by Maya Hughes
He hadn’t realized she had concocted a whole narrative to get back at him for breaking things off. It was a load of bollocks; she wasn’t mad that he broke up with her, she was mad about Jess and what that would mean for her reputation. And while she threw a fit about her being a plain nobody, Aedan knew Kate was wrong. Knew that he would much rather have one Jess over a thousand Kates. And now because he hadn’t just been upfront with her and had tried to protect her, he’d lost her.
He had to fix this. Picking up his phone, Aedan noticed that a very long voice recording was still going. He must have hit it accidentally after calling James to let him know Kate was there. Where the hell was James anyway? Aedan ended the recording and it saved on his phone, and he called Steven.
Steven had dropped her off at the hotel already. Aedan rang the front desk and asked to be connected to Jess’s room, only to be told that she’d already checked out. And just like that, she was gone.
Jess was sitting in the airport video chatting with Sam and half of Meg’s, trying not to have a breakdown. She’d picked the first flight that would get her back to DC. She had been in the airport for about five hours, but at this point she didn’t care. She knew she needed to get out of that hotel. Steven dropped her off and she ran up to her room, grabbed her bags and left immediately. Having not unpacked the night before, Jess was able to make a speedy escape into a taxi and head straight to the airport.
“Jess, don’t do this. Don’t just leave this way.”
“How can I stay? He lied to me. He lied to me about seeing Kate. He lied about the tabloid stories. He doesn’t think I’m strong enough to be able to handle all this crap and you know what? I don’t think I am either. It’s better this way, better for us to end this before it really destroyed me.”
“Jess, snap out of it. It’s not better this way. He loves you. And shut up with this weak crap,” Meg fumed. “You’ve held up with all this better than a lot of people. Did you make mistakes, yes, sure, but you know what you’re learning? Don’t let being weak,” she threw in air quotes there, “be an excuse. You’re not weak, you’re scared, and those are two different things.”
“I can’t trust him anymore. I didn’t even know if the pregnant headline was true. That’s the point we are at right now.”
“But he told you right, he told you because he realized he couldn’t protect you anymore. Has he screwed up in a seriously huge way? Oh yes, I can’t even count the ways, but here’s the thing. He’s learning too. You said it yourself, you’ve never been like this with another guy and it seems like he’s never been this way with another woman. You need to resolve this. You can’t just run away because you know you’ll think about him. You know you’ll regret this Jessica,” Meg went into serious chastisement mode.
“Don’t get on that plane like this Jess,” Sam was trying to appeal to her rational side. “If you leave like this you will regret it. I’m telling you that. You will wonder about it for the rest of your life and never forgive yourself for running away from him.”
“I can’t handle it. I’m not cut out for this life. They’re going to publish that Kate’s pregnant,” tears started up again, streaming down her face.
“That’s bull and you know it. People will find out the truth. You’re one of the strongest people we know and you’re pretty kick ass. Don’t let old insecurities, a crazy ex, and a fear of having your heartbroken stop you from getting your happiness. Because how does your heart feel right now?”
“It feels pretty broken,” she squeaked, as she rubbed her knuckles against the center of her chest.
“I know it does. But you need talk to him and not run away.” The boarding announcement for Jess’s flight came over the loud speaker.
“That’s my boarding call girls, I’ll see you tomorrow after I land and sort myself out,”
“Don’t you dare get on that plane, Jessica Elizabeth Montgomery.” Meg was going into mother mode.
“I’ll talk to you soon. I’ve got to go now.” Jess’s finger hovered over the end call button.
“Just know that we love you Jess,” Sam gave her a sad look. “We’ll be here for you when you get back.” Jess ended the call and felt the sobs crawling up her throat and out of her mouth. She reached for the tissues and started to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. God, she was an ugly crier. As she grabbed her carry on and turned toward the boarding gate, she caught sight of the TV in the terminal.
Another entertainment show and there they were up on the big screen. Jess and Aedan when they were out at Camden Market. He was tucking a fake flower behind her ear and they both looked so happy. She saw how happy she looked and it made it that much worse to know that she would never be that happy with anyone else. And then she looked at his face and it mirrored her own.
Jess knew he loved her, knew it from the bottom of her heart. Could she really break both their hearts because she wasn’t strong enough to stand up to scrutiny? Could she take on the press and Kate? Aedan had promised her no more lies. Could she trust him? Jess grabbed her carry on and slung her bag over her shoulder, she knew exactly what she needed to do.
36
There was a knock on the door and Aedan ran from the kitchen, where he’d been fixing himself a drink, since the bar was destroyed. Hopeful that Jess had decided to return, he wrenched open the door. James, not Jess, stood in the doorway like a kind of harbinger of doom.
“Where the hell have you been? I called you hours ago.” Aedan ground out.
“Where is Jessica?” James looked around the apartment. He seemed almost hopeful when he didn’t see her there. Aedan had to get away from him before he punched him in the mouth.
“Jess left. Packed up and is heading to the airport. I’m sure you’re quite happy?” Aedan headed back to the kitchen to make his drink. Aedan slammed the cabinet doors, then grabbed a tumbler and a bottle of Irish whiskey. Not bothering to offer James a drink, he threw back the whiskey and slammed the glass down on the counter. He slammed it down so hard that the vibrations traveled up his arm made him think the glass might shatter.
“Of course not. I never wanted things to end this way, although I can’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Yes, you did. You did a wonderful job of pointing out at every turn just what a disaster it would be.”
“I only wanted what’s best for you. I know how difficult dealing with the spotlight can be and I wanted to protect you both from that,” James said as he tried to placate Aedan.
“By pushing Jess out of my life ...”
“That wasn’t ideal, but I knew the type of girl needed for your image and to handle the stress.”
“For fucks sake, my image? I couldn’t care less about my image. I care about Jess. I play football. Those things can co-exist in this world.”
“Not if you want to be more than just a footballer.”
“Who says I do? At this point, I’m so sick of it all, I feel like burning my kit.”
“This is what I’m talking about. Always with the dramatics when it comes to Jessica. She’s not cut out for this world like Kate is and the sooner you realize it, the sooner you’ll stop sulking and move on, the better it will be for both of you.”
“Kate is a psycho. The fact that you ever set me up with her makes me doubt your judgement even more. Just get out,” Aedan barked.
“Aedan, be reasonable. The moment Edgar confronted Jessica in the lobby of her apartment and she nearly lost it, that should have shown you this world would destroy her.” That remark caused Aedan to pause and turn back to him.
“What did you say?”
“I said that she’s been hanging on by a thread since the beginning. You know she’s not meant for all of this,” James said trying to make it sound like what he was saying was the most reasonable thing in the world.
“How did you know about that guy? How did you know his name? Jess only told me there was a photographer, I never mentioned it to you and he never published any pictures from that night.”
&
nbsp; Aedan froze. How had James known? Like a bolt of lightning striking him Aedan had a sickening realization.
“You called the paparazzi to DC.” Aedan watched James’s face for any display of emotion.
“You set it all up. You’re the one that sent that asshole to Jess’s apartment after that first night to confront her. You were trying to get her to freak out and leave me, weren’t you? It was you all along.” The only giveaway was the ticking of James’ left eye. It always twitched when he was extra stressed.
“Everything with Kate, that’s who she was talking about when she said I was on board. She was talking about you,” Aedan rounded the counter and stalked toward James.
“Everything I did was for your own good.” James held his hands out trying to calm Aedan.
“That’s bullshit! It was for your mean, your own good. You just wanted to line your pockets a bit more and to hell with whoever got in your way.” Aedan slowly walked toward James pushing him farther and farther from the center of the room.
“I was only trying to show you how difficult it would be. How difficult it would be for you and for Jess.”
“It was difficult because you made it difficult. There were no issues with the press when you weren’t interfering! You put Kate up to it, didn’t you?” Aedan was clenching his fists so hard he swore he could hear his bones creaking. James started to look around, realizing he was being backed into a corner.
“I told her what she needed to hear to get what she wanted.”
“So, you told her to fecking lie to build a bigger story and try to destroy my reputation and the woman I love!”
“Aedan, I’ve been with you for over eight years. You know I’m only looking out for you. I’ve made you a lot of money over the years.”
“You’ve made yourself a lot of money over years. It seems I was just the idiot to help you do it. No more! Get the fuck out of my sight before I do something you’ll regret.” James held out his hands in front of a seething Aedan as he was crowded by the furious footballer.
“Aedan don’t be silly. I know you, I’ve always looked out for you. Don’t throw it all away just because you’re going through a frumpy girl stage. She’s not worth it.” Aedan didn’t even know that he’d decided to punch James in the face, but he was glad he did. Seeing his head whip to the side as the blood poured out of his nose as he hit the floor felt great.
“Get the fuck out here before I throw you out.” Aedan shouted, releasing the rage and frustration that had been building up in him. James scrambled up to standing and half-ran, half-stumbled on his way to get out of the apartment, so he pushed past Jess as she stood in the open elevator door. James glared at her before pushing his way into the elevator and jabbing the button to close the doors. Aedan heard the elevator door close, but was shocked when he turned and saw Jess standing in front of the closed elevator doors.
Aedan froze unsure of what he should do next and what Jess had heard.
Jess stood in front of the elevator door unable to move.
“Jess—”
“Aedan—” they both started at the same time.
“I—” again, both started to speak again and cracked a watery smile.
“It seems we’re always screwing up our timing,” Jess got out during Aedan’s pause.
“I’m sorry." They both said at the same time.
Aedan stepped forward. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Absolutely nothing. I’m sorry for letting that snake anywhere near you and for screwing everything up. I’m sorry.” He tentatively walked toward her and held his hand right by her cheek. Jess felt the heat coming off his hand and moved her head the last inch to rest her cheek on his hand. He sunk his fingers into her hair, wrapped his other arm around her back, pulling her close.
“I’m sorry, Aedan. I’m sorry I made it so easy to tear us apart. And that someone you trusted betrayed you. I played right into James’s hands. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone and it has been scaring the shit out of me. I just keep waiting for you to wake up and realize I’m not the one for you.” Aedan pulled her back and gazed into her eyes.
“Jess, I’ve never loved anyone like I love you either. I’m sorry that I let that fucker James anywhere near us. You think it’s not scary for me too? I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve for you, all the time. I would do anything for you.” Jess saw the sincerity and vulnerability in his eyes and it shone so brightly she had to close her own.
“I’m going to turn down the captain position. This mess will just make things bigger if I have a higher profile.” Jess snapped her eyes open and pushed back from him.
“You will not! Do you hear me?” She could feel her anger building. “You will not throw away one of the most important accomplishments of your life because some papers might say mean things about me, about us.”
“Jess, if I’m not the captain it may help to divert a lot of attention. As captain, I’m the face of the team. I have to go to all of the events, press conferences, and more.”
“I will not let you step down. I know I’ve been a mess. I know I’ve been weak and let things that shouldn’t matter get in the way of us, but I will not let you sacrifice this for me. James was playing the both of us and we made it easy. I can do this. I promise I’ll do better. If I know you’re by my side and know you love me, I can do this. I won’t let my insecurities and things that have happened in my past get in the way of us. I love you so much and I’m so proud of you. I don’t want you to ever think that I don’t love you playing football. It’s a part of you and I want you to succeed.”
Aedan grabbed a hold of her face with both hands and crushed her mouth in a searing kiss. “I love you so much, Jessica Montgomery.”
“I love you too Aedan O’Connell. And you better kick some serious ass this season!”
“I will and I think I might have a solution to our Kate issue,” Jess gave him a quizzical look as he held up his phone and waved it in front of her face.
Smiling up at Aedan, Jess realized that she would do whatever it took and deal with everything thrown their way, if it meant she got to be with Aedan.
Epilogue
Jess could barely hear herself think as she stood in the stands jumping and cheering with the rest of the England fans. The stadium was buzzing with an electricity that eclipsed even the Premier League Championship, which Aedan’s team had won! The month-long World Cup tournament was a whirlwind of activity. Neither Jess nor Evelyn had ever been to Singapore before, so they spent a lot of time exploring the city. Shopping, shows, museums, zoos, gardens—there was so much to do.
Putting in for a transfer notice at work had taken a little wrangling, but she’d started up at the London office of her actuary firm in October. Taking a little break from work for the World Cup was the least she could do after all Aedan had done to help her settle in and get set up in London.
The soccer groups stage and the semi-finals had been a roller coaster of emotions. England had been put into the Group of Death during the group stage against the Netherlands, Germany, and Brazil. They lost to Brazil in that round, but still managed to make it to the semi-finals because the other teams had lost to Brazil as well. So, facing them in the finals was especially nerve wracking for every England fan there.
She still didn’t know all the rules and mainly just followed the cheers and groans of the rest of the crowd, but Jess did know that when Aedan got his feet on the ball every fan was on their feet. He was a force to be reckoned with on the pitch. The thought that he would have given this all up for her made Jess’s heart swell and her brain rebel at such a moronic thought. He was made to be out there, leading his team.
Jess was glad she’d gotten out of her own way so she could be with Aedan and they could be a couple. Evelyn was to her left and was currently cutting off almost all the circulation to her arm. She’d been chanting, “come on guys, come on guys,” for the last fifteen minutes of the match. Meg and Sam had flown into Singapore for the finals earlier that week. Sam wa
s methodically following the plays of the match and had already memorized most of the stats of the team.
Apparently, soccer was something she had a secret passion for, or else she was just trying to impress Aedan’s teammates with dressing downs of their shot on goal percentages. Meg was enjoying the attention of some nearby England fans, who she was more than happy to regale with stories of Aedan and the team, and she was really playing up the ‘American girl’ thing.
They were in the last eight minutes of overage time now. They were tied with Brazil and Jess literally had to pry Evelyn’s hand off her arm, so she could feel it again. The pins and needles were brutal, but she’d rather that than lose the arm. She held onto Evelyn’s hand instead as Evelyn started up her “come on guys” chant again.
If you had told her a year ago, that this was where and how she would be spending her summer, she’d have told you that you were insane, yet there she was, hopefully watching her man make history. It had been a rough few months there at the beginning. The long voice note was just what they needed to finally end the Kate situation. Aedan’s phone had recorded the entire conversation. Her confession about making things up, really being broken up with Aedan, and even the fake baby story.
Jess sat beside Aedan as they did an exclusive interview that next day with one of the more reputable papers. The team publicist helped them set it all up. The interviewer was pleasant and didn’t try to go after Aedan or Jess, especially after hearing the recording. Kate was raked through the mud and Aedan came out of it looking even better for everything he tried to do to shield Jess from Kate’s maliciousness. And in Jess, the press had their darling ‘every girl who hooked up with a famous athlete’ angle that they played up. She didn’t know how she felt about her sainted status after everything Kate tried to say about her, but it was sure better than being dragged through the mud.