Final Score

‘Are you kidding me here?’

‘No, I’m being deadly serious.’

She looked at him, narrowing her eyes slightly.

‘They want to do a piece on you and your rise to the top of football broadcasting.’

‘I’m at the top of football broadcasting? Nobody told me.’

‘Do you ever turn that flippancy level down?’

She sat back up, finally removing the pen from her mouth, throwing Max another look.

‘I’ll leave it with you, then,’ he sighed, standing up and slipping his phone into his top jacket pocket. ‘Oh, and Amber?’

‘What?’

‘Think carefully about what you’re doing.’

She knew that sentence was loaded with so many meanings, but she let it go. Of course people were going to question this latest decision of hers to go back to Jim, but did it matter what anyone else really thought? As long as she and Jim were together.

She picked up the pen again and returned it to her mouth, sitting back and staring out around the office she called home at Cloud Sports, grateful it was empty. She was glad of the peace. It wasn’t usually so quiet, but this morning had seen something going down at Endleigh United, one of the big London clubs – the club Jim had managed for all those years before he’d made the decision to move up north and take the manager’s job at Newcastle Red Star. So most of her colleagues had shot off down there to see what was happening. Amber had preferred to make the most of the peace and catch up with any updates via the Cloud Sports News Channel on the large, flat-screen TV on the wall beside her desk. She was due to do a spot of presenting on Cloud Sports News later that afternoon, in between filming a couple more episodes of Back of the Net and preparing for her evening stint on Scoreline. Just thinking about the amount of things she had to fit in before she got the chance to switch off and relax almost made her shudder. But at least being busy kept her mind occupied.

‘What I wouldn’t give to be that pen.’

Her stomach suddenly flipped over and she couldn’t help smiling as she heard his voice behind her, felt his hand on her shoulder, his fingers lightly stroking the back of her neck. She quickly stood up, slipping her arms around his waist, unable to stop herself from kissing his mouth, falling against him as though she hadn’t seen him in months, instead of just a couple of days ago. ‘What are you doing down here, handsome?’

‘It’s a long story.’

Amber frowned. ‘Oh yeah? Well, I’ve got time to listen.’ Sort of. She had a little bit of time, but not all that much. And now he was here she wished she had more.

‘I’ve just come from Parkfield.’ Parkfield Stadium was the home of Endleigh United. But why had Jim been down there? Shouldn’t he have been back in Newcastle, preparing for this weekend’s game? ‘They’ve sacked Ken Hollins. My replacement.’

‘Yeah, I know who Ken Hollins is, in case you’ve forgotten what I actually do for a living. So, they’ve sacked him? I know it’s sort of been on the cards for a while now… Is that what all this commotion is down at the stadium this morning?’

‘The ground’s surrounded by press and fans. Heaven knows how I managed to get in and out without anyone seeing me.’

‘Seeing you? Jim… what’s going on?’

He sat down on the edge of her desk, pulling her in between his legs, his hands on her hips. ‘They want me back.’

Amber’s frown deepened. ‘Who do?’ That was a rhetorical, not to mention stupid, question. Because she knew exactly what the answer was.

‘Endleigh United. They want me back in charge.’

‘Hang on… you’ve got a contract with Newcastle Red Star.’

‘Contracts can be broken, Amber, and you know that.’

She was confused now. ‘And, when… when did all this kick off?’

‘Well, you just said yourself Hollins’ job has been on the line for a while now. The club hasn’t really done all that great since I left…’

‘Big yourself up there, why don’t you.’ She couldn’t help smiling, a smile he returned and she felt her stomach dip and dive all over again. She loved this man so much it was ridiculous.

‘I got an email a few days ago, kind of giving me a heads-up on what was about to happen, but I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure what was going on. And then, late last night, I got a call, asking me to come down and talk to them, and… Baby, I know this seems like it’s come completely out of the blue, but it couldn’t have come at a better time in reality.’

‘How do you work that one out?’

‘We can make a fresh start down here, Amber, don’t you see? You were already thinking about moving away from the north-east anyway, and I hated that idea because I didn’t want you to leave me. I didn’t want you to be so far away I couldn’t… I couldn’t see you. But things have changed now, baby. We can make a new start here. Together. And maybe that’s just what we need.’

‘Whoa, hang on. Slow down there. They’ve offered you your old job back?’

‘More money, more power, a relocation package you wouldn’t believe. Honey, this is so perfect. It’s almost like fate has thrown this at us and I… I really think we should consider it. Seriously consider it.’

Amber couldn’t say anything. All of a sudden this whole situation had just got real, and she didn’t know what to do, or what to say.

‘Most of your work is down here now, Amber. You’re in London far more than you’re up north these days, and if I stay at Red Star we’re hardly gonna see each other. But if I take the Endleigh United job, and we make London our base…’

‘I never wanted to live in London, Jim. Not really. All that talk of moving down here, it was only because I couldn’t think of another way to distance myself from a situation I…’

He stood up, pulling her closer, kissing her quickly, but long enough to make Amber’s knees go weak. That’s how easy it was for him to draw her back under his spell. One kiss. That was all it took. ‘A new start, Amber. And don’t tell me you don’t think we need that.’

‘Do they want you straight away?’ she asked, running her fingers over his cheek, her eyes watching their every move.

‘Pretty much. You know how badly their season’s gone so far, and whether I say yes or not, Hollins is out and someone new is coming in, regardless. They can’t afford to waste any more time.’

‘And when do they need a decision from you?’

‘As soon as possible. A couple of days, max.’

She let go of him, suddenly aware that anyone could walk in at any given moment. And the one thing she didn’t want was their rekindled relationship announced on the gossip grapevine. ‘Ryan won’t be happy.’

‘What’s Ryan got to do with it?’

‘He’s Rico’s dad, Jim. And I promised him I wouldn’t take Rico away from him. I promised him that.’

‘You aren’t taking him away from anyone, Amber.’

‘That’s not how Ryan’ll see it. He thinks any move to London is off now.’

Jim reached out and took her hand, pulling her back against him, and she didn’t fight it. Not this time. If anyone saw them, so what? It was all going to come out anyway. Eventually. And if Jim took the Endleigh United job then it was going to come out sooner rather than later.

‘Our lives are not gonna revolve around Ryan Fisher, baby. Not any more. It’s time to think about what we want now. Because we need to make it work this time, Amber. We need that. Because I don’t know how many chances we’ve got left.’

She looked at him, into those beautiful green eyes, her fingers still lightly trailing over his cheek. ‘I know,’ she whispered. The love she felt for this man was all-consuming; confusing. Unbearable, at times. But she needed him, no matter what. She needed him. And no matter what it took, she’d do it. If it meant they could finally be together.

‘What do you want to do, Jim?’