Fallon’s cheeks flushed. ‘You think?’ She brushed a hand over her tummy, looking down at her biggest insecurity. ‘I bought the set while we were away. Oliver loves it, but his opinion can’t be trusted.’ She waved her hands in front of her tits, which looked spectacular thanks to the push-up bra. ‘He was only staring at these when I tried it on.’
For as long as I’ve known her, Fallon struggled with people commenting on her weight, making their opinions known and, at the same time, making her feel worthless. I’d watched her fight to claw back her sense of self-worth from her fucked up family, and seeing her wear something that a year ago would have made her heave if I’d suggested it, made me want to cry and pop champagne all at the same time.
‘Trust me, you look hot as fuck, babe.’
After another quick hug, we unrolled our mats, flopping cross-legged onto them and faced each other. We had at least five minutes before the class was officially supposed to start.
‘You never told me whyyoga?’she said, glancing around the room to ensure we wouldn’t be overheard. We were tucked in the far corner, safe from wagging ears.
Stretching my legs into a V, feeling the pinch in my hamstrings, I winced. ‘I don’t know. Fitness and shit.’ When she stared at me for a long moment, I blew out a hard breath and said, ‘It was the first ad that came up on Instagram.’
A wry smile twitched on her lips. ‘It’s probably a good thing, I could do with some stretching.’ Her voice dipped low. ‘Oliver’s stamina is insane. I get bow-legged every couple of days.’
‘Ah, so the myth of the boyfriend dick is real?’
‘Oh, yes, it’s very fucking real.’ The smile across her face was so free, emotion clawed up my throat. In the weeks after the memoir was published and Oliver and Fallon’s relationship became public, journalists had picked at them constantly. The press couldn’t wrap their tiny cluster ofbrain cells around the fact that the world’s greatest footballer, who had the abs and arrogance to match, could fall in love with a woman who was bigger than a size zero. But they fit together. Even though I struggled with the fact that I had to share my best friend, it was clear to anyone who bothered to look twice that they were disgustingly in love.
‘Every time I trawl through Amazon to buy books, I see your name in big letters. It’s still at number one, babe.’ After a huge red carpet was rolled out for the book’s release, Oliver and Fallon had gone on countless morning shows and talked about it. Like most things in life, Oliver was effortless, but I saw the nerves in Fallon whenever the camera was on her.
Her face flushed at the mention of the book. ‘Yeah, the reception has been great.’
‘Because your writing is phenomenal.’
She gave me a look. ‘I think it has more to do with the shirtless guy on the cover.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Please, those abs only go so far. It’s all you.’ I leaned forward and cupped her rosy cheeks. ‘You’re amazing.’
Her smile was wide for all of two seconds before it dropped like shattered glass. ‘Shit, I have something to tell you.’
I sat back on my mat, eyeing her carefully. ‘Okay.’
The colour usually staining her cheeks paled, and she took some deep breaths. Each one had my heart rate speeding up in worry. She held up her hands. ‘And I don’t know how you’ll react, but I would appreciate the Rosie who found out I was dying my hair pink and grabbed the bottle of dye and helped me out, not the current one who is scrunching up her nose.’
I brought a hand to my face, smoothing out the wrinkle. ‘Sorry, but you’re freaking me out. What is it?’
Taking a deep breath, she ran a hand through her tousled locks. ‘Oliver… he, uh?—’
My stomach dropped.That motherfucker.I reached out to grab my phone from my bag. ‘Say no more, I’ll call mum, and we’ll bring the entire coven to rain down hellfire on the football twat.’
She snatched the bag from my hands, blowing out a harsh breath. ‘No. Jesus, he’s not done anything.’ She paused, lips thinning. ‘Well, not really…’
My hand darted to the bag she held hostage on her lap, ready to yank it from her grip. ‘His legs will be removed from his body forthwith.’
Her head dropped between her shoulder blades. ‘For God’s sake, he doesn’t need to be mutilated.’
‘If he’s hurt you?—’
‘He’s asked me to move in with him,’ she exclaimed, then slapped a hand over her mouth.
The anxiety churning in my gut vanished. It took a moment for her words to register, but once they had, my lips parted in a shocked smile. ‘Babe, that’s amazing!’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘Really?’
I noticed her shoulders sag in relief.
I frowned. ‘Were you really that nervous to tell me?’
She gave a soft shrug. ‘Kind of.’
