Feel My Love

Chapter Six: Back in Paris

“You’re what?” Darren Blanc exclaimed staring at his best friend, he had popped around to hear all about Aoife’s sister’s wedding when she had dropped the bomb on him; he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

The two of them had worked at the same school for years now and had quickly become fast friends, they spent so much time together that people often assumed that they were dating.

“I’m moving back to Germany,” Aoife repeated with a roll of her brown eyes, she was going to miss Darren so much and she hoped that he would be supportive of her decision.

Darren stared at his best friend, he had no idea what had happened while she was back home but he knew that there had to be a reason for all of this.

“Yes I heard that bit… the bit after that,” Darren scoffed wanting to make sure that he had heard Aoife right, she was his best friend and he worried that she had gone and done something stupid.

“I’m getting married,” Aoife repeated watching her friend nervously, she knew that he was bound to be worried and she didn’t blame him; she had only told Darren because she could trust him.

Darren stared at Aoife, she had only gone home for her sister’s wedding but had come back engaged herself; he knew for a fact that she didn’t have a boyfriend or anything, so he worried what had happened while she with her family.

“What I am about to tell you… you can never tell anyone,” Aoife said quietly, she had no idea when the announcement would go out about her and Marco but it would be soon.

Darren slowly nodded her head, he would never break Aoife’s trust and he was sure that there would be a good story behind what she had just told him.

***

“What are you doing?” Aoife asked setting another drink down in front of Darren, he had taken her story of what had happened back in Dortmund better than expected; she was glad that she had a friend like him who could support her.

Darren grinned looking up from Aoife’s laptop, he hadn’t been able to resist taking to the internet to look up her future husband; he wanted to know just who Aoife had agreed to marry since he hadn’t paid much attention before when Marco had been with Belle.

“He’s gorgeous… I’m a little jealous,” Darren teased smiling at Aoife, he had a feeling that this would be good for his best friend; he could only imagine how mad things were going to get in the next few weeks in the lead up to her wedding.

Aoife laughed softly and shook her head moving to sit down next to Darren, she had no idea what she would ever do without him; she was going to miss him so much when she left in a week.

“You have a girlfriend,” Aoife reminded him, she doubted that Lisa would be pleased that he was checking out men while she was at work; she had a feeling that the wedding was going to be fun if Darren and Lisa came.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t look,” Darren replied with a simple wave of his hand, he had no idea how Belle had walked away from someone like that; but he guessed that Aoife’s sister had her own reasons for doing a runner.

Aoife snorted in laughter, she sipped on her drink as she looked at the Google search that Darren had been running on her fiancé; she doubted it would be long before pictures of her appeared online with Marco.

“Have you heard from Belle?” Darren asked coming across a picture of Aoife’s sister and Marco, it had been taken during the summer when the former couple had been on holiday in Ibiza; he frowned at how happy Belle seemed and wondered what had changed her mind.

“Not a word but that’ll probably change when the announcement goes out,” Aoife replied feeling a little bitter, she knew that her sister had done the right thing for her; she had left to be with the man that she loved.

However in doing what she had, Belle had left behind a mess that Aoife had been forced to deal with; she was now taking Belle’s place in marrying Marco and it scared her.

Darren nodded his head, he doubted that Belle would be able to stay away once it all came out; she would want to save her sister from the fate that she had escaped.

“I just wish she would have talked to me… I would have understood if she had told me what was happening,” Aoife whispered looking down at her engagement ring, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear from her sister; she was hurt that Belle had been so selfish in how she had acted.

Darren nodded and wrapped an arm around Aoife, he didn’t know what he could say to make this easier for her; he had no idea what the future now held for Aoife but he hoped that Marco would look after her.

“It’ll be okay,” Darren whispered hugging Aoife, he wanted to believe that this could all work out for her and he was sure that Marco wasn’t going to just forget about this; he would stick to his word for the right reasons.

Aoife closed her eyes, she wished that she could believe him but in five weeks she would be Aoife Reus and it scared her to think just what was going to be expected of her.

***

Stepping into the house after training, Marco frowned at the silence that greeted him now that Aoife had returned to Paris for a week; it was the first time he had been truly alone since Belle had left.

It had been hard adjusting to the fact that he was now going to marry Aoife, Marco had no idea just how all of this would work out but he was willing to make this work so innocent people didn’t end up having their lives destroyed.

Marco quietly headed for his living room, he wanted to relax for a bit and he was having a rough time with injuries that kept popping up; he wondered if he would be plagued with them for the rest of his career.

A partial tear of an ankle ligament had kept him out of the world cup were his national team had won, then he had been injured his ankle again in September and now he was being told that he might be out until the New Year with more ankle problems.

Marco plopped down on the couch, his fingers running through his hair knowing that his mother was going full force with wedding planning; she wasn’t going to let Aoife disappear like Belle had.

Marco leant back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, he had just about managed to convince his mother not to bring the wedding forward; he wasn’t going to ruin Aoife’s life more that it already would be.

Chewing on his lip, Marco thought about his impending wedding and the amount of time that he had to himself now; Bundesliga didn’t start up until late in January and it gave him the perfect chance to whisk Aoife away for a little bit.

The two of them would need a holiday after the mess that was their wedding had happened, Marco had a feeling that it would be a good way for them to bond before they settled into married life.

Marco sat up a little and peeled off his trainers, he moved delicately with his right leg knowing that he would do anything to help his team that was clearly struggling this season.

Moving for his laptop a plan formed in Marco’s head, a couple of weeks on a beach in January sounded so appealing right now and it would help perfectly with his recovery.