to feed him. Looking up into the darkening sky, streaked with oranges and reds, Aedan closed his eyes and wished he could stay in this moment for the rest of his life. His question now: did Jess feel the same way? If she didn’t, how could he convince her to?
28
The next few days were filled with training for Aedan and sightseeing for Jess, although it wasn’t as much as she would have liked. She was still freaked out about the prospect of people recognizing her. Steven was good about taking her out while Aedan was at practice. The days turned into two weeks and the first pre-season friendly match was there before she knew it.
Aedan wanted her there and Jess was excited to finally see him in action. She’d watched a few of the practices and could see how impressive his skills were on the field. The fact that he could be so precise with the ball and such a good leader to his team made Jess even more excited for the first game.
They arrived a couple hours before the game because Aedan had some pre-game things to do. Jess figured she could wander around and maybe grab a bit to eat before the game started.
“I want to introduce you to someone.” Aedan pulled her along through the crowd in the club box to a tall blonde chatting with a shorter gentleman. The box was filled with flower arrangements, plush leather couches, and chairs and tables set up for dining. The large glass windows provided the perfect view of the field with a row of swanky stadium seats lining the windows’ edges. As they approached the blonde, the man she was speaking with excused himself. Aedan placed his hands over her eyes and put on a posh English accent, “My dear, you simply must come join me in our country estate this weekend.”
“Aedan, you knob, the only country estate you have is a camper van out in the woods.” Turning toward them, Jess was faced with one of the most stunning women she’d ever seen up close. She had bright blue eyes, flawless skin, a striking smile, and a petite frame. Although the woman was dressed in a soccer jersey, jeans and heels, she looked like she just walked off the pages of a fashion magazine. Jess couldn’t help but feel a bit dumpier in comparison.
“Eve, this is Jess, the woman I’ve been telling you guys so much about,” Aedan held out his hand to Jess, “Jess, this is Evelyn Davenport.” Jess extended her hand, adjusting her carry-all bag on her shoulder, and Evelyn pulled her into a big hug, powerful for a woman of her size.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Eve bubbled, practically bouncing. “Aedan has told us so much about you and I just had to meet you. Don’t worry Aedan, she’s in good hands, I’ll take it from here.” Eve started to pull Jess away. Looking to Aedan, he nodded and called out that he would see her down on the pitch later. Perhaps seeing the look on her face, he gave her a reassuring smile as he headed out the door.
Linking their arms together, Eve walked Jess over to the food spread while Jess adjusted her bag on her shoulder. Paranoid about not having something she needed, especially when she was away from home, Jess had packed her bag full of essentials, including an extra set of clothes, a first aid kit, ballet flats and much more.
“We’ve got a couple of hours until kickoff, so that gives us plenty of time to get to know each other.” She grabbed two plates for them and started to pile hers high with all the delicious-looking food laid out for everyone. It didn’t look anything like your standard stadium food and Jess was on board with giving it all a try, especially with Eve digging into it with such gusto.
“I don’t usually arrive this early, mainly because I know I would put on ten kilos per season just from the pre-match food. But when Aedan said he wanted to bring you by, I told him I’d make sure you got settled. And I just flew in the day before yesterday, so I haven’t been able to meet you yet.”
“Thanks for coming early to keep me company.”
“No problem! I am so happy to get to meet you; this was my sneaky chance to meet the woman who has made Aedan so happy. Proper introductions are in order.” As they sat down at a white linen covered table, Jess plopped down her bag beside her on the floor. Eve held out her hand for a handshake with a huge smile on her face. “Evelyn Davenport, call me Eve, solicitor—what you call a lawyer, foodie extraordinaire, and wife to Aedan’s teammate Deano, also known as Dean McCullough.”
Jess reached out to shake her hand, pumping it enthusiastically, “Jessica Montgomery, call me Jess, actuary, I can burn water and am currently in a thing with Aedan O’Connell.”
“Wonderful, it’ll be nice to have another career woman on the team. A lot of the other guys go pretty hardcore for the arm candy over substance. You’ll meet them later. Don’t let them bother you as most of them will be gone by the end of the season.”
“Duly noted. What’s it like being a footballer’s wife?” Jess inquired.
“It’s amazing, frustrating, infuriating, and wonderful all at once.”
“I can imagine. How did you and Deano meet?”
“It was a hen night, if you can believe that. Not mine of course, but—”
Jess interrupted, “What’s a hen night?”
“Oh yeah, right, a bachelorette party. It was for a friend of mine. We were out being absolutely ridiculous and I guess I caught Dean’s eye. Probably because I wasn’t giving him the time of day. I was out with the girls, so it was strictly a ladies’ night thing. He was pretty relentless, perhaps a little stalker-y, but I thought he was really cute so I didn’t mind. Finally, after he followed us to the third bar, I told him off a bit and said that I was a solicitor and if he didn’t back off I would file harassment charges against him.”
“Wow, so did he?”
“He found out the name of my firm and sent me flowers for a week until I agreed to go out on a date with him, mainly because I was getting embarrassed by all of the deliveries. We went on the date after I made sure to inform pretty much everyone I knew who he was and general information in case I ended up missing after our date. Turns out he was a footballer and everyone knew of him, which put me a bit more at ease that I wasn’t going to be murdered by a mental person. The date went well; he was so sweet and gentlemanly it—was not at all how I imagined a date with a footballer would go.”
“And the rest was history?”
“Not at all, the rest was a lot more complicated than that. Going out on a date with a footballer is one thing. Actually, dating one is a whole different ball game.”
“I’m finding that out myself,” Jess grumbled.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been there, trust me. It can be a real mind fuck, if you’re not one hundred percent sure of yourselves.”
“That’s what I worry about. I’ve had just a small taste of being in the spotlight and it’s a little daunting.”
“It can be, but you get used to it. And there are ways to avoid the attention. Usually they only follow around people making a real mess of things. You know, drinking, gambling, whoring. Aedan’s never really been one to do that, so they’ve usually left him alone, but with the expectations for the upcoming season, it means there’s a lot more attention than there usually would be.”
“How do you deal with it? We’re just starting out and I’m already getting overwhelmed.” Reaching out, Eve placed her hand over Jess’s and gave it a squeeze.
“You just take it one day at a time. Try not to read the tabloids and talk to each other. It’s so easy to fall into the trap that the papers try to put you both into. Make su
re you’re completely honest with one another and it will make it all so much easier.”
They enjoyed their lunch as more and more people filled the club box. Eve gave Jess a few suggestions about places to visit to get a few more stamps in her passport this year. They chatted about their lives, what an actuary actual did, which was something Jess was used to people asking, and how it was being a solicitor in London. Eve worked for a big firm doing pro-bono work for not-for-profit organizations. She prepared the cases that barristers would take into court, if needed. As match time crept closer, Jess became nervous about seeing Aedan out there playing.
Just then, a bunch of stunning woman walked into the box. Where Eve was relaxed in her style, which Jess appreciated more and more, these women had obviously put a lot of work into how they looked—a lot. From the caked-on make up to the sky-high heels and short skirts. The new arrivals made their way past their table, giving Eve a sneer as they moved to the seats that lined the windows.
“The WaG Hags I call them. All new this season and royally miffed that I have a ring and they don’t,” Eve chuckled. “Do you want to watch the match from up here or in the stands?” Jess took one look at the ice queens who had taken their seats at the windows and her response was almost immediate. “The stands!” Eve laughed, grabbed a couple of lanyards from her bag, and handed one to Jess.
“We need these for our seats.” Jess slipped the bright red lanyard over her head.
“The VIP experience, huh?”
“Being with these guys does have its perks.” Eve gave her a friendly shoulder bump as they headed toward the escalators. They went down three levels and around the concourse to the field-level seats, then walked down into the stands. The hair on Jess’s arms stood up when they entered the stadium. Unlike the calm and collected crowd up in the box, the fans in the stands were moving like a giant, cacophonous organism made of near-tangible energy. There were team chants going on. All of the fans were on their feet and wearing their team’s jersey.
Jess wasn’t one to frequent sporting events and had never seen anything like it. They flashed their lanyards and made their way to two seats about five rows up from the field right on the halfway line.
