Free Extra Time by Michelle Betham

her quickly, sliding an arm around her waist as they talked, both of them totally unashamed of showing how much in love they were. ‘Why?’
    But Ryan knew the answer to that. And as much as he would have liked to turn the clock back and rewrite history, he couldn’t. He just had to get on with his life, the way she was getting on with hers, and he would. He’d start doing just that.
    Making his way down the corridor to join the rest of the team as they celebrated their win over CD Adeje, one of Spain’s most popular clubs, despite not being in the very top flight of Spanish football, he recalled a short and totally unexpected conversation he’d had just before the game. A conversation he’d thought nothing of, in fact, he’d just laughed it off as something flattering but highly unlikely to ever happen. However, seeing Amber just now, it made him think again. Maybe it wasn’t such a stupid idea after all. Maybe it was exactly what he needed. Maybe he shouldn’t dismiss it out of hand altogether.
    Decision made. He just hoped it was the right one.

Chapter Four
    ‘Jim?’
    He looked up as Amber walked into the kitchen of their home in the small, North East coastal village of Tynemouth. Her arms were folded against her, and she had a slightly unsettled expression on her face. He took a sip of coffee and continued to watch her as she fiddled with the strap of her watch, a tell-tale nervous reaction of hers. What did she have to be nervous about?
    ‘Is everything okay, honey? You look like you’ve got something on your mind.’ A small but noticeable chill ran up his spine as he continued to look at her, her eyes refusing to meet his.
    ‘Can I ask you something, Jim?’
    He took another sip of coffee before putting his mug down and folding his arms, smiling slightly as she finally met his gaze.
    ‘Of course you can. Come on, Amber, you can ask me anything, baby. I’m your husband.’
    She looked away again, down at the ground, her fingers once more fiddling with her watch. She hadn’t wanted to bring this up whilst they’d been over in the Canaries – it hadn’t really been the time or the place – and now they were back home, she still wasn’t sure the time was right, but then, she wasn’t sure the time would ever be right, not really. So the only thing she could think of to do was to bite the bullet and just talk to him, before it started to become an obsession that took over her life.
    ‘Amber? Sweetheart?’
    She took a deep breath. ‘What do you think about…?’ She slowly lifted her head, her eyes meeting his again, and he couldn’t help but notice a touch of sadness in them, something which did nothing to ease that chill. ‘What do you think about… about us starting a family?’
    He felt relief sweep over him, followed by confusion, which was swiftly replaced by the return of that chill. This was totally unexpected, and it had thrown him slightly. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. ‘Sorry, I… Starting a family…? Amber, I…’
    ‘A baby, Jim. I want a baby. I want our baby.’
    ‘Jesus, honey, where’s this come from?’ The day had hardly got off the ground and his head was already spinning. This had come completely out of the blue, something he’d never expected to hear from her. Not Amber. Not from a woman who’d shown no inclination to ever have a baby, none whatsoever. She’d only just come round to the idea of marriage, for heaven’s sake, and now she was talking babies?
    ‘I’m thirty-eight years old, Jim. In terms of motherhood I’m right at the business end of things now. I haven’t got much time left to waste.’
    He walked over to her, aware that his somewhat surprised expression had caused that frown to appear, clouding her pretty features. ‘I just …  We’ve never really talked about starting a family, have we? I wasn’t even aware it was something you were thinking about, I mean, you’ve never even hinted at it being…’
    ‘I’m talking about