‘Are you coming down to meet him?’ she managed to ask.
‘No…no. I was thinking…I was thinking maybe you could be there. He’d love that. He’d love for yours to be the first familiar face he sees. It’d be good for him to know you still love him, Stevie.’
She hesitated before answering. ‘Oh, I’m not sure, Dillon.’
‘Honestly. You should be there. Regardless of how things were left between you, he’ll want to see you. He’ll have had time to think…to get over that. Please, for both of your sakes. I haven’t spoken to him, so he won’t be expecting me anyway. Just think about it. He’s only stopping in London briefly for a press conference, and then he’s getting a connecting flight up to Inverness. You could come too. Even if it’s for a few days. Or you could tell him you still want him. Then he can decide if he wants to come back here or not.’
The thought excited her more than words could express. Knowing she could be seeing him again so soon was the best feeling. The butterflies took flight and her heart began to beat again. ‘Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll be there. If he calls, don’t tell him, okay? I’ll surprise him.’
‘Fantastic! Oh, Stevie, you’ll make him so very happy. I know you will. He thought you’d moved on, and he’ll be so glad to hear that you hadn’t.’
They finished chatting as Dillon told her he had to make a call to the US. So that was it. She would sweet-talk her boss, and then hopefully on Wednesday she would go to Heathrow Airport and see if she could sneak into the press conference. Then she would tell him how she felt and ask for another chance at a future with him. The scenario played out in her mind like one of those romantic movies where the person barges into the press conference and declares their love for the unsuspecting panellist. Goosebumps covered her skin as her mother pulled her into a wordless embrace and they both sobbed with relief.
Wednesday couldn’t come around soon enough. Once she had explained the situation to the Head Teacher, Mr. Carmichael had agreed to let her take the day off. She’d wanted to kiss him but had managed to show massive restraint. However, several pupils, who sniggered as she walked by, witnessed the happy dance she did outside his office. She knew full well that her cheeks were glowing cerise, simply by the heat she could feel in them. She wouldn’t live that whole debacle down in a hurry. Good thing she didn’t care.
Once at home, she’d checked the flight arrival times, and she had figured out which flight would be Jason’s. There was only one flight in from that destination, and unless they had chartered a private jet, he’d have to be on that one.
She stood before her closet with the door wide open, tapping her foot and chewing her thumb.
Dana sat on the bed behind her, waiting patiently.
‘I think the navy dress that hugs your curves would be the biggest impact. Put your nude heels on and maybe a little scarf and you’ll look stunning.’
Stevie nodded. ‘I was thinking the navy dress too. I love that dress. I always feel special in it.’
‘That’s settled then. What about your hair?’
She turned to face her mother. ‘Hmm…not sure. I can’t think straight, Mum. My hands are so shaky and I’m so nervous.’
Dana’s smile was wide and encouraging. ‘Of course you are, honey. This is the beginning of the rest of your life.’
Stevie smiled too, but then the smile faded as quickly as it had arrived. ‘Oh, Mum, what if he doesn’t want me anymore? What if being over there has given him time to think and…and—’
Dana stood and embraced her daughter. ‘Hey, stop it. He adores you. He came all the way to London to tell you so. That silly misunderstanding could’ve been resolved if he’d listened to you. But he’s a stubborn man. You turn up looking gorgeous like you always do, and he’ll remember exactly why he made that journey before all this horrible stuff happened. You mark my words, sweetie.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘I know I’m right.’ Dana cupped her face in her hands and planted a kiss on her nose. ‘Now get ready. I’ll come in the taxi with you to the airport, and I’ll wait in the coffee lounge for you. Moral support and all that.’
Stevie nodded. ‘What would I do without you, Mum?’
Dana winked. ‘We’ll never know.’
Smiling warmly, Stevie turned to pull her favourite fitted navy dress from its hanger. Dana made her way downstairs, telling Stevie she would call a cab. Once dressed, she pulled her hair into a chignon at the nape of her neck, applied a little lip gloss, and slipped into her nude heels.
Dana smiled when Stevie entered the lounge. ‘Perfect, honey. Absolutely perfect. That dress brings out the blue of your eyes too. How could he not love you?’
‘I think we’ll soon find out,’ she said, glancing out of the window. ‘The cab has just pulled up.’ She inhaled deeply, feeling her nerves jangling once again.
‘Come on. Let’s go get your man.’ Dana clapped her hands like a giddy teenager, making Stevie giggle.
The cab ride seemed to take forever as they dodged in and out of cars, lorries, and bikes. Stevie tapped her fingers on her knees and looked out of the window at the people rushing around the London streets. It was bizarre how their lives were going on as normal when Stevie’s future with the man she loved—the man she had always loved—was hanging in the balance. She glanced upward and noticed the sky had clouded over, and it looked like rain. Typical.
Once they had paid the cabbie, they tramped towards the arrivals entrance in a hurry, managing to avoid the rain as it began to pitter-patter down behind them. Stevie’s heels click-clacked on the floor like a ticking clock. The seconds were counting down. She knew the flight was due to arrive in twenty minutes, and she checked the arrivals board to confirm that this was the case. The flight was on time.
After making their way over to a Customer Services desk, they waited in line as yet another flustered receptionist—are all receptionists flustered?—was trying to calm down a family, who from what she could gather, had missed their connecting flight by sitting in the arrivals area rather than departures. Flustered receptionists were seemingly becoming a regular occurrence in Stevie’s life. At this precise moment I could do without it! She tapped her foot and chewed on her nail yet again. Her mother slapped her hand away from her mouth, giving her a frown. Stevie fought the urge to stick her tongue out like an errant child.
Eventually the family was ushered away by a Customer Service Manager, and Stevie stepped forward. ‘Hello. I understand the press conference for the African hostages is being held here in the airport. I’m a close friend of one of them, and I’d like to get in there to see him. Can you tell me where that might be?’
The red-haired woman’s face was almost the same colour as her hair. Poor woman. She sighed heavily. ‘I’m sorry but it’s press only. I can’t let you in without a press permit.’ She looked apologetic, but it didn’t help Stevie’s plight.
‘I really need to see him. Please. He’s only at Heathrow for a limited time, and I have no other way of contacting him.’ Stevie suddenly felt distraught at the thought of not being able to get through.
The woman shook her head. ‘I’m so sorry. There’s nothing I can do. I suggest you wait here and hope that you catch sight of him when he arrives before he’s ushered away. Security for these things is usually very tight. Special companies are hired in and everything.’ Stevie nodded slowly, tears welling in her eyes once again. They walked away from the desk, and she did her best not to let the tears escape.
Dana tugged on her arm. ‘If I’m not mistaken that guy over there looks remarkably like a reporter.’
She glanced over in the direction of her mum’s gaze. ‘How can you tell?’
‘Dunno…instinct probably…that and he’s wearing an ID lanyard. Come on. I want to go have a little chat with him.’
As they approached the man, Stevie looked him up and down. He appeared to be about Dana’s age. He was tall and nicely built with salt and pepper hair. He was concentrating on the note
pad in his hand, presumably running through his questions. As Dana tapped his shoulder, he lifted his head and did a double take.
He frowned and then his eyes widened as Dana’s mouth dropped open. ‘Dana? Dana Watts?’
‘Tom Grainger? Good grief! I haven’t seen you in…ooh…it must be twenty-nine years!’ The two old friends hugged. Mum knows this guy? Stevie gaped at the pair as they greeted each other. From the brief conversation, she gleaned that they had been at school together, and Tom had been one of Jed’s—her father’s—best friends.
‘Wow, Dana…you look…stunning,’ Tom said as he shook his head. It was clear that he had, at some point, had a bit of a crush on Dana—and maybe those feelings were still there.
‘Oh, gosh how rude of me. Tom, this is Stevie, my daughter.’ A look of pride appeared on Dana’s face.
‘Your daughter? Oh wow, Stevie, what a pleasure to meet you.’ He pulled her into a hug that nearly took her off her feet.
She laughed nervously. ‘Erm, nice to meet you too, Tom.’
‘Gosh, Dana, I can’t believe this. So are you still with Jed?’
Dana blushed. ‘Oh, no. He and I split after Stevie was born. He wasn’t really into the whole being a dad thing. And he got an offer he couldn’t refuse with some big hot shot band, and so off he went.’
Tom frowned. ‘No? Oh shit, that’s awful and with a little baby to come home to. Stevie, I’m so sorry to hear that, love.’
‘Oh, no. It’s fine. Can’t miss what you never had,’ Stevie stated plainly and shrugged. Tom gave her a sad, knowing look before turning back to Dana.
‘So are you married now? Family?’ Dana asked.
‘Divorced. No kids, sadly, although I would’ve loved them. It just never happened.’ Sadness washed over his features for a moment but he shrugged it off. ‘So what are you doing here? Going somewhere warm and sunny?’
‘I was going to ask you the same thing. You’re wearing a reporter’s ID badge. Are you here on business?’
‘Sure am. I’m off to a press conference. You know the hostages that escaped over in Africa? They’re coming home in about…ooh ten minutes,’ he said, glancing at his watch.
Dana bit her lip. Stevie watched a range of emotions flash over her mum’s face. She was clearly uncomfortable asking this man for a favour now that it turned out she knew him.
‘About that, Tom. The man who’s coming home…Jason Reynolds. He’s a good friend of Stevie’s. I know this is very forward and I feel a bit bad asking but—’
‘No, Mum. It’s fine. You can’t do this now. It’s fine, Tom. Don’t worry.’
Tom glanced between them. ‘No, come on. What is it? What do you need?’
‘Is there any chance you can get Stevie into the press conference with you? It’s a lot to ask, and I don’t mean to put you on the spot.’
He nodded. ‘I’ll get her in.’ Stevie and Dana gasped in unison. ‘On one condition.’
Dana narrowed her eyes. ‘And what would that be?’
He took Dana’s hand. ‘That you’ll have dinner with me tonight.’
Dana’s face lit up with a beautiful, wide, beaming smile. ‘Deal,’ she answered without hesitation.
Tom’s answering grin made Stevie’s heart melt. He looked like he’d just won the lottery. The pair exchanged phone numbers and shared adoring glances. When he broke his gaze away from Dana and glanced over at Stevie, his cheeks were flushed.
He cringed. ‘Oh heck, Stevie, I’m sorry about that. I must seem like a real sleazebag.’
Stevie couldn’t help the smile on her face now. ‘Not at all. I think it’s sweet. And in case you’re wondering, you both have my blessing.’ She winked, feeling rather like the parent in the situation.
‘Right, come on, ladies. We’ve a press conference to get to.’
‘Oh no, I’m staying here. Just take Stevie.’
Tom beckoned for Stevie to follow him, which she did gratefully and willingly. They walked towards the security barriers, and Tom flashed his ID badge at the specially-hired-in-guard.
The huge brick wall of a man glanced at Stevie and shook his head. ‘I’m sorry but you can’t take the lady with you. No ID, no entry.’
‘Oh, it’s okay. She’s my trainee. I called ahead and okayed it. Don’t you have notification?’ He shook his head. ‘Does no one communicate properly anymore? If you need to go and check that’s fine. We’ll wait here. But can you hurry up? I need to do my job, mate.’ He seemed very confident in his untruth and folded his arms as more journalists arrived.
‘If you could step to one side please, sir. I’ll get this lot through and then I’ll radio management.
A glut of journalists trailed through flashing their badges as they passed, and Stevie felt sure she’d been scuppered again. One of the journalists was carrying video camera equipment, and from what the security guy was explaining to him, filming wasn’t allowed, only still shots. The man protested vehemently, saying he’d had clearance to film. Stevie wondered if that was an untruth too. The guard was having none of it. Whilst the man was embroiled in a heated argument, Tom grabbed her arm and pulled her through past the barrier as another round of journalists did the same, all flashing their badges. He confidently walked down the corridor without looking back and Stevie followed suit. The guard was apparently clueless to what they had done.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Stevie continued to follow Tom down the long corridor and eventually they pushed through double doors that led into a large room. There was row upon row of journalists sitting and chatting whilst they waited. This was such a big story that it was now standing room only, and they took their places at the back. Suddenly, from the door at the other end of the room, there was a lot of shuffling and commotion. A police officer walked in, closely followed by a petite blonde woman, and then he was there. Jason.
He looked beautiful. Tired and bruised. But just beautiful. Stevie’s heart skipped and then hammered in her chest as she fought the urge to scream his name and clamber through the throngs of people. But she stood stock-still. Frozen to the spot. Just staring as if seeing him was all a cruel dream.
His beard had grown in, and his hair was hanging shaggily down. Wow. His eyes darted nervously around the room as camera flashes went off. He blinked and jerked, covering his eyes. Her heart ached for him. Poor Jason. My poor, poor Jason. She clenched and unclenched her hands by her sides. She wanted to shout at the idiots to stop taking photographs. Can’t you see that he doesn’t want this? Can’t you see that he’s been damaged?
A man in a suit told the gathered people that they could ask one question each but that if it got too much he would call an end to the conference and everyone would be asked to leave. That the pair had been through a major trauma and had agreed to do the conference under the proviso that they could stop at any time they felt it necessary. What on earth did they put you through? How could they do this to you? Her eyes began to sting and her lip trembled. Tom gave her a worried glance.
She watched as Jason ducked his head to the blonde woman and whispered in her ear. She felt a stab of jealousy but tried her best to quell it. Jason and the woman had been through this terrible ordeal together after all. She could see under the table that the pair was holding hands tightly. Another stab of jealousy. Stop it, Stevie. Just stop it. The suited man called for the first question.
‘Roger Martin, Daily Post. Mr. Reynolds, Miss Maçon, you were held for several weeks against your will. The ordeal must have been horrifying. But the million dollar question is hanging on all of our lips…can you tell us please how you managed to escape?’
Jason cleared his throat. ‘Erm…sure. We’d been kept in the same room but at opposite sides. It was a very lonely feeling. My head was covered and they’d beaten us both. Then they threatened to kill us both. We needed to comfort each other, and I wanted to formulate a plan. I couldn’t bear to know that Oriel…erm…Miss Maçon was being harmed.’ Jason closed his eyes and swallowed hard, the memory of t
he situation still evidently raw.
The blonde woman squeezed his arm with her free hand and glanced at the man who had posed the question.
With a shaking voice, she began to speak. ‘We’d been kept in a concrete bunker. We were both on the floor. My head was not covered, but Jason’s was…I explained that Jason and I were…I…I begged to be placed beside him. I told them he is my fiancé and I couldn’t bear to be apart from him. And then—’ The room erupted with questions and camera flashes as soon as the words had left her lips.
Stevie’s ears began to buzz. The camera flashes around her made her eyes hurt, and her stomach plummeted as if she was on the steep descent of a huge rollercoaster. Her chest tightened, and she was overcome by dizziness. She could no longer hear what was being said. Turning around, she glanced at Tom whose gaze was filled with pity or compassion but she was too shocked to tell. She shook her head as she turned, pushed the door open, staggering through it, and began to run. Her heels pounded the tiled floor as she made her way back to the main area where she knew her mother was waiting. Thankfully the guard was no longer posted at the barrier, and she was able to run straight through.
Dana stood as Stevie approached. Her smile faded as realisation appeared to dawn on her face.
‘Stevie? What happened?’ She pulled her into a strong embrace and then released her to look into her eyes. ‘Stevie?’
Her lip quivered as the tears spilled over. ‘He’s…he’s engaged, Mum.’
Dana’s brow furrowed. ‘Sorry, what? How? Who?’
‘The woman he’s been held captive with. She announced it to the press. Please…please take me home.’
Jason glanced around the room full of journalists. They’d all gone crazy when Oriel began to tell the story of how they had escaped. The trouble was they had fixated on the part where she was explaining that she had told their captors he was her fiancé. She had tried to carry on, but they wouldn’t let her. They kept barking questions about wedding dates and whether it was love at first sight.
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