How Many Chances

by Beverley Hollowed

  “I see,” Ally replied unsure of how else she should reply to that.

  “I know the money is new to you and makes you uncomfortable,” Cole continued as he nervously searched for the right words. “But it’s who I am. I have worked hard to make this life for myself. And I want to share that life with you, every part of it. Just give it a chance. Please.”

  “Okay,” Ally nodded and smiled brightly at Cole. He really was perfect.

  Ninety minutes later she was in the back of yet another Black Range Rover, speeding down the motorway towards the Centre of London, heading towards Coles London apartment.

  “Sir,” the man driving the car, whose name Ally couldn’t remember, said suddenly, sounding very serious and proper. Ally reckoned he was possibly in his mid-thirties, not unattractive, definitely ex-army. “It would seem the vultures have already started to circle. There is a bunch of paps at the apartment. Are you sure you still want to go there. I could make arrangements in one of the hotels for you and Ms Brody.”

  “No Nick,” Cole replied. “I told Ally I was taking her home and that is where we are going.”

  He turned to Ally and smiled, then once again took her hand and brought it to his mouth and kissed it softly.

  “Gorgeous girl, it would seem we have company waiting for us,” Cole said constantly watching Ally’s reaction. “This is never really pleasant but it’s life here in London. I had hoped we would have gotten away with it for this evening but it seems they have their little spies everywhere. When we get to the apartment, we will pull into the underground parking but it can become crazy. But we have everything under control so I don’t want you to worry, okay.”

  Ally just stared at Cole blankly, she had no idea what the hell he was talking about. She was just about to ask him to explain what he meant but she was suddenly blinded with a bright flash, and then another and then another.

  Suddenly the car slowed and they were surround by more than a dozen cameras pressed up against the glass of the car. Flash after blinding flash lit up the car.

  “Cole, what the hell is going on?” Ally said as panic took hold of her, the sounds of the cameras bouncing off the car was almost deafening and was possible the scariest noise in the world.

  “Ally its ok, I promise,” he reassured her. He quickly wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to him. “We will be through this is a few moments. I have you. Don’t worry.”

  As quickly as it started, the flashing stopped and they were now plunged into darkness.

  Ally kept her eyes pinched closed until the car had come to a complete stop.

  “We’re safe” Cole whispered. Ally sat up and looked at him in complete shock. Fear and anger etched across her face.

  “What the hell was that?” Ally asked, and Cole cringed at the mixture of shock and contempt in her voice.

  “That would be the wonderful paparazzi,” Cole replied staring at Ally hoping this wasn’t about to go really badly. “They follow me from time to time, but since Ben, they have been camped out anywhere they think I might turn up.”

  “And you brought me here,” Ally asked, even surprising herself with the anger in her voice. “Jesus Christ Cole, what the hell were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking I want the woman I love to be with me,” Cole replied sounding a little angry too. “I wanted you to see my home, meet my family and most importantly meet my son. Is that such a bad thing?”

  Ally stared at him for a moment as she thought about how she should answer him, but words failed her. She knew she had bitten of more than she could chew. She knew that before she had even left her grandparents’ house the day previous.

  She wanted to say that she just wanted to go home but she knew she couldn’t. Instead she just sighed and climbed out of the car. She slammed the car door closed and turned and was surprised to be face to face with the driver.

  “Miss,” he said looking at her straight in the eyes. He looked angry and a little scary. His tone was one of impatience. Ally instantly felt uncomfortable with his close proximity. But she met his glare defiantly. “Don’t ever get out of the car until you are given the all clear. Do you understand me?”

  “I am not stupid,” Ally snapped back, angrily and thought to herself. Who is this asshole? “I wasn’t aware I needed your permission.”

  “Miss it’s for your own safety,” he explained a little less forcefully, sensing Ally’s irritation.

  “Nick this is my fault,” Cole suddenly appeared next to Ally. “I should have explained things better to her, it won’t happen again, I assure you.”

  “Very good, Sir,” Nick replied before he turned and headed towards the elevator door to wait for Cole and Ally.

  Ally looked at Cole in disbelief. Cole looked at her nervously. By now he knew her well enough to know she was really pissed and mad as hell. He waited for her biting comment but it didn’t come. Instead she just turned and walked in the direction of the elevator too.

  Cole sighed deeply and followed Ally closely.

  The three stepped into the elevator and Nick entered a code into the key pad on the wall of the lift and they travelled to the penthouse in complete silence. The whole time Cole watched Ally but she stared blankly at the elevator doors.

  He sighed. Once again he had handled things badly and now she was mad at him yet again.

  And Ally was angry. And in truth she wasn’t really sure what had annoyed her the most. Cole failing to tell her about the crazy situation she was about to walk into. The jumped up little man who spoke to her like she was some airhead bimbo. Or the fact that Cole had actually apologised to him for her.

  She rolled her eyes and released an irritated sigh a little louder then she had intended to. She could feel both sets of eyes now fixed on her firmly.

  The doors suddenly pinged open and Ally stepped out into a big hallway. The walls were cream with sporadic pieces of art hanging on them. The floors where high gloss, black marble and at the far end of the hallway, there was a huge set of black, wooden double doors.

  Ally turned and looked at Cole. He was still watching her intently. He gave her a half smile and lifted his hand indicating she should head for the doors.

  She turned and walked towards the doors followed closely by Cole and Nick.

  She stopped when they reached the doors and it was Nick who stepped forward to open the doors for them both. He stepped back to allowed Ally and Cole to walk into the apartment first.

  Ally stopped dead in her tracks when she stepped inside the apartment. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. It appeared to take over the entire top floor of the building. To her left there was a huge reception room. Like the house back in Dublin all the walls where cream and the furniture was very similar in style but everything was so much bigger and of a grander scale. It was breathtaking.

  To her right there was a huge dining room. There was a large glass table surrounded by 10 high back chairs standing in the middle of the room. A beautiful crystal chandler hung dead centre above the table and to the side, was a long glass topped lamp table with two matching lamps either side.

  The whole apartment seemed to have oak wooden floors running through out it. Dotted around the walls were more framed art work.

  Everything looked expensive and big and so what Ally was not used to.

  “Welcome home,” Cole said startling Ally, she had almost forgotten he was standing next to her. “The kitchen is just down the corridor to the right if you are hungry. Annette won’t be here till tomorrow.”

  Ally just nodded silently as she continued taking in her surroundings. She had no idea who Annette was, and if she was honest she didn’t really care.

  “Would you like me to show you where the bedroom and bathroom is?” Cole asked watching Ally as she looked completely like a fish out of water.

  “Sure,” she shrugged. He led her down the long corridor, passing by several closed doors until he reached the end and opened another set of double doors. He glanced back over his s
houlder at Ally before he opened the door.

  The bedroom was stunning. It too had cream walls, well three were cream. The forth was a floor to ceiling window which gave the most stunning view of London. Against one wall there was a huge bed covered in the same kind of bed clothes from Cole’s home in Dublin. But this bed was so much bigger. Above the bed there was plumes of cream taffeta, creating a canopy which draped elegantly down each side of the bed. Ally walked to the window and stared out over the city.

  “You like?” Cole asked as he walked up and slipped his arms around her waist from behind and he nuzzled her neck and inhaling her perfume.

  Ally didn’t reply she closed her eyes and leaned into Cole firm chest. She wanted to stay angry with him but she couldn’t. Not when he wrapped her in his arms. Damn my treacherous body! She sighed to herself.

  “Don’t worry about the paps,” Cole sighed against her neck. “They will get fed up now I am no longer MIA.”

  “I hope so,” Ally said, frowning at the memory of their arrival down stairs. If was one of the scariest thing she had ever experienced in her life.

  “And don’t worry about Nick,” Cole continued. “That was my fault. I should have warned you that the paps may turn up and that you should never get out of the car until its ok with him.”

  His words were like a red rag to a bull. Ally could feel her blood boil.

  “Are you kidding me?” She asked cuttingly, turning to Cole and staring at him in complete disbelief. “I need his permission to get out of the car?”

  “Well that’s part of the job, Ally,” Cole replied sensing this was not going to go down to well. “He is paid to keep us safe.”

  “No he is paid to keep you safe,” Ally shot straight back. “I am nobody Cole, I don’t need protecting. And I certainly don’t need some jumped up little man telling me when I can and can’t get out of a car. And further more Cole, don’t ever apologise for me again. Is that clear?”

  She turned and stormed out of the bedroom and marched down the hall, not even stopping to take a breath as she grabbed her handbag, before she headed straight for the front door.

  “Miss Brody,” Nick said, suddenly appearing next to Ally from nowhere. “If you would like to go somewhere, I can have the car ready in two minutes.”

  “I can walk just fine,” she snapped back without even looking at him as she reached for the door.

  “I really must insist,” he said following her to the door and reaching for it too but Ally knew it was to stop her from opening the door, not to open it for her.

  “Back off G.I Joe,” she snapped at him as she turned to face him. She pinned him with a look that even he knew not to mess with her. He glance over her shoulder and she knew he was looking at Cole for instruction on what to do next.

  Ally turned to Cole and stared at him too.

  “Ally please,” Cole said, giving her a pleading look but he knew she was in no mood to co-operate.

  “Can you ask your goon to get out of my way?” she said calmly staring Cole in the eye.

  He knew this was an argument he wasn’t going to win. So he looked at Nick and gave him a nod. Nick immediately stepped back out of Ally’s way.

  She looked at Nick once more and then with one more glance towards Cole she turned and walked out the door. Slamming it firmly behind her.

  She stood out in the huge hallway for a few moments and took a calming breath before she made her way to the elevator doors. She was so angry and she needed to get out of there and clear her head.

  She pressed the call button and waited. But nothing happened. She pressed again and again but there wasn’t a sound.

  To her horror, tears pooled in her eyes as she pressed again and again. A soft sob escaped from her mouth as the tears trickled down her cheek.

  Suddenly she felt Cole’s two big arms envelope her in an embrace, pulling her to his chest and holding her tightly. Ally began to sob harder.

  “Shhhh,” Cole cooed as he turned her in his embrace to face him and pressed her cheek against his chest. “Please don’t cry,”

  “I… tried … to … press… it…” she sobbed, each worded punctuated by a gasp for breath. “But… it …didn’t…work…”

  “I know sweetheart,” he replied and a slight laugh escape from his mouth. “You need a key to operate it.”

  “Then why did you let me leave,” Ally said looking up at him in disbelief.

  “You really think I would let you walk away that easy? When will you get it into your head woman? I love you and I am going nowhere. And neither are you. This is for keeps”.

  Ally began to protest but Cole quickly sealed her mouth with his. And once again she surrendered herself to Cole embraces. She just wasn’t strong enough to fight him. She loved him too much.

  Chapter 9

  Ally woke the next morning and was confused by her surroundings. Over the past few weeks she had woken up in so many different place, she didn’t know where she was half the time. As her sleep fog began to clear, she remembered exactly where she was, and sighed deeply.

  She turned over in the bed to find Cole but his side of the bed was empty. She sat up and looked around the room. She noticed more art work lining the walls, something she hadn’t notice the night before. She could see their clothes still on the floor where they had fallen last night as they stripped each other before they made love and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  She threw the bedclothes back and slid her feet out on to the floor. She headed for the bathroom, thinking maybe Cole would be there. But it too was empty.

  She stood in the middle of Cole’s beautiful, snow white, bathroom and thought about what she should do. The bathroom was almost an exact replica of the one in his home in Dublin, only the shower and the bath were much bigger, and without the James Bond concealed door. She reached in and switched on the shower.

  When the water was just right, she stepped beneath it and closed her eyes, as the hot water danced against her body. She quickly washed with the body wash and shampoo that was already in the shower. It smelt of Cole and it made her smile.

  When she was finished she stepped out and dried herself before she wrapped Cole’s fluffy bathrobe, which was hanging on the back of the bathroom door, around her and walked out into the bedroom.

  “JESUS CHRIST!” Ally screamed with fright when she came face to face with Nick standing in her bedroom.

  “I am sorry Miss Brody,” Nick began, apologising quickly. His eyes looked everywhere except at Ally. His faced had turned a bright shade of red.

  “Don’t you knock?” Ally snapped back at this man, who was fast becoming her least favourite person ever.

  “I did!” he replied sharply, finally letting his gaze meet hers. “I knocked several times, but when you didn’t reply, Mr Thomas told me to come in and check on you.”

  Ally sighed and rolled her eyes. Cole really needed to learn to relax. He needed to stop constantly worry about her. He would give himself a heart attack.

  “Well I am fine, as you can clearly see,” Ally said as she pulled her dressing gown tighter around her body. She sighed deeply. “What did you want me for anyway?”

  “Mr Thomas asked that you get ready,” he explained. “He will be back shortly and he wants to take you to breakfast.”

  “Where is he?” Ally asked surprised Cole had just left.

  “There was an urgent matter he needed to attend to,” Nick replied, and once again he didn’t look at Ally. And she wasn’t sure but she thought he suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “I will leave you to get dressed.”

  Without looking at Ally again he turned and made his way out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

  Ally walked into the wardrobe and rummaged through her clothes looking for something to wear. Cole wasn’t happy she had insisted on unpacking herself the night before. But this was an argument she was not backing down from.

  She pulled on her best jeans and a teal coloured top that brought out the blue in her eye
s perfectly. She dried her hair and left it down in soft waves. Then she added a little bit of makeup.

  She walked to the full length mirror and checked her reflection. She smiled to herself. She was happy with her appearance. She had just walked back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed to put on her shoes, when her mobile rang. She picked it up and seen Caitlin’s name flash on the screen. Ally smiled as she pressed the accept button and brought the phone to her ear.

  “Hiya,” Ally chirped happily down the phone. She was relieved to talk to her friend and for a few minutes pretend her life was still normal.

  “Hey sweetie,” Caitlin said, but her tone instantly made Ally feel uncomfortable. Something was wrong. “Are you okay?”

  “Of course I am okay,” Ally replied nervously. “Why wouldn’t I be ok? It something wrong?”

  “Have you seen the papers?” Caitlin asked.

  “What papers?” Ally replied, her heart started beating rapidly in her chest.

  “She didn’t see the papers,” Caitlin said, speaking to someone else who was there with her.

  “Did Cole?” Ally could hear Nathan asking in the back ground.

  “Where is Cole?” Caitlin asked, turning her attention back to Ally.

  “He had to go out this morning,” Ally replied, feeling totally confused. “Caitlin, what has happened?”

  “Don’t freak out, okay,” Caitlin said. But before she could say another word, Cole’s voice echoed throughout the apartment. Calling her name again and again.

  “There you are!” he exclaimed as he burst into the bedroom. Then he spotted the phone in her hand. “Who are you talking to?”

  “Caitlin,” Ally replied, looking at Cole in complete confusion. “Cole, what is it? What’s going on?”

  He didn’t reply. Instead he took the phone from Ally’s hand and put it to his ear.

  “It’s me,” he said in an impatient tone. “No, but I will tell her now.” Ally watched Cole in disbelief as he said goodbye to Caitlin and hung up the phone. He looked at Ally and took a deep breath.