A Surprise ⇢ Callum Ilott

TWENTYEIGHT

Catherine's phone started to ring, and she grabbed it straight away. A part of her hoped Callum called, but Catherine knew the chance was small that would happen. That part was right: it was Masha who was FaceTiming her. Catherine picked up the phone. "Hello," she said and yawned.

"Catherine," Masha panicked. "I think I'm pregnant," she blurted and walked around in her living room in complete shock.

Catherine's eyebrows rose. "You're pregnant?" Tears formed in her eyes. She got up from the cold stairs and walked back to the lobby of the hotel.

"Yes!" Masha looked at Catherine. "I might be pregnant, I don't know."

"Did you do a test?"

Masha was shaking her head. "You're not with Vince, right? Don't mention anything, okay?"

"Mate, everybody's asleep. This is a hotel full of F1 people, no one is awake at 23:00," Catherine explained and looked around, there were barely people at the lobby indeed. "I won't mention anything. Why didn't you take a test?" Catherine comforted her cousin and sat down on one of the couches in the lounge area.

"Because the stores are closed! Oh, god, I'm freaking out. I know myself, I know my body, and I just can feel something has changed and that must be because of that."

Catherine nodded. "But that is something positive, right? You were trying to get pregnant, right?" She tried to ask it carefully.

"Yes!" Masha sat down on a stool. "I didn't think it would happen this quick. We just started trying, but nothing is sure yet," she calmly said, but she looked stressed. "We started three weeks ago - after I came back from my parents, my period is late, and my breasts feel different. Sorry if this is TMI, but I need to share it with you."

"Oh, my goodness. Holy shit, Mash. That is amazing, if you are pregnant! You will be a mum," Catherine said. "Oh, my God. Go buy a test tomorrow, you have to do it, Masha." A huge smile spread over Catherine's face.

Masha nodded. "When will you be back in England? I don't want to take it alone," she said, scared. "Nothing will go wrong, but I need someone next to me. Vince will be back on Wednesday, but I can't wait for that long."

"I'm back on Monday morning, but mate, Vince has to know about this," Catherine said.

"No, no, no, not yet. I don't want to give him hope during this important weekend and disappoint him if it is negative."

Catherine pressed her lips into a thin line. "Stubborn. Just take the test, you will get stressed if you need to wait for me. I will be there over FaceTime?"

"I will pick you up at the airport."

"I have to go to the hospital in the afternoon, but fine."

"It will all be taken care of," Masha assured Catherine. "Oh, goodness. I might be pregnant," she whispered and giggled. "Whose hoodie are you wearing?"

Catherine parted her lips, and she processed the sudden and quick change in subject. "Callum's."

"Excuse me? Is everything alright between you two then?" Masha licked her lips.

"I don't know, Mash..." Catherine sighed. "We sat outside, we basically didn't talk, but we just... I don't know, we just sat there and then I kissed him, he kissed me, and that's it," she confusedly told, she was so lost in the situation. "It came out of nowhere. I even stopped looking for him, all the signs he gave me last week...it looked so over, but I don't know anymore. I'm not expecting him to fall in love with me, not after what has happened. I would react the same if I was him. If someone ignored me for so long, I would die. And it's my fault. I'll live with just being friends...somehow. If he wants to be friends, obviously."

"I swear, wear your most beautiful outfit tomorrow. Show him what he lost, make him jealous!" Excitement filled the conversation.

A laugh rolled over Catherine's lips, and she played with her earring. "There's definitely something going on with you, jeez." She looked around in the lobby, and her eyes fell in two people. "Oh, my god. Gordon Ramsey is here," she mumbled. "Oh, Jesus, he's walking towards me."

"Gordon Ramsey? What is he doing there?"

"I don't know, he's a F1 supporter," Catherine casually replied.

"When he starts to talk to you, you hang up. You are going to have chat with him and we will speak later." Masha cleared her throat. "But killer outfit tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," Catherine muttered. "I have to go, I guess. I will call you back as soon as I can. Bye!"

"Cheers!" Masha said and ended the call.

Catherine was confused, this was a rollercoaster of emotions of Masha. However, Masha was always chaotic, but this was next level chaotic. Catherine put her phone away and took a deep breath, Masha might be pregnant... A polite smile was pressed on her face when Gordon Ramsey was standing in front of her.

"Catherine Russell," Gordon said.

Mayday, mayday, he knows my name. Catherine got up from the couch. "Good evening, chef," she politely smiled and gave him a nod.

Gordon gave Catherine a handshake. "A pleasure to finally meet you," he said. "Especially here, in Abu Dhabi. I have waited for a long time to meet you."

Keep yourself together, Catherine, do not freak the fuck out. "A pleasure to meet you too."

"I'm following your work for a while now, and I must say: you're probably one of the most talented chefs of this year," Gordon said. "I've visited Lilou quite some times now, my close fried Connor Bash as well, and we are both really impressed by your creations."

"Thank you, chef," Catherine widely smiled.

"Call me Gordon, it's private time," he chuckled. "I'm working on a special menu for the staff and drivers of Formula One, who are having their end-of-the-season dinner on Sunday evening. Now I see you here, do you mind on helping me with creating the dishes?"

Mixed feelings entered Catherine's mind: she was overly happy to get this opportunity, but she couldn't do it... One of the best chefs in the world was asking her for help, who would have thought? "Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I'm unable to help you," she turned down his offer. "I'm currently recovering from an accident, and I can't use my wrist, so that means I'm unable to cook. I am sorry."

"What happened to you? I'm sorry to hear it," Gordon compassionated said and looked sorry at Catherine.

"Thank you," Catherine said. "I had a broken wrist, the cast got removed a couple of days ago, actually. My joints and muscles are weak, and if I might use them now, I won't be able to cook ever again."

Gordon nodded and pressed his lips into a thin line. "That is intense. I hope you will get better, because the world needs to see, taste and know how talented you are with creating dishes. You cannot cook, but you can think about it. I want to show you some dishes, and I need your judgement. Are you in for that?"

The eyes of Catherine widened. "Really?" Gordon Ramsey was one of the chefs she looked up to, he was a master in the kitchen when it came to cooking. Being the head chef and observe things was something else, but the man could cook.

"Yes, I need a second opinion. Perhaps you could show me some tricks, well, tell me about it obviously. Shall we go?"

"Like now?" Catherine was lost, during this evening so many things had happened.

"If it suits you? I have access to a kitchen here where I can prepare and create this menu."

"Oh, my god," she whispered. "Yes, please. Thank you."