Extra Time. Michelle Betham

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СКАЧАТЬ history had been chequered, to say the least. There’d been a lot of pain, a lot of heartache; people had got hurt – Ryan had got hurt, her father had got hurt, and that was something she really hadn’t wanted to happen. Telling him that one of his oldest friends had slept with her when she was still a teenager was a memory Amber couldn’t erase. The look on his face when he’d found out about her and Jim, it still made her flinch. But all that mattered now was that Ryan seemed to be okay, her dad was slowly coming to terms with everything, and Jim was finally where he belonged. With her. The way it always should have been.

      She felt her stomach give another flip as she remembered Jim touching her that morning, waking her up with a kiss before pulling her against him, stroking her breasts and kissing her neck as he’d gently pushed inside her from behind. Oh, Jesus, why had she started thinking about that now? She could feel the tingling between her legs already taking effect and it really wasn’t the time or the place for that to be happening.

      She shook out her hair, taking a deep breath at the same time, looking up again at the trickle of people still filtering out of arrivals. And then she saw him – all tall, dark and handsome, dressed casually in a pair of dark trousers and a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his hand-luggage holdall slung over one shoulder, his sunglasses perched in his short, dark hair.

      He saw her almost immediately, his face breaking into a wide grin, his pace quickening as he approached her. Amber couldn’t stop her heart from beating faster as he got closer, dropping his bag on the floor as he scooped her up in his arms and hugged her tight, kissing her quickly on the mouth.

      ‘Hey, gorgeous! How’s my beautiful new work colleague doing?’

      Amber repositioned her sunglasses on the top of her head as she smiled at him. He’d picked up a bit of a tan since they’d last seen each other, and it suited him. ‘I’m doing just fine, thanks. You?’

      ‘Yeah, things are okay. They’re okay.’

      Amber frowned slightly as she watched him pick up his bag and sling it back over his shoulder.

      ‘Been looking forward to heading out here, though,’ he went on, shoving his hands in his pockets, his eyes now fixed firmly on hers. ‘Kind of itching to get back to work.’

      She raised a questioning eyebrow. ‘Really?’

      ‘Yeah,’ he laughed, following her as she headed out of the airport, bracing herself for the wall of heat that was going to hit them the second they stepped outside. ‘Really. How’s it all going over here, anyway?’

      They were both due to cover the Newcastle Red Star match in Tenerife, although Amber had a feeling her new employers were easing her into her new job gently by giving her this particular trip to cover. Her best friend had just joined her to give her a bit more support, and she’d had her husband by her side all the way. But she didn’t need ‘easing’ into anything. She’d managed fine so far. Still, she wasn’t complaining. She was going to be apart from Jim a lot more than she really wanted to be once the new season kicked off, so any time she could spend with him, no matter what the circumstances, was precious. She wasn’t going to knock it.

      ‘It’s all good, Ronnie. Jim’s incredibly relaxed, which means the squad is relaxed, so the atmosphere is really nice. Oh, and the hotel is amazing!’

      Ronnie smiled as they crossed the road and headed back towards the car park. ‘So married life’s suiting you, then?’

      She looked at him as they walked, throwing him a sideways smile. ‘Yeah. It is.’

      He arched an eyebrow and she couldn’t help but laugh.

      ‘Here we are,’ she said, pressing the key fob to open the doors of the small white Citroen hire car. ‘Climb in and I’ll take you to the hotel.’

      ‘Do you fancy stopping off for some lunch first?’ Ronnie asked, throwing his bag onto the back seat of the car. ‘I’m starving, and we don’t have to go back to the hotel straightaway, do we? And, we’re not technically at work again until tomorrow.’

      She looked at him over the roof of the car. ‘Yeah. Okay. It can’t do any harm, I suppose.’

      ‘Of course it can’t do any harm, what are you talking about? Come on. You’ve been here a couple of days now, you must know somewhere decent to grab something to eat.’

      She smiled at him before climbing into the driver’s seat. ‘Yeah. I do.’

      He climbed in beside her and shut the door, sitting back and letting out a huge sigh as the air-con kicked in almost immediately. ‘Then take me there, beautiful. I’m gasping for a pint.’

       Chapter Two

      The last of the evening sun beat down on the balcony as Ryan stepped outside, pushing a hand through his dark hair as he stared at the stunning view that greeted him, at the island of La Gomera out in the distance. The sun was just beginning to set, and the colours it created as it began to dip below the island were just beautiful, turning the sky a mixture of red and gold as the light changed at the rapid pace that was common in the Canary Islands.

      He was really starting to appreciate shit like this now, after everything that had happened, everything he’d been through. It had opened his eyes to what was important in life – to a point, anyway, because Ryan Fisher hadn’t turned into a saint. He still liked a drink, still loved the women – and the women still loved him, and being here, on this holiday island, well, it was like being in some kind of human sweet shop where he could have access to anything he wanted at any time. He only had to step outside the hotel and women of all ages were suddenly surrounding him. Once upon a time that would have been a dream come true, but there were times now when it just felt like something he had to do in order to keep up an image he was slowly becoming tired of. But even though he had someone back home who would quite happily help him to settle down – he only had to say the word – he just couldn’t bring himself to take that step forward. He just couldn’t seem to let it all go, not yet. He’d tried it once and it hadn’t worked, so why put himself through all that again?

      No, he was quite happy just to let things tick along the way they were. Commitment wasn’t something he was thinking about right now. Serious relationships had been put very much on the back-burner. He was going to start living again, start enjoying himself, start making the most of this new beginning he’d been lucky enough to salvage from what could have been one hell of a mess. A mess the old Ryan had created. And despite the old Ryan being someone he couldn’t completely say goodbye to just yet, he wasn’t altogether sure he was that person anymore – the one who partied ’til all hours, slept with as many women as he could before breaking their hearts as he told them goodbye without a second thought to anyone’s feelings but his own. He couldn’t say he wanted to leave all of that behind him, but it wasn’t as exciting as it had once been, because it had been that lifestyle that had pushed Amber away. The old Ryan had made her leave and he regretted that every single minute of every single day.

      The phone ringing back inside his room made him jump slightly, pulling him back from his thoughts of a life he hadn’t realised he’d wanted, until it was way too late. A more settled life. A life with Amber.

      He wondered whether he should answer it – he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now. He’d been looking forward to a bit of time alone before they all met for another squad night out СКАЧАТЬ