Final Score (17 page)

‘I’m probably going to have to get a nanny now, too. Now that my dad and my family aren’t just around the corner. And I vowed I’d never have a nanny.’

‘Things never really turn out the way you plan.’

She turned to face him again, smiling slightly. ‘No. I don’t suppose they do.’

‘You should be grateful that you can finally be with the one person you love more than anything.’ His eyes bored into hers and she pulled her folded arms tighter against her chest. ‘You should be grateful for that, Amber. Because, for some of us, we just know that isn’t ever going to happen.’

Chapter Eleven

‘You busy?’

Amber looked up from her laptop, her smile becoming instant and wide as she saw Jim standing there in the doorway, leaning against it in a way that made Amber certain he was the most incredibly sexy man she’d ever laid eyes on. And he was hers. He was finally hers. No more false starts.

‘Not any more.’

‘Good.’ He walked slowly over to her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and it was only then that it struck Amber how much more casually he’d started dressing lately. Sure, the well-cut suits and expensive shirts were still a staple on match days for him. That was the kind of manager he was. That was the image he projected. But at the training ground he’d started to show up in tracksuits, or shorts and a football shirt, and out of work she’d seen him wear a lot more jeans, t-shirts and boots. It was almost as if, since getting everything off his chest, a weight had been lifted from him and he was finally allowing the man he really was to come through and show himself. A more relaxed, a more approachable, Jim Allen. ‘Because I’ve got something for you.’

She swung around on her chair, sliding her pen into her mouth as she crossed her legs, her eyes meeting his. ‘I know I’m the only one here at the minute, handsome, but anyone could come back in at any time.’

He laughed that low, sexy-as-hell laugh and she felt a delicious shiver course right through her that made it hard for her to catch her breath for a second or two. ‘As much as I would like nothing better…’ He pulled her up out of her chair and into his arms, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he continued to stare into her eyes, ‘than to slide my hand up under that dress you’re wearing, slip those panties down and pull you astride me, I really think it’d be best if we left that until we get home, don’t you agree?’

Amber swallowed hard, her knees suddenly feeling so weak she thought her legs might actually give way. ‘Yeah,’ she breathed, but it was taking every ounce of strength she had left not to do it anyway. Her mind had been quite focused on nothing but that evening’s stint she was due to do in the Cloud Sports studio later, until he’d walked in. Her beautiful, handsome all-American fantasy. Now all she wanted to do was get naked and have lots of dirty sex with the man she wanted to marry so badly it was almost like a physical pain. ‘Actually, no. I don’t agree.
I
think we should go straight to the bathroom and fuck so hard I won’t be able to walk for the rest of the day, because you have no business coming in here and distracting me with that sexy laugh and those beautiful eyes. You have no business, Mr. Allen.’

His stare intensified, and she swore she could feel her thighs burning up as he pulled her just that little bit closer. Oh, God, she wanted him to kiss her so badly –
so
badly. And she didn’t even care if anyone saw them. She was past that point now. He was the drug she couldn’t kick, that fix she needed, and she needed it right now, before she could even think about carrying on.

‘You want to do that?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow, an action that only made Amber’s knees even weaker.

‘You have no idea how much I want to do that,’ she groaned, pushing herself against him as his hand gently rubbed her lower back. ‘But I suppose I’d better be a good girl and wait.’

‘As long as you’re a very, very
bad
girl when you get home tonight,’ Jim whispered, his mouth almost touching hers as he spoke.

‘That’s it,’ she sighed, throwing her head back as she gently pushed him away. ‘I can’t do this any more. Get away from me before I do something I’ll enjoy way too much.’

He smiled that heartbreakingly beautiful smile of his, sitting himself down on the edge of her desk as Amber quickly tried to compose herself before any of her colleagues came back into the large, open-plan office she’d spent most of the day in at the Cloud Sports complex.

‘Anyway, you said you had something for me.’ She ran her fingers through her hair, shaking it out before leaning back against the wall, resting one stiletto-heeled boot up against it to steady herself.

‘I’ve got something for you, yeah.’ He stood up, slowly walking over to her, and a part of her wished he wouldn’t do that. If he got too close again she really would be tempted to drag him off to the nearest rest room and do the dirty in the first free cubicle. ‘This is what I’ve got for you.’ He took her left hand, reached into his pocket and pulled out a white-gold, yellow-diamond solitaire, slipping it slowly onto her third finger. ‘I was going to wait until tonight, when you were naked and wet and lying underneath me… but I kind of want you to be wearing this when you’re live on air tonight. I don’t know, call me slightly possessive here, but I want everyone to know once and for all that you’re mine. That we’re together. That I’m head-over-heels, crazy-in-love with you and we are getting married, baby. We are getting married!’

She closed her eyes and gave in to his kiss, almost collapsing in his arms as his mouth moved against hers gently and slowly, her fingers burying themselves in his hair. She wanted to stay there all evening now. She wanted to stay in his arms, kissing him and holding him and knowing that it was all going to end in hot and heavy sex. She wanted that. She wanted him.

‘We are getting married,’ she whispered, resting her mouth against his, smiling, because he made her do that now. He made her smile. Gone were the days when he made her wary and confused; the days when she couldn’t trust him and needed him gone. Now he just made her smile.

‘I love you, Amber Sullivan.’

‘Oh, God, I love you, too… you have no idea,’ she gasped, biting down on her lip as his hand slid just a touch up under her dress, briefly stroking her thigh before pulling away. ‘I love, love, love you, too!’

He kissed her again, another long, slow kiss that caused her stomach to flip, her head to spin, and her body to melt against him. But she knew if she didn’t stop this soon she’d be nowhere near ready for live TV. So no matter how little she felt like doing it now, she had to leave him alone and switch back to being the sports reporter she had to be tonight.

‘Everything okay with the squad?’ she asked, changing the subject as she gently pushed him away again, going back over to her desk.

Jim looked at her, frowning slightly. ‘Why wouldn’t it be?’

‘Well,’ she began, turning around and leaning back against her desk. ‘You have precisely three games left in charge of Newcastle Red Star, so, I just wondered if that’s unsettling anyone.’

By anyone, did she mean Ryan?

‘No. It isn’t. Everyone’s focused on the job in hand. The fact the club have a replacement ready to take over as soon as I leave is a bonus. It means it won’t be too long before they’re all used to a new manager.’

‘He’s not as proven a manager as you are, though, is he? I mean, Dave French has a great reputation, but he hasn’t won any titles or any silverware for any of the clubs he’s been in charge of before.’

Jim shrugged. He didn’t really feel much like talking about this right now. ‘He’s a good manager. And he’s bringing some great backroom staff with him.’

‘Just as well, seeing as you’re bringing all of yours with you to Endleigh.’

Jim watched her as she buzzed around the office, checking over papers, her pretty face bent over her running order, her mind now focused on her work, and he still marvelled at the way she could do that – switch from being the sexiest woman alive to the most professional presenter he’d ever seen in an instant. It was a huge turn-on.

‘Colin’s my right-hand man, Amber. I need him.’

She looked up from her papers and smiled. ‘Yeah. I know you do.’

He really didn’t want to tell her what Ryan had told him yesterday. Part of him hoped he was only calling his bluff, but Jim wasn’t naïve enough to think that was the case any more. Rico was very real, and Ryan loved that baby, even Jim could see that. If Rico didn’t exist then, yes, maybe Ryan could be accused of playing mind games. But not this time. This time Jim knew he was serious. And he knew he couldn’t really keep it from Amber. She worked within the world of football. Her job meant that she was going to be one of the first to hear about Ryan’s intended transfer request, and he needed her to hear it from him, not through information sent to her via email.

‘Amber?’

She looked up again. ‘Yeah?’

‘Ryan’s going to put in a transfer request.’

Her eyes lowered back down to the papers she was holding, as though she’d just dismissed what he’d told her as nothing important.

‘Baby, did you hear what I said?’

She nodded, carefully laying the papers down on her desk. ‘He wants to move down here.’ It wasn’t a question, because it didn’t have to be. She already knew the answer.

‘He wants to be closer to Rico, yes.’

She looked up, her eyes meeting his. ‘Then what is the point of us doing all of this, Jim? If he’s just going to follow us down here, then what is the point of us leaving the north-east?’

‘Come here.’

She let him pull her between his legs as he stayed sitting on the edge of her desk.

‘There is
every
point, Amber. This is still a brand-new start for us…’

‘I want to get married in Vegas.’

He looked at her, completely taken aback by what she’d just said. ‘You… want to get married in
Vegas
?’

‘I don’t want a big celebrity wedding, Jim. I don’t want any of that; the whole idea fills me with utter dread. I don’t want to be under the spotlight on a day that is supposed to be about you and me. And I know you said you wanted to do it properly this time but that isn’t doing it properly, not really.’

‘Okay…’

‘So, let’s go to Vegas. You’ve got a few days off between your last game at Red Star and your first with Endleigh, so, let’s go to Vegas. And let’s get married. Let’s have a day that’s just about you and me before we have to start dealing with any more crap, because I need that, Jim. I really need that.’

That totally unexpected outburst had taken him completely by surprise, but the more he thought about it, the more he realised she was probably right. Some time alone, just the two of them, would be good. Because they weren’t going to get all that much of it once he took over the reins at Endleigh United. ‘Then we’re going to Vegas, baby!’

She laughed, and it was a sound that made Jim realise he just couldn’t lose this woman, not again. He wasn’t strong enough. Ryan Fisher may have once more moved the goalposts, but Jim had every intention of putting them right back where they belonged.

*

‘Are you out of your fucking mind?’ Max stared at Ryan as though he’d just told him the most ridiculous thing ever. Which he had, in Max’s eyes.

‘You want me to stay at Newcastle Red Star? Hundreds of miles away from my son? Is that what you want?’

‘I want you to have a career, Ryan, that’s what I want. Something which you seem intent on fucking up – again.’

Ryan stared at his agent through narrowed eyes.

‘Oh, don’t give me that innocent look, son. I know. I know you had “one of those nights.” I know you turned up late to training looking like you hadn’t slept, which you probably hadn’t, because you were up all night playing blackjack and fucking random women in one of The Goldman’s more expensive suites, flashing cash around like it was going out of fashion. Are we revisiting those old days, Ryan? Hmm? Are we?’

Ryan couldn’t say anything. He felt like he’d just been reprimanded by a particularly irate head teacher. ‘Jesus, Max, you might take a percentage of my earnings but it doesn’t give you the right to talk to me like I’m twelve years old.’

‘Then stop acting like it. Grow the fuck up, Ryan, and get back to acting like an adult. You were well on your way to actually doing that, so let’s not have another relapse, okay?’

‘It was one night, Max.’

‘And one night leads to another. That’s how it all started before…’

‘I’m not going there again, alright? It was one night.’

Max raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Ryan sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. ‘I’m still putting in a transfer request.’

‘You’re crazy. You are a superstar in the north-east, Ryan, a local hero. Your future is sorted with Newcastle Red Star. And I can completely understand why you feel you need to be…’

‘There must be at least one of the big London clubs interested.’

‘Oh, I have no doubt that quite a few of them would probably pay a ridiculous amount of money to bring you back down south, but I don’t think you should be going anywhere. And besides, you’re still under contract until the summer. Look, if you really want to move why not wait until the end of the season? You can just walk out of Red Star and into any other club you want, because they’ll be standing there waiting with open arms, I can guarantee that.’

‘I don’t want to wait, Max. I can’t hang on until the summer, I can’t.’

Max sighed. ‘You really don’t make my life easy. You’re settled in Newcastle, Ryan. You have a life there, why uproot it all and start all over again? Because I’m not stupid. I know you want to be close to Rico, I get that. But is he the only reason you want to move?’

Ryan sat down on one of the oversized black suede couches that graced the bar of the hotel the team were staying at. ‘She’s his mum, Max. She comes with him whether I want that or not.’

‘And?
Do
you want it?’

Ryan looked at Max, an expression of total bewilderment on his face. ‘What the hell are you talking about? I’ve just told you…’