CHAPTER 15
Cate carefully climbed out of the sleek town car in front of the Space Needle. Although she was wearing a gorgeous, red silk gown, it was difficult trying to look graceful when you were almost eight months pregnant.
Kian was meeting her at Chihuly Garden and Glass, just behind the Space Needle. Trent and Lena had hired it for their engagement party.
Cate walked through the crowds spilling out from the nearby monorail station. It was almost dusk and there was a long, snaking crowd outside the Space Needle.
A gentle breeze touched the loose tendrils of inky-black hair which framed her face.
Guarding the front door of Chihuly Glass was a huge hulk of a man in an all-black suit. Cate handed him her invitation and he pulled back the thick, velvet rope allowing her to walk through.
Although she’d lived in the city for a couple of months now, Cate hadn’t been to Chihuly Glass before. She’d brought Lola and Mateo to Seattle Center lots of times. It was a fun place, there was always something going on. They’d eaten mini cheesecakes and listened to traditional Polish music in the Armoury; she’d taken Lola to see the roller derby at the Key Arena and they’d watched the Pacific Northwest Ballet students with their lithe bodies and neat buns bathe their tired, aching feet in the river of cool water at the side of the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.
When they’d walked back to the monorail, Cate had seen tantalising glimpses of the beautiful glass sculptures through the tall trees but knew that putting her young son in the vicinity of anything precious and breakable wasn’t a good idea.
Kian nursed a bottle of beer and waited for his wife. Now that Nate was living with them, they had even less time alone.
“Can I take your coat, madam?”
“Um, yes,” Cate fumbled. “Thank you.” She felt a brush of cool air against her bare shoulders and worried again if her dress was OK. When she’d tried it on, Layla had insisted that it was perfect.
Cate smoothed the silk over her bump – just once she’d like to go to one of these fancy events not heavily pregnant – and followed the rest of the guests towards the Glasshouse.
As she walked into the Glasshouse, Cate almost stumbled on her heels. It was exquisitely beautiful. The installation was an expansive, 100-foot long sculpture in a colour palette of reds, oranges, yellows and amber. Beyond the conservatory glass, she could see the Space Needle illuminated against the night sky.
“Cate!” Lena greeted her warmly. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
Cate hadn’t seen any of the other WAGS since that awful day at the shelter. Now when she and the children went to Seattle F.C. home games, they sat in the regular seats. She didn’t feel comfortable leaving Mateo in the crèche.
“It’s stunning.” Cate was in awe of the venue.
The band started playing “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri. Cate looked around the brightly-lit space for her husband. They’d danced to this song at his sister’s wedding. The night that they’d finally got back together after she’d found out that he’d cheated on her.
Cate felt that familiar warmth snake up her spine as Kian reached for her wrist. “Dance with me?”
Cate acquiesced. For one song, she wanted to forget all their problems.
His black hair was even longer now and he’d tied it up in a man-bun. He hadn’t shaved that morning and his jaw was darkened with stubble. In some ways he looked so different from the man she’d married eight years ago. He pressed a hand to the small of her back, guiding her onto the dance floor.
Kian pressed her against him, swaying gently to the music. They were so close that when he breathed, his chest pushed against hers and vice versa. His callused thumbs stroked circles on the bare skin at the back of her dress. She looked up at him. His dark, almost-black eyes glittered.
The song changed but they remained on the dance floor, caught in their own quiet, little world. Cate rested her head on his shoulder, breathing in his unique scent.
“Are you OK?” Kian asked tentatively.
“Yes,” Cate looked up at him, her black eyes were a little glassy.
Kian gently stroked her soft cheek. He brushed his lips over hers.
That brief taste wasn’t enough. He didn’t care that they were in the middle of a crowded dance floor. He needed to connect with his wife, to break through the barriers she’d put up ever since they’d moved to Seattle. He licked at the seam of her soft lips until they parted, allowing him inside. His hand pressed more firmly against the small of her back. Kian licked inside her mouth, feeling her melt like cotton candy against his tongue. He could feel the swelling of her bump against his stomach.
The song changed again, this time to something more up-tempo. Cate opened her eyes, suddenly realising where they were. She had never liked being the centre of attention. She could feel Kian’s erection throbbing against her belly and it made liquid heat pool between her legs. She felt like she was caught in a riptide; torn between wanting to stay bathed in the sheer bliss of being kissed by her husband and the discomfort of knowing that they were being watched. Her traitorous body, already denied its pleasure for weeks, wanted to throw caution to the wind; her tingling nipples strained against the front of her silk gown, aching to be touched.
“We can’t do this,” Cate found resolve from somewhere and pushed Kian back a little.
She rubbed at her swollen lips, sure that her glossy lipstick had smudged over her skin. She folded her arms across her breasts, trying to hide her wanton desperation.
She could feel the eyes of the rest of the guests like tiny pinpricks on her skin. She desperately needed some air. It had been a mistake coming here tonight.
Kian watched his wife disappear into the shadows of the gardens. He didn’t understand what had just happened. For the briefest moment, he’d had his wife back.
He followed her into the darkness, surreptitiously adjusting his trousers. Tonight was the clearest indication yet that they weren’t just going through a rough patch.
“Cate?” He found her looking up at one of the sculptures. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Cate didn’t turn around. “I just needed some fresh air. Go back to the party.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Kian said gruffly, reaching for her wrist. “Look at me.”
Cate tugged at her wrist, “I’m OK.”
Unrelenting, Kian turned her around to face him. The tracks of her tears glittered silver in the moonlight. He hated seeing her cry. “Don’t cry.”
“It’s just the pregnancy hormones,” Cate tried again to free her wrist. “I should be used to them by now.”
Kian wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “Stay here,” he kissed her cheek.
When he came back, he’d got both of their jackets. “What are you doing?”
“We’re leaving,” Kian said, holding out her jacket so she could slip her arms inside.
“We can’t leave,” Cate panicked. “It’s Trent and Lena’s engagement party.”
“I’ve made our excuses. Let’s go.”
Cate felt wretched. Ever since she’d moved to Seattle, she just couldn’t do anything right. She followed Kian out of the party, noting the tension bristling off his strong shoulders. He must be so angry with her right now, making a scene in front of his team-mates.
Every single day she looked at how much it would cost to fly back to Manchester, she could seek refuge in her old bedroom at her mum’s house, surrounded by all of her teenage paraphernalia. That was what she’d done when she’d found out that Kian had cheated on her with one of his sister’s friends at the World Cup. This time would be different though, Cate thought sadly, following Kian along the pathway back to the Space Needle. Liv, who had been her life raft during the first few weeks after she’d left Kian, wasn’t in Manchester anymore. She was touring Europe with Jax.
When the town car arrived, Kian held the door open for Cate and she slid across the backseat, as far away from him as possible.
The car pulled up outside the ferry terminal and Kian got out. He offered her his hand. “I thought we could take the ferry home.”
They bought tickets and went and sat on the plastic bucket seats waiting for the next boat to arrive. It was cool inside the almost deserted building; the kiosks were closed. Cate pulled her jacket more tightly around her body. Her feet were aching inside her heels.
When the boat arrived, Kian led Cate upstairs to the outside deck. She looked at the glittering Seattle skyline dominated by the Space Needle. She wanted so badly for it to feel like home, to feel the same affection for the Space Needle, Smith Tower and Century Link Field as she did for Beetham Tower, the Imperial War Museum and Rovers Stadium back home.
She wrapped her hands around the metal railing and looked down at the dark water. It felt as black as she did. In the first few weeks after they’d arrived in Seattle, when she’d still felt optimistic about this new chapter in their lives, she’d taken Lola and Mateo on a tourist bus tour of Seattle. The guide had said that the Sound was deep enough that the Statue of Liberty could be put inside it and you wouldn’t even be able to see the flame rising out of the water.
Cate felt Kian come up behind her. His hands anchored hers to the railing. She looked at the gleaming gold bands on their fingers. She couldn’t go back home. Her husband was here. Cate took the vows they’d made all those years ago in that tiny chapel in Las Vegas seriously. Unlike the last time, he hadn’t given her a reason to leave.
The ferry juddered, making Cate stumble in her wretched heels. Kian reached for her elbow and gently guided her back across the deck to the row of painted white benches. “Here,” he knelt in front of her and carefully removed her heels. Her toes wiggled, savouring the newfound freedom. Kian sat down beside her on the bench. “What’s wrong, angel?”
She couldn’t have felt less like an angel at that moment.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Cate faked a smile.
“Don’t lie to me,” Kian growled. He touched her cheek, stopping her from looking away.
“I’m just…” The words were on the tip of her tongue but if she told Kian how she really felt, he would feel guilty for bringing them out here. She would forever taint this exciting new adventure for him. “I’m just tired and emotional.” It was scary how easy it was to lie.