I collapse onto her chest. Her heartbeat reverberates throughout my soul. Lifting my head to meet her eyes, I’m surprised to find silent tears falling freely from her eyes. I had hoped she was done crying.
‘Sorry.’ She wipes them away with the back of her hand, embarrassed at her emotional display.
‘Don’t be. You’re beautiful.’ I love her in every way, make-up or no make-up, fierce or emotional.
‘Callum, don’t look at me like that, or I’ll have no choice but to tell you I love you,’ she whispers. Cautious chocolate brown eyes lock into mine with a shy vulnerability.
A triumphant grin assumes centre position on my face. The resounding victory within superior to any win, any try, any game, league or championship.
‘I needed to hear you say that,’ I confess, stroking the tears away from her perfect face. ‘I fell in love with you the very first time I kissed you in front of the entire country in Phoenix Park.’
‘Good job you didn’t say it then. I’d have run a mile. No offence. We made enough news that day.’ She smiles at the memory.
‘You took a bit more convincing than I did, but I knew you felt it. It was like nothing I experienced before.’ I lie on the pillow next to her and lift her onto my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
‘I’ve been thinking…’ She looks up at me with those puppy dog eyes. ‘About New York. I’m not going.’
A gasp slips from my mouth. It’s a big gesture, choosing James’s wedding over the biggest opportunity of her career. Obviously, I want her to come with me, but will she resent me later when she sees someone else’s name attached to the most exclusive interview of this decade?
She lies silent and thoughtful for a few minutes staring at the intricate coving of the ceiling.
‘I want to go to James’s wedding with you, as your date, way more than meeting some man band that will probably be so drunk that they won’t even turn up,’ she reasons.
‘Are you sure?’ It’d mean the world to have her with me on such a big day, but I hate the thought of her missing out. I can bring her to New York before the year is over, but I can’t offer her an exclusive interview with anyone but me.
‘I’m sure.’ She kisses my chest lovingly, suddenly sure. ‘Aoife can’t go, she’s pregnant. Candice isn’t allowed to go because she’s a manager. I could give it to the boys downstairs that do the morning show…’ she trails off thoughtfully. ‘But I think I’m actually going to offer it to Sally No Soul.’
‘What? After everything she’s done?’ I don’t believe it.
‘That’s exactly why she needs it. Whatever happened to her along the way made her the way she is. Maybe what she needs is a little bit of kindness.’
‘One more thing,’ I add. ‘And it’s not up for negotiation. We are filing a restraining order against Sean Fitzpatrick. I don’t want him anywhere near you.’ He might not be violent, but after Declan’s discovery, I won’t take any chances.
She nods. We have to draw a line under him one way or another, and we can’t do that while he continues to cross it.
‘Thank you.’ I kiss her button nose. ‘I can’t actually wait for the wedding. I might even pick up some tips for my speech, when the time comes,’ I joke, but it’s not as far from the truth as I once imagined.
