Page 100 of Match Point

It’s good advice, after all. He shouldn’t let someone come between him and his dream. If it was anyone else, I’d be heartily nodding along, rather than leaning against the doorframe like I am with a debilitating crushing feeling consuming my heart. Because it doesn’t take a genius to know that the someone Brian was talking about… the someone getting in between Kieran and his dream, is me.

27

I’d volunteered to sleep on the sofa after Brian left. Kieran had acted as though he didn’t understand and had tried to persuade me to stay in the bedroom.

‘We both know that you need a good night’s sleep,’ I’d reminded him with an assuring smile. ‘Imagine if I talk in my sleep or kick you or something. It would be so bad if I did anything to keep you up. This way, you can be sure of getting the important rest you need before tomorrow.’ He hadn’t looked entirely convinced, so I’d finished getting the duvet sorted on the sofa and then walked over to him to kiss his lips lightly. ‘Everything’s fine, okay? But nothing is more important than tomorrow.’

If he realised I was echoing his father’s words from earlier, he didn’t show it. He’d sighed and reluctantly agreed, before kissing me again. He’d pulled me into a hug, his hands travelling around my back and pressing me closer into him, his head nuzzling into my hair.

‘I’ll miss you, though,’ he’d whispered softly in my ear.

A lump had formed in my throat and I hadn’t trusted myself to speak.

The truth was, if Kieran had disagreed with what his dad was saying, he would have told him. He would have pointed out that he’d come this far and he was playing better than ever before, just like he told me in the locker rooms. He would have told him that he needed me. But he didn’t. He didn’t say anything at all. With yet another person in his corner disapproving of what we had, I’m not surprised that he was starting to listen.

I knew I couldn’t give up on us yet, but I accepted that I might have to take a step back and wait in the wings until the end of the tournament. If distance was what Kieran needed to win, then I wouldn’t hesitate. So, when Brian eventually left to go to his hotel, I’d already decided I would sleep on the sofa. I don’t want to make things even more complicated or confusing for Kieran than they already are. This way, he doesn’t have to make a choice. He’s already got enough on his mind. I’ll make the hard decisions for him.

Of course, I’ve barely slept.

When I hear Kieran head into the bathroom, I’m wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Forcing myself out of bed, I whip off my pyjamas and pull on some high-waisted ripped mom jeans and a T-shirt. I’m fully aware that his team will arrive any minute and I’d rather I wasn’t caught in my pyjamas or a towel this time. I’ll shower once they’ve left. I’m tying my hair up into a loose bun when, bang on cue, the doorbell goes.

‘Good morning,’ Neil says, sweeping in ahead as I answer it.

‘Morning,’ I reply as a few more people from Kieran’s team come trundling in.

The rear is brought up by Brian, who gives me a strained smile as I shut the door behind him. ‘How are you both this morning?’

‘I’m fine, thanks. I haven’t seen Kieran this morning, so I can’t speak for him.’

‘Ah.’

Strolling into the living room, I start moving my things out of the way. I notice the look shared between Brian and Neil as I fold up the duvet and pillow from the sofa to put away in the chest. Closing the lid, I straighten and fold my arms across my chest.

‘Flora,’ Neil begins, leaning towards me conspiratorially with a solemn expression, ‘I really think it’s for the best that—’

‘I know what you think,’ I snap, and it comes out a lot sharper than I’m expecting. Neil’s eyes widen in surprise at my tone and Brian arches his brow. I take a deep breath and mutter, ‘I want Kieran to be happy, so I want him to win. I’ll do whatever he needs.’

Neil nods in response. ‘Thank you, Flora. And I imagine you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m sorry about that stuff in the paper about your parents. If you need to speak to Nicole, then please don’t hesitate to give her a call.’

I snap my head up. My blood turns cold.

‘What?’ I whisper, before I start looking around frantically for my phone. I sweep it up from the coffee table and google my name.

‘Oh, you haven’t seen it,’ Neil says, sounding panicked. ‘I didn’t realise…’

He trails off at the sight of my expression. Most of the articles about me are either fluff stories about our cute date night at Bounce, using the footage captured by others in the bar, or the ones relating to Jonah and his sad story.

But there’s a new one that comes up as the most recently published:

From a traumatic childhood to a whirlwind Wimbledon romance: How Kieran O’Sullivan’s love interest Flora Hendrix overcame troubled teen years with an alcoholic mother and an absent father to find happiness with the bad boy of tennis.

As I scan the article, I feel like I can’t breathe. They don’t have many of the facts, and have managed to make a few nuggets of information into a full-blown rambling article – in reality, readers learn very little about me here. But the journalist writes about my mum’s ‘devastating addiction issues’ before her tragic death; they detail when my dad left and his subsequent marriage; they even have a line about how I’d ‘find solace’ in the Lake District with my grandmother. As I get to the quote from Jonah about how I ‘never liked to talk about’ my childhood, it all becomes clear. I can’t believe he mentioned this to a reporter.

‘Are you okay?’ Neil asks, and he sounds genuinely concerned.

I must look really bad for him to be worried about me. My brain springs into action.

‘Don’t tell Kieran,’ I say urgently, looking up from my screen.

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