Page 91 of The One That Got Away

‘Okay.’ I locked my phone and picked up the towel. ‘Still not gonna tell me where we’re going?’

‘Nope! It’s a surprise.’

‘How will I know what to wear?’

‘Please.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘It’s not as if you need to know whether to wear heels or flats.’

‘Heels arealwaysmy first choice of footwear,’ I joked.

‘They wouldn’t be if you had to spend hours walking in them!’

‘So we’rewalkingsomewhere for hours?’

‘Stop trying to get it out of me! Come on.’ She grabbed my hand and led me up the pathway to our villa. ‘We need to shower and get dressed.’

‘Yes, boss!’ I did a mock salute.

An hour later, we were in the chauffeur-driven car. Stella filled me in on the conversation with her mum earlier who was excited to tell her that Marjorie, the vicar’s wife, had requested a thong to take home. She hadn’t mentioned what message was on the back, because of ‘client confidentiality’, but Stella was sure her mum would let it slip sooner or later.

We also dissected all the episodes ofTed Lassowe’d watched and struggled to decide on which of the characters were our favourites. It was currently a toss-up between Roy Kent and Ted Lasso himself. But we were fans of most of the other teammates too.

It was funny, watching the show reminded me of some of the players I’d worked with during my time. Luckily, before I had a chance to get fully lost in my thoughts, the driver announced that we’d arrived.

As I looked out of the window, I swallowed hard.

Shit.

My body temperature spiked.

‘So…’ Stella reached for my hand. ‘As you can see, we’re at a football stadium. I know you’re worried, but I thought we could try and watch a game.Together.’

‘Stella, I don’t know. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but…’

‘This is the stadium for Cádiz. They’re in the Premier League orLa LigaI think it’s called in Spain, right? But their stadium isn’t as big as some of the others, so I thought it might be less daunting. Oh, and they’re playing Real Madrid tonight…’

‘Seriously?’ I bolted up and my eyes widened.

‘Yep,’ she nodded, a smile touching her lips.

As I watched the crowds filing into the stadium, I swiped the back of my hand over my forehead.

My mind raced. I wanted to watch the game. I really did. I mean,come on. It was Real Madrid: one of the greatest teams in the world. But I didn’t know if I could.

What if I freaked out again?

I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of Stella.

‘I-I…’ I opened my mouth to speak but my throat dried up.

‘Yesterday you were worried about watching a football-related TV show but you tried and enjoyed it. I know this is harder, but I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t think you were up to it. And remember, if it’s too much, we can just leave. We don’t have to watch the whole match. You can just dip your toe in the water. What do you think? Want to try?’

I paused and the silence stretched for what felt like minutes but could’ve only have been seconds as I weighed it up in my mind.

Anyone else would think my fear was ridiculous. That it was no big deal to watch a game, because they didn’t understand. But luckily Stella did. I believed her when she said she thought I could handle it. And somehow, knowing she believed in me made all the difference.

‘Okay.’ My heart thudded against my chest. ‘I’ll try.’

Stella threw her arms around me and squeezed me so tight I almost couldn’t breathe.

---