Читать книгу: «Extra Time», страница 3
She laughed, too, pulling her hand away from his and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down into her drink. ‘Yeah, well, I’d quite like to be taken seriously, Ronnie. I don’t just want to be seen as some sort of bimbo-style presenter, only there to get the viewers in. I want to be good at what I do.’
‘You are good at what you do, otherwise you wouldn’t have got this job, I promise you that. I know the way they work over there at Cloud Sports. They don’t just employ anyone.’
‘They employed you, didn’t they?’ She smirked, taking another sip of cava.
‘Yeah. You’re funny. You adding comedian to your list of talents now, are you?’
She stuck her tongue out at him and he pulled a face, making her laugh out loud.
‘Anyway,’ Ronnie continued, ‘… the fact you’re beautiful is a bonus, of course it is…’
She looked at him, right at him, her eyes boring deep into his, and Ronnie had to swallow hard before he spoke again.
‘It’s a bonus, Amber. That’s all. But you’ve got to start realising just how beautiful you really are, kiddo. You have to start realising that, because you are. You really are beautiful.’
‘If you say so.’
‘I say so.’
Amber smiled, planting a light kiss on his cheek. ‘Get the drinks in, okay? I’ll be back in a minute.’
Jim stood at the back of the restaurant and watched, his hands in his pockets, his expression stoic. He watched as Ronnie White smiled at his wife; his wife. He watched as he said something then turned away from her, watched as he looked at her again, watched as she reached out and stroked his cheek before Ronnie took her hand and kissed it, and all the while Jim felt a pull in the pit of his stomach that he knew he’d have to get under control. She was with him now. She was finally his; she’d married him, for God’s sake! How much more connected to him could she be? And Ronnie White was no threat. Those two had been friends for over a decade now, they were bound to be close. Okay, so they’d once been a couple, but that had been years ago. They were friends. That was all.
Looking down at the ground for a second, he quickly composed himself before taking another look across at the bar, but Amber had gone, and Ronnie was now talking to one of the Red Star players. Jim looked around the restaurant, trying to find Amber, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. He made a mental note not to let her out of his sight again for the rest of the evening. Looking the way she did right now, with that crazy red hair and those long, tanned legs of hers in that short yellow dress she was wearing, she was bound to attract attention, and he wasn’t altogether sure how he felt about that.
He turned around as Ryan walked past, his head down, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans.
‘You all right?’ Jim asked, fixing his young striker with a look that told him he expected an answer, and not just the usual grunt or shrug that was sometimes thrown his way whenever he spoke to Ryan Fisher. Yes, he understood that things were complicated, given the kid’s past relationship with Amber, but he was still his boss, and that demanded a certain level of respect, no matter what.
Ryan stopped walking and turned to face Jim, although the manner in which he did so came across as slightly begrudging. ‘I’m fine. Why?’
‘You don’t look fine. You look distracted.’
‘Listen, boss, no disrespect or anything, but we’re not at work now, are we? We’re on a night out…’
Jim moved a step nearer, his face close to Ryan’s as he spoke. ‘Whilst we are here, Ryan, on this island, on this pre-season tour, we’re constantly at work. You got that?’
Ryan just stared at his boss, laughing quietly before walking away, saying nothing. Jim threw his head back and sighed heavily. Shit! That had actually been really unnecessary. Ryan hadn’t been doing anything, he wasn’t causing any trouble, and there’d been no word of his past antics coming back to the forefront during the summer break, when he’d had plenty of chances to relapse. Since his stint in rehab he’d turned into the kind of player every big club in the country dreamed of signing, which is why Jim had given him the captaincy, given him that incentive to stay on track, because, despite everything, he believed in Ryan Fisher. He was one of the game’s brightest stars, a true talent, and nobody wanted to see that go to waste. So why was he starting on him now, for no good reason? What good would that do? Jesus, he had to find Amber.
‘You seen my wife?’ Jim asked Gary as he passed him on his way to the bar.
Gary looked at his manager. ‘Amber? Yeah. She’s out there.’ He indicated the walkway outside. ‘Everything okay, boss?’
‘Everything’s fine, Gary, thank you,’ Jim said, turning and making his way out of the restaurant.
Amber was sitting on the low wall opposite, just staring out ahead of her.
‘Amber?’ Jim waited until she turned her head to look at him, a small smile appearing on her beautiful face. ‘Everything all right, honey? What you doing out here?’
She turned to look out at the beach again, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore the only sound that could be heard, bar the hum of chatter and noise coming from the other restaurants and bars situated along this pretty walkway.
‘I just wanted some air, and yes, I know the restaurant is, to all intents and purposes, outside, but you know what I mean. It’s still a bit claustrophobic over there.’
Jim sat down beside her, reaching out to take her hand. ‘It’s all still taking a bit of getting used to, isn’t it?’
She looked at him, her smile growing wider this time, which in turn made him smile, too. She looked twice as beautiful when she smiled.
‘This time last year I was a single woman, and determined to stay that way. I had a job I loved, my own little house… Things were quite happily ticking along, and now look at me. I’m embarking on a whole new TV career with a major satellite channel, and I’m married to the Premier League’s most high-profile manager. How the hell did that happen, Jim?’
‘Do you regret it?’
She shook her head, suddenly realising that tears were now slowly running down her cheeks and she wiped them away with the back of her hand, quite shocked and surprised to find them there in the first place. What was wrong with her these days? Over emotional had never been something she was known for – quite the opposite, in fact. But hadn’t that only been the case because she’d been holding back, keeping all those feelings under lock and key because she hadn’t wanted to feel them for anyone but Jim? Had it taken until he’d walked back into her life to make her feel human again?
‘No, Jesus! No. I don’t regret it, of course I don’t.’ She reached out to touch his face, and just that one tiny touch was enough to send her stomach on another dip-and-dive session, making her breathless almost. ‘You know how much I love you, Jim. I mean, I had my career, I had my house, I had a life – but I also had nothing, because I didn’t have you. And you were all I ever wanted, you know that. For all those years, you were all I ever wanted. And now I’ve finally got that future I’ve always dreamed of…’ She trailed off, staring out ahead of her again. ‘It’s just a lot to take in sometimes, that’s all. Everything’s happened so fast, and all of a sudden I’m feeling things I didn’t know I could feel, wanting things I never thought I wanted and…’ She left that sentence hanging in the air. Now wasn’t the time to start that conversation.
He reached out and gently touched the side of her face, her cheek resting in the palm of his hand as her eyes met his. ‘I love you so much, Amber Allen. And you have no idea how good it feels to finally be able to say that.’
She smiled, too, looking down for a second, breaking the stare. ‘I used to write that, a lot, when I was at school – Amber Allen. I used to write it over and over, scribbling it down on anything I could find, just to see how it looked.’ Her eyes met his again. ‘How I got through the Sixth Form I don’t know. You were such a bloody distraction.’ Her stomach did another jolt as she remembered how incredibly handsome he’d been back then, in his professional playing days. How young and striking he’d looked. Every girl in her class had fancied him, all of them wanting to be close to her because they knew her dad was best friends with Jim Allen. If only they’d known how close she’d been to their football fantasy. If only they’d known what he’d done to her back then – both physically and emotionally. If only they’d known. ‘And then…’ She stopped talking, looking away briefly. ‘I like it. Being Mrs. Allen, I mean.’ She looked at him again, and for a few seconds she forgot where she was as his mouth lowered down onto hers, kissing her in that beautiful, heart-stopping way that only he could. A slow kiss, a deep kiss, a kiss that sent shivers running right through her and caused those goose bumps to cover her skin, despite the humid night air. ‘Things feel different, Jim. And that scares me. It just… it just feels as if everything is suddenly hitting home – all the changes that have happened, all the things we’ve been through…’
Again, she let that sentence hang in the air, pulling away from him slightly. Jim frowned. What did she mean by that? Things felt different – how? ‘Amber… Do you… do you feel like we rushed into things, is that what you’re trying to say?’
She stood up, facing the beach with its dark, eerie feel, folding her arms against her. She didn’t think they’d rushed into things. How could you rush into something you’d wanted for almost your entire life? But things did feel different. She felt different. The things she wanted now, they were different. And she knew she’d have to talk to him but, not yet. Not here. Now wasn’t the time.
‘Amber? Honey?’
‘I love you, Jim.’ She turned to face him, smiling, and he felt a rush of relief wash over him. ‘And I know you love me, so that’s all that matters in the end. Isn’t it?’
He pulled her against him, his hand firmly in the small of her back, their foreheads touching as he leaned in towards her. ‘Yeah, it is, baby. That’s all that matters.’
Amber snuggled into him, enjoying the feeling of safety and comfort being in his arms brought. He was the love of her life, her world; he was everything she’d ever wanted and she loved him beyond any words. She loved him. As simple as that.
‘This is going to work this time, Jim. Isn’t it?’ she whispered, staring up into his eyes.
He smiled, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, nodding slowly before kissing her gently, not wanting to pull away, she tasted so good, felt so perfect in his arms. Why had he waited so long to come back to her? Why had he done that? But the thing was, he knew why. He knew exactly why. And he only hoped, with all of his heart, that when Amber found out, she’d understand.
Chapter Three
Ryan walked into the small, almost secluded tapas bar which was tucked away up a narrow side street in the small fishing village of Poris de Abona, about twenty miles or so from the main Tenerife tourist resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas. He’d driven there after managing to escape any major interrogation from his teammates as to where he was sneaking off to during their morning off from training. He wanted to explore, that had been his excuse. And although a few of the lads had looked at him as though he was mad – surely any free time they had should be spent by the pool or playing golf? – after what Ryan had been through, nobody questioned him. Not even Jim. But then, he had other distractions, didn’t he?
Looking around the dimly lit bar, Ryan saw her sitting in the corner, her blonde hair piled up on top of her head, her eyes down, concentrating on her mobile phone. He walked over to the small, square wooden table, pulling out the chair opposite her and throwing himself down onto it, switching on the Ryan Fisher charm in an instant. Now he’d seen her, seen how hot she looked in that pale pink dress, her skin already lightly tanned, he was glad she’d turned up here, unannounced. He quite liked surprises, and surprises that would guarantee him a shedload of sex were the best ones of all.
‘Hey, babe.’
She looked up from her phone, placing it down on the table as she smiled the biggest smile. ‘Hey, back.’
‘So, you thought you’d surprise me, huh?’
‘I needed a break, and this is the last chance I’ve got to take one before the new season starts. It’s already getting busy back at work.’ She looked right into his eyes. ‘And I missed you. I didn’t realise how much I was going to until you’d gone.’
He felt a small twinge of guilt as he realised he hadn’t really missed her at all since he’d been here. He’d been way too busy to even think about her. Busy doing stuff she didn’t really need to know about. ‘I missed you, too.’ Jesus! The lies still came so easily to him. But at least he felt guilty about reeling them off these days, unlike before, when his lies had driven away the woman he should have been married to by now. But instead she was married to his boss. How frigging wrong was that?
‘Really?’ Ellen gasped, her voice shaking him out of his thoughts of Amber. He had to learn to stop doing that, drifting back to memories of someone he was never going to have. No matter how much he still thought he wanted her. ‘Oh, Ryan… I was so worried about telling you I was here, because I know partners aren’t allowed on this trip, and what with me working for the club and everything… That’s why I chose this place to meet, it’s out of the way…’
He shut her up by leaning over the table and planting a kiss on her unsuspecting mouth. She tasted good – a mixture of coconut lip balm and sun cream.
‘Was I going on a bit too much?’ she asked, her voice quiet, her eyes carrying an almost worried expression. ‘I know I can talk for England once I get started but…’
‘Ellen, it’s okay. Really. I’m happy you’re here, and hey, I like a woman who’s willing to break the rules now and again.’ He grinned, turning the Ryan Fisher charm up a notch, and he could see her relax instantly. Her pretty shoulders sagged, and her face almost lit up as she looked at him. But somewhere inside, a very small, very quiet alarm bell started ringing in Ryan’s head – he liked being with her, but was she starting to become just a little too attached to him? They’d spent a lot of time together over the summer break, and he’d tried really hard not to give her any mixed signals, because the last thing he wanted to do was mislead her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.
‘Ryan… you and Amber…’
This was a conversation he really didn’t want to get into, not with her, so he was happy when a striking-looking dark-haired woman materialised at their table with two more bottles of beer, smiling at them both before retreating back to her post behind the bar. She provided a short but welcome distraction, and Ryan couldn’t help but watch her as she began serving another customer, smiling and laughing with a group of people at the bar whom Ryan guessed were regulars. It was that kind of place.
‘Ryan?’
He waited a second before turning to look at Ellen, that famous Fisher smile now firmly back in place. ‘Let’s finish these beers and go back to your hotel. Then you can show me just how much you’ve missed me. Okay?’
She smiled back, relief once more quite evident on her face. ‘Yeah. Okay.’
There was nothing like sex for taking Ryan’s mind off things. Nothing like it at all.
Amber closed her eyes and let the burning sun wash over her skin. Sighing contentedly, she settled back on her sun lounger by the huge circular pool at the team’s hotel. It was the day of Newcastle Red Star’s final match in their pre-season tour of Spain and the Canary Islands but, thankfully, Amber didn’t have to start work until later, when she and Ronnie would be at the match, talking to some of the players and interacting with the guys back in the studio, live from the game itself, a game which was being televised in the U.K. that evening on one of the Cloud Sports channels.
So, for now, all she had to do was relax. She couldn’t deny the nerves weren’t still there, though. This was a huge deal for her. She was the new face of football on a major satellite TV channel – for Amber it didn’t get much bigger than that. Cloud Sports had put a lot of faith in her, and she didn’t want to let anyone down, that was all. So far she’d been getting some great feedback, but those nerves were still going to take a while to settle down.
‘You look a bit apprehensive,’ Ronnie said, sitting himself down on the edge of the lounger next to her.
She opened her eyes, pushing her sunglasses up onto her head. ‘Yeah. Thanks for that, Ronnie.’
He smiled at her. Amber pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes and lay back again.
‘You’re doing great, Amber. Everyone back home is loving you, believe me.’
‘You’re not just saying that, are you? To placate me. I know what you’re like.’
‘As if. Anyway, you’ve done live TV before, haven’t you? Loads of times. Why should this be any different?’
‘I used to be on local TV, Ronnie. This is a whole different ball game.’
‘No it’s not. Where’s Jim?’
‘Team talk. They’re off to the ground for a training session in a little while.’ She sat up again, propping herself up on her elbows. ‘Why didn’t you bring Karen with you?’
Ronnie looked away for a second, staring out at the sea view in front of him. ‘I’m working, Amber.’
‘Yeah, and so am I. But I’m here with my husband.’
Ronnie looked at her. ‘Your husband is the manager of the team we’re following.’
‘So?’
He laughed slightly. ‘Come on, kiddo. Karen doesn’t want to hang around while I’m working. She’d only get bored.’
Amber sat up properly, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them to her. ‘She’d get bored? Here? Look at it, Ronnie. It’s beautiful! She could have…’
‘Leave it, Amber, okay? Just – just leave it.’
She widened her eyes as she looked at him, slightly taken aback by his tone. ‘All right. I’m sorry. Look, is everything okay?’
He sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. ‘No, and it’s me who should be sorry. Things are just a bit… a bit weird at the minute, that’s all.’
Amber cocked her head, desperate to know what he meant by that but getting the feeling that, whatever it was, he wasn’t in the mood to talk about it. But she couldn’t leave the subject alone altogether. ‘All the more reason to bring her with you, then, surely?’
‘No, Amber. Don’t you see? If I’d brought her with me, if I’d insisted she come here, wouldn’t that just have looked as though I wanted to keep an eye on her? Keep tabs on her? Make sure she wasn’t…’ He stopped talking, looking out at the sea view again.
‘If it was me, I wouldn’t have seen it that way.’
‘Well, Karen’s not you, all right?’
Amber frowned. ‘You’re happy though, aren’t you? I mean, you don’t regret marrying her again, do you?’
Ronnie continued to look out over the stunning clear-blue sea that was dotted with the odd jet ski and a catamaran way off in the distance, no doubt out on a whale and dolphin sightseeing trip.
‘I’m happy, yeah. I’m happy.’
Amber rested her chin on her knees as she looked at him. ‘Really?’
He finally turned to face her again. ‘What is this, Amber? I came over for a chat not a frigging interrogation. Things are fine and I’m happy, end of story.’ He closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, and although Amber badly wanted to continue grilling him over his slightly erratic moods, she thought better of it. Whatever was on his mind he quite obviously didn’t want to go into it here. Not yet, anyway. But she’d get it out of him, eventually. She always did.
‘Right,’ he sighed, leaning over to quickly kiss her forehead, giving her hand a small squeeze before standing up, shoving both his hands in his pockets. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘For a walk. Clear my head before we set off for the match.’
Amber watched as he headed back into the hotel, still frowning slightly. Something didn’t seem right, but she wasn’t going to push it.
Grabbing a short, bright pink kaftan from the table by her side, she pulled it over her head and stood up, smoothing it down over her white bikini. She was tired of sitting out in the sun now. Being out here on her own was only giving her far too much time to think about things, to dwell on stuff that she shouldn’t really be dwelling on, stuff that wasn’t important. Stuff that didn’t matter. And some stuff that did.
She was missing Debbie, too. She’d never really had a close female friend before, not until she’d met Debbie Hogan – part-time glamour model, North East socialite, gossip columnist, and new wife of Gary Blandford, Newcastle Red Star’s top defender and Ryan Fisher’s best friend. When she’d first met Debbie just a few months ago, Amber had thought there was no way the two of them could, or would, ever get on – Debbie was, more or less, your ‘typical’ WAG, if there really was such a thing, because Amber was beginning to think there wasn’t. Not really. Her attitude towards the women who shared the lives of these sometimes overpaid, cosseted, egotistical men had certainly changed after everything she’d been through with Ryan. And Debbie had become a friend Amber loved like a sister now. There were things she could talk to her about that she couldn’t share with anyone else, not even Ronnie, and especially not Jim. And right now, Amber missed her. Right now, Amber needed her.
Breathing an inner sigh of relief as the cool, air-conditioned interior of the hotel hit her, Amber strode towards the elevator, hoping with all her heart that Jim was in their room. She really wanted to spend just a little bit more time with him, on their own, before work took over once again, because sometimes she felt a little bit like she was still living in that glorious honeymoon period, and she was scared to let that feeling go. Scared to let reality back in.
Sliding her key card into the lock on the door of the hotel suite that had been their home for the past few days, she closed it behind her and walked inside, throwing her beach bag down onto the floor and pulling off her kaftan, casting it aside as she continued to walk through into the bedroom.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, her handsome husband, flicking through a pile of papers, his mobile phone close beside him, a frown covering his face.
‘You okay?’ Amber asked, watching as he lifted his head, his frown quickly turning into a smile.
‘I am now.’
She smiled back, climbing onto the bed and kneeling up behind him, sliding her arms around his shoulders, kissing the back of his neck. ‘You look tired,’ she said, slowly beginning to massage his shoulders, feeling the knot of tension below her fingers as she kneaded deep. ‘And you feel so tense.’
He threw his head back, still holding onto the papers he’d been flicking through. ‘I’m fine, honey.’
She continued to knead his shoulders, listening to his quiet moans as her fingers pressed harder. ‘What are you looking at?’ she asked, resting her chin on the top of his head. He quickly turned the papers over, placing them on the bed beside him, his hand palm-down on top of them.
‘Just work stuff. Nothing important.’
It was Amber’s turn to frown at the way he’d quickly hidden those papers from her view. But maybe he just didn’t want to talk about work anymore. That would be understandable. ‘Anyway,’ she said, shrugging it off. ‘How about trying to ease that tension just a little bit more, huh?’
‘What you got in mind?’ He smiled, closing his eyes as her thumbs stroked the back of his neck in small, circular motions.
She stopped what she was doing for a second, untying her bikini top and throwing it onto the floor before pressing her naked breasts against his back, running her hands up and down his arms as she rested her chin on his shoulder. ‘Oh, I don’t know. You got any ideas?’
He gave a low, sexy laugh. ‘Get over here. I need to look at you.’
She slid round in front of him, climbing astride him, pushing her breasts out as an invitation for him to touch her because, oh God, she wanted to be touched. She wanted him to touch her so badly.
‘Jesus, Amber,’ he groaned, running his fingers ever-so-lightly over her nipples, his eyes watching their every movement. ‘I don’t think I’d have got through this trip without you here.’
‘Yeah, you would,’ she breathed, throwing her head back as his fingers pressed harder against her naked breasts before travelling slowly down her body, trailing over her stomach, stroking her hips. ‘You’d have managed.’
‘You know that for sure, do you?’ he whispered, his lips lightly brushing the base of her throat as he began slowly untying the sides of her bikini bottoms, pulling them away from her so she was completely naked.
‘You’d have found some way of relieving the tension.’ She smiled, burying her fingers in his hair as his mouth covered one of her breasts, his tongue flicking over her nipple, sending her stomach on another major somersaulting session.
The time for talking was over. They both knew where this was heading now.
She could feel his erection hard against her, ready and waiting to fill her up, and she reached down to free him, taking him in her hand, gasping as her fingers wrapped themselves around him. His groans turned her on even more, her need to have him inside her growing by the second, so when he lifted her up slightly, she made no attempt to fight the inevitable, lowering herself back down onto him, guiding him in with her hand.
‘Oh Jesus, Amber…’ he groaned as he slipped inside her. She was so wet it took no force at all, no effort to push his way in. ‘You have no idea how much I need this right now.’
She threw her head back again as she rode him hard and fast, feeling him slip in and out of her in a beautiful, almost painful rhythm, her fingers buried in his hair as he thrust deep into her. She really couldn’t live without this man. She’d tried – for nearly two decades she’d tried – but despite thinking she’d put him to the back of her mind, laid all those ghosts to rest, she’d only really been kidding herself. He’d taken her at such a young age, and his hold had never loosened its grip. She was caught in his trap, entangled in his web, and there was no place else she’d rather be.
Within minutes she could feel that tingle begin to appear, start its climb, slowly turning from a delicious shiver into a tidal wave of exquisite pins and needles as he pushed deeper, taking her to that beautiful precipice before tipping her over the edge in a wave of pleasure and pain that engulfed her completely, making her cry out loud.
Oh God, she loved this man. She loved him so much. They had so many lost years to catch up on, and Amber wanted to make sure that, this time, nothing was wasted. No opportunities were overlooked or lost. She couldn’t afford for that to happen. She wanted to be with this man forever. And she wanted everything he could give her. Everything.
‘I love you so much, Jim,’ she whispered, her face buried in his hair as their bodies shuddered to a halt, his arms falling around her. He was still inside her, and Amber wanted him to stay there, just for a little while. Just for a little bit longer. ‘I love you so much.’
‘Hey, I love you, too, baby,’ he said, gently stroking the small of her back in slow, rhythmic movements. ‘You drive me fucking crazy, I can’t begin to tell you…’
She pulled away slightly, closing her eyes as his mouth touched hers, kissing her in the most beautiful way – slowly and carefully, his mouth slightly open, his tongue touching hers. But she knew that if she didn’t make a move soon, didn’t leave this little bubble of theirs behind, she was never going to be able to concentrate on work. And that’s where she needed her head to be now.
‘I’d better go grab a shower.’ She smiled at him, running her fingers lightly over his cheek as she felt him finally leave her body, and the sudden wave of emptiness that one small action caused her to feel was quite shocking.
‘We’re gonna be okay, Amber. Me and you. We’re gonna be okay.’
She just smiled at him again as she stood up, running her fingers through her hair, and Jim watched as she walked into the bathroom, naked and beautiful, and his. She was all his. Finally. And he loved her so much it hurt like hell when she was out of his sight, when she wasn’t near. It had always been that way. All those years apart, out of her life; he’d always felt that way. And nothing he’d done to try and forget her had worked. Nothing.
Looking down at the pile of papers by his side, he picked them up and turned them back over, scanning the pages again, his stomach turning, making him feel slightly sick at the realisation of just how close Amber had come to seeing them.
He stood up and walked over to his briefcase that was lying next to the dressing table, lifting it up and flicking the catches to open it, throwing the papers inside and slamming the case shut, locking it quickly. He was married to the woman of his dreams; the only woman he’d ever really loved – the only woman he’d allowed himself to love – and that meant there should be no secrets, not anymore. In fact, he’d promised her there’d be no more secrets. He’d promised her that, even though she’d asked him never to promise her anything ever again, after what he’d done to her all those years ago. So maybe it would have been better if he’d let her see the papers. It would have brought forward a situation he was dreading having to face; but it had to happen. And soon. He couldn’t avoid it. He had to tell her, she had to know. He had no choice now anyway. Events and circumstances had seen to that. Circumstances he’d known had been coming, but he’d chosen to bury his head in the sand and delay the inevitable.
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