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couldn’t help laughing. ‘Arm candy? Hardly, Ronnie.’

      ‘You’re not the usual type Ryan Fisher goes for, I have to say.’

      Amber looked at her best friend. ‘Do you want to carry on? Give yourself a few more minutes and you might just get a touch more insulting.’

      ‘You know what I mean, Amber.’

      ‘I’m not sure I do, actually. Look, I really think he’s changed, Ronnie.’

      ‘Jesus, come on, Amber. What do you think you are? Some kind of miracle cure? You’re better than that. The likes of Ryan Fisher don’t change, it isn’t in him.’

      ‘Well, maybe people like you should try and give him a chance. Stop being so judgemental.’

      Ronnie narrowed his eyes, looking at her as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. ‘Okay. You’re scaring me now. What’s caused this sudden turn-around in your opinion of one of football’s most arrogant pricks? A couple of dinner-dates and suddenly you think he’s a saint?’

      ‘Maybe I’ve just learnt not to judge a book by its cover.’

      ‘Yeah, but it’s not just the cover, though, is it, Amber? It’s backed up by everything that’s inside, too.’

      Amber swung back around on her chair and started shutting down her laptop. She was tired and she needed to get home quickly tonight, shower, change, and then get herself over to the Tynebridge Stadium where she was covering a charity dinner for News North East that Newcastle Red Star were throwing. And it may be a night of working that lay ahead, but she still had to look good.

      ‘Look, Ronnie, it’s just a bit of fun, alright? And, if you remember, it was you who told me I should be having more of that.’

      ‘Yeah, but I don’t remember telling you to have it with Ryan Fisher.’

      Amber smiled at Ronnie as she closed the lid of her laptop and stood up, slipping her coat on and grabbing her bag up off the floor. ‘You jealous?’

      ‘As if,’ Ronnie smirked, following her as she walked towards the lift that took them down to the underground car park. ‘You’re in a bit of a hurry, aren’t you?’

      ‘That’s because I’m in a rush. I’ve got to get home, shower, find something glamorous to wear and get my arse down to Tynebridge for seven-thirty. Kevin’s got me covering this charity dinner the club are throwing tonight.’

      ‘Oh, right. I’m off there, too. Quite a few ex-Red Star players are going to be there, so I gather. Your dad’s going, isn’t he?’

      ‘Yeah, he is,’ Amber replied, stepping into the lift, closely followed by Ronnie. ‘I wondered why you were back up north again.’

      ‘Well, somebody’s got to keep an eye on you, obviously,’ Ronnie winked, sticking his hands in his pockets as he leaned back against the wall. ‘So what’s your dad think about you getting involved with Ryan Fisher?’

      ‘He doesn’t know, yet,’ Amber said, standing by the lift doors as they opened slowly, stepping out into the underground car park, her heels click-clacking across the concrete floor as she walked quickly towards her car.

      ‘Christ, what have you and Fisher been doing all this time? Non-stop sex and no dates anywhere public?’

      ‘Pretty much, yeah,’ Amber smirked, flinging her bag into the passenger seat of her little Fiat 500.

      ‘Are you kidding me? Jesus, I go away for a couple of weeks and you turn into some sex-crazed cougar.’

      ‘Cheeky sod!’ she laughed, playfully punching his arm. ‘Look, we just didn’t see the point in advertising the fact we’re together, okay? Especially when we don’t really know what’s happening yet.’

      ‘So, it’s nothing serious, then?’

      Amber leaned back against her car, folding her arms. ‘No, Ronnie. It’s definitely nothing serious.’

      He stood beside her, copying her stance. ‘Good.’

      Amber looked at him. ‘Why do you say that?’

      ‘Because this is Ryan Fisher we’re talking about here. Remember? And I care about you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.’

      ‘He won’t hurt me.’

      ‘Won’t he?’

      She fixed Ronnie with a determined stare. ‘No. He won’t.’

      Ronnie looked out across the cold and unfeeling car park, his arms still folded across his chest. ‘What about tonight?’

      ‘What about it?’ Amber asked, looking at her watch. She really was going to have to make a move in a minute or she’d never be ready in time.

      ‘Are you and Ryan going to spend the entire night avoiding each other so as not to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak?’

      Amber shrugged, stepping away from the car and opening the driver-side door. ‘I guess we’ll just have to play that one by ear, won’t we?’

      ‘Whoa! Freddie Sullivan’s little girl really has grown-up, hasn’t she?’

      Amber swung round, finding herself face-to-face with Newcastle Red Star’s new boss, Jim Allen. She’d successfully managed to avoid him for a few weeks now, but it looked like that had been nothing but a minor stay of execution. Although, if she thought she could get away with it, she’d turn and run straight to the Cooper Suite – where the dinner was being held – and forget this had ever happened.

      The way his eyes looked her slowly up and down in the knee-length black sheath dress and matching stiletto-heeled ankle boots she was wearing made her feel more than a little uncomfortable, but, short of turning her back on him and walking in a completely different direction to where she needed to be, she had no choice but to speak to him. Even though it was the last thing she really wanted to do.

      ‘I’m thirty-seven, Jim. I grew up a long time ago. I had to. And you more than anyone should know that.’

      There. It was done. She’d seen him, she’d spoken to him, that was enough. But as she turned to go he gently grabbed her arm, swinging her round to face him. ‘You look beautiful, Amber.’

      Amber could feel her cheeks flush, her heart picking up the pace as far as beats were concerned. This wasn’t how she’d wanted the night to start. She had work to do, she didn’t need this.

      ‘I’m working, Jim.’

      He reached out and touched her face, the palm of his hand resting lightly on her warm cheek as his green eyes looked right into hers. ‘It really is so good to see you…’

      ‘I don’t need this…’ She tried to walk away from him but he somehow managed to grab her hand, giving her no other option but to stop and face him again.

      ‘I’ve signed a four-year contract, honey, and considering your line of work, it’s gonna be pretty damn hard for you to avoid me forever.’

      She stared into his eyes, wishing this wasn’t happening but knowing it had only been a matter of time. The second she’d heard Newcastle Red Star had appointed him as their new manager she’d known this day would come. She’d known she was going to have to face him again, after years of trying to forget he even existed. ‘And this… this relationship we have… We need to do something about that, don’t we?’

      ‘We don’t have a “relationship”, Jim.’

      He smiled at her, that full-on, all-American smile that had made him one of the most lusted-after football managers by bored housewives and female football fans alike. To describe him as a good-looking son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t be too far from the truth, but Amber had messed with Jim Allen one time too many. And been hurt badly in the process. ‘Now, y’see, I don’t agree with

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