Chapter 25

Stephanie descended the stairs into the hotel lobby. The hour was late and the reception area was practically deserted. Even the receptionist wasn't at the desk and was no doubt sitting in the back with a coffee enjoying the peace and quiet. She wished she'd had that luxury during the show tonight but unfortunately things had been hectic to the point where her cup of coffee still remained untouched in the catering area. She'd had a million and one things to do backstage and half the time she would find herself back pedalling trying to remember exactly what it was her role entailed. But thankfully she gotten through it relatively unscathed and even her father had seemed somewhat pleased when she had left him at the arena. Of course, she had left with the pretence of going straight to her hotel room; she hadn't told him anything about seeing Paul tonight.

Stephanie smiled to herself as her heels sunk into the plush carpet. Ever since their meeting in the corridor, she had found herself thinking about him all the time. She had been so shocked to see him walk out that door and realise the man from her dreams was actually real and not only that, her best friend; a friend that all thanks to Shane she knew quite a lot about. Ever since leaving the hospital, he had talked about Paul and had made a point of making sure she knew how important he was to her. Of course it had never crossed her mind to ask to see a picture of him. She didn't know why. Maybe she had just been content to sit and listen to stories about Paul and the more she had heard, the more intrigued she had been about him; even more so now she had met him in person.

And now here she was about to meet him once more. All night, she had felt a sense of nervous anticipation about seeing Paul. She didn't know why. She just couldn't wait to talk to him and get to know every little thing about him. She knew instinctively he would be nothing but completely honest with her. He just had this sincerity around him and this warmth making her feel so at ease around him especially towards the end of their conversation. In fact, she'd secretly been hoping their paths would cross backstage at the show. Unfortunately they hadn't but she had managed to sneak a quiet moment to herself to watch his match on the monitor in the dressing room. God, Paul was so talented and gifted in that ring. She couldn't help but admire his ability and of course her attention had drifted to his body. Let's just say she would have to be completely blind not to notice how toned and muscular he was and not only that, she found him an extremely handsome guy. And if she was being completely honest she would have to admit that physically, there was an attraction there, maybe even more than she should be comfortable with. After all, they were friends but then again that attraction would certainly explain the hot dreams she had about him.

Feeling her cheeks flush with heat, Stephanie deliberately snapped herself from the funk she was in. She just shouldn't think that way about Paul. He was her best friend for God sakes and besides, she had a husband.

Stephanie's smile faded as she walked into the hotel bar and thought about Andrew. She wished she could feel something for him but she didn't. There was simply no attraction there and actually the more time she spent with him, the more she disliked him. She found it so hard to believe they were actually married especially when she felt so distant from him. It was almost like he was a stranger to her; a stranger who elicited no type of feelings in her at all. She hoped she regained her memory soon and maybe then she could remember why she had loved him enough to want to spend forever with him. As it was, she didn't want to spend one second with him and it made her so sad to think an innocent child would be brought into that kind of environment.

Sighing softly, Stephanie looked around the bar and all thoughts of Andrew left her mind as she saw Paul sitting at a table in the far corner. It was his long blonde strands she recognised first. They were beautiful and unmistakable to her. Quickly scanning the bar and making sure there was no-one else that she recognised, she made her way over towards the table. Her reason for the cloak and dagger entrance being she had lied to Andrew to get rid of him tonight. She had told him that her father wanted to revise the storylines for tomorrow's show. She didn't know why but she felt the need to keep her meeting with Paul a secret from everyone like it was her own guilty pleasure. Was it crazy that she felt this fission of excitement about spending time with him when she could remember nothing about him? What was it about this man that made her feel things she couldn't even feel towards her own husband?

Paul glanced up from his drink as he saw her slide into the seat across from him. His heart swelled when she smiled at him and his brown eyes were instantly mesmerised by her. Stephanie truly was beautiful as she sat there with her soft hair curled and falling over her shoulders and her amazing blue eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

"Hi Paul. Sorry I'm late. I had trouble getting away."

Paul shook his head as his lips curved up gently thinking how nice it sounded to hear his name fall from her lips. He had missed that. He had missed her. "Don't worry about it. You're here now and I hope you don't mind but I ordered you a drink already."

Stephanie glanced at the fruit juice sitting on the table. Her nose wrinkled with her curiosity as she looked at him wondering about his choice. His expression was gentle as he answered her unspoken question.

"I know you can't drink because of the baby."

Her brow lifted in surprise. "You do?"

Paul nodded and sighed softly.. "You told me as soon as you found out you were pregnant." He pressed his lips together resisting the temptation to scream that he was the father of their child but he took a large mouthful from his beer bottle instead. He didn't usually drink alcohol but he felt like he needed it tonight. The pretence of not loving her was already getting to him. Still, he had so much he wanted to tell her and ask her about her and their unborn child. Swallowing his drink, he placed the bottle down on the table and his tone was laced with his concern for her. "So, how are you feeling? Are you still being so sick all the time?"

"You know about the sickness too?" Stephanie asked as she twirled the straw in her glass.

"Steph, I know everything." joked Paul.

She lightly chuckled as she took a sip of her drink. "Well Mr Know-it-all I do feel much better now the sickness has gone and I actually seem to be sleeping a little better too."

Paul smiled. "Good. I'm glad."

He quenched the need to ask if she had felt the baby moving yet. He didn't want to give the game away and reveal just how much he knew about her pregnancy. God knows, he didn't want to spook her and cut short their precious time together. And it was precious. He cherished each and every moment he got to spend with her tonight and he wanted to remember every single detail. Because maybe those details would help him make it through those lonely hours without her and ease the desperate ache in his heart that quite simply just didn't function properly without Stephanie.

"So Paul, are you ready for my inquisition? I've thought up lots of questions to ask you."

His shoulders shook with his amused laughter as he saw her smirking at him over her glass before sipping at her juice. "You can ask me anything you like but on one condition." he told her.

"Well see it all depends what that condition is."

"I get to ask you one question and in return you can ask me as many as you want."

Stephanie's blue eyes twinkled as she nodded her head in agreement. "I think you've got yourself a deal there. So, what's your question?"

Paul rolled his lips together as his fingers began to absently pick at the peeling label on his bottle. "It's just something that's been bugging me about earlier. See, you acted shocked to see me and yet you didn't know who I was. Why was that?"

Stephanie felt the heat rush to her cheeks once more. Her blue eyes were focused on his hands; those same hands that had touched her so intimately in her dreams. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably as she realised how embarrassing her answer would sound but she decided to tell Paul the truth anyway. After all she wanted him to be nothing but honest with her. The least she could do was be honest in return even if it meant she lost any shred of dignity too. "I recognised you from my dream." she admitted shyly, tilting her head downwards.

Paul couldn't help but give an egotistical smirk at her answer. "You dream about me McMahon?"

Stephanie shook her head at the smug look on his face. "Yes I did but it was only twice. I didn't recognise you and in fact, I wasn't even sure you existed. As you can imagine, I got the fright of my life when I saw you today and realised you were real."

Paul's brown eyes twinkled back at her. "Oh I'm real alright. So, what was your dream all about?"

He immediately chuckled as he saw Stephanie's cheeks redden and deliberately avoid his gaze by focusing on the glass in her hand. He swore he could feel her squirm under the intensity of his gaze. He had always found her reaction to any sort of embarrassing situation kind of cute. The corner of his mouth lifted in a teasing smirk.
"So, how good was I in this dream of yours?"

Stephanie instantly looked up and stuck her tongue out at him before starting to laugh herself, shaking her head causing her brown strands to shift softly over her shoulders. "You're certainly full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Maybe but you still haven't answered my question."

Stephanie mumbled as she looked down at her joined hands. "You were good."

Paul pretended not to hear her and leaned further across the table. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. You'll have to speak up a bit."

She looked up and shook her head at the arrogant grin he wore on his face; a grin that caused an unexpected hot flash across her chest. She swallowed thickly as she tried to maintain her composure. "I said you were good. In fact, you were extremely good. Now, can we move on to another question?"

Paul snickered as he sat back in his chair. He didn't know if it was the beer or not but for the first time in a long time he felt really relaxed. He knew it was because he was with Stephanie. God knows he had missed her more than he had ever dreamt possible. And although it was killing him not to be able to touch her or show her how much he loved her, somehow just being around her helped to ease the pain a little and let him pretend everything was normal between them. Well as it normal as it could be under the circumstances.

"Paul, tell me how we met."

Stephanie's request interrupted his thoughts. Paul's expression was tender as he told her how they got to know one another. It wasn't hard. He remembered it all as if it was yesterday. He could still recall the first time he noticed Stephanie McMahon. She was sitting quietly in the corner as Vince had rambled on at one of the meetings he had called. He hadn't been attracted to her at that point though. The attraction had come much later. But he could still recall thinking she was beautiful but in a young and innocent way. Her blue eyes had been so wide and full of awe as she had looked up and gazed at her father as he talked. It wasn't until he started to work with Stephanie on their storyline that he had gotten to know anything about her at all and had soon realised how much fun she was to be with. He'd also realised how quickly she had grown into a smart, sexy and confident woman. They had become close fairly quickly and had spent a lot of their free time together. They would find various different reasons for spending time with one another or calling each other and although they would pretend those reasons were work related in some way it became obvious that there was so much more to it. But of course, Paul couldn't let Stephanie know about any of that so his story of their history was much shorter than it should have been.

When he had pretty much told her everything he could, Stephanie sat back and smiled at him unaware that her simple act made him melt inside.

"Well, it looks like my brother told me the truth. Your story is pretty much the same as his although you were both a little sketchy on the details of your personal life and as your best friend I think I have the privilege of knowing all the good stuff." she grinned as she toyed with her drink. "So Paul, that brings me to my next question. Have you got anyone special in your life right now?"

Stephanie noticed his easy smile instantly fade and if she wasn't mistaken, his brown eyes flashed with his pain as he stood up suddenly.

"I need another drink. Do you want one?"

She shook her head and she bit down on her lip thoughtfully as her troubled stare followed Paul to the bar. God, the last thing she meant to do was upset him with her question but she obviously had. Trust her to be so damn inquisitive. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes as she rested her head back against the soft padded cushions of the chair. She was so fed up not being able to remember anything and now it had caused her to put her foot in it with Paul and he was her best friend and the last person in the world she wanted to hurt. She might not know much but she knew that. For some reason she just felt really close to him and sitting here with him tonight, she felt like she had known him forever and there was no awkwardness or strangeness at all between them. It had soothed her somewhat. And despite the fact Paul was still a stranger to her in so many ways, she sensed a connection between them; a bond that surpassed any simple friendship and she had no doubts at all that he was a very special person in her life. Of course, that only made it all the harder to know that Paul was upset and he was upset because of her.

She let out a sigh of frustration and turning her head, she saw him walk back to the table. He wore a solemn expression on his handsome face and her eyes reflected her spoken apology as he sat back down across from her.

"Paul, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to put my foot in it and upset you just now. Forgive me?"

As he saw her hopeful eyes looking over at him, he immediately shook his head and smiled. "Steph, there is nothing to forgive."

His heart ached as she reached out taking his hand in hers. As her soft fingers wrapped around his, Paul felt a rush of emotion at her familiar touch as she squeezed them ever so gently. God, this was absolutely killing him to have her touching him like this. It reminded him of everything he had lost and everything he wanted. It was on the tip of his tongue to blurt out the truth but he remembered Shane telling him about any upset setting back her recovery and he didn't want to be the one to cause that to happen to her. He cared about Stephanie too much. He loved her. Feeling the lump in the back of his throat, Paul bit down on the corner of his lip as he tried to control his emotions. He wouldn't allow himself to break in front of her. He just couldn't.

"Paul, are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

Her concern worked its way into him. He slowly brought his eyes up to meet hers and as his heart swelled with his love for Stephanie, he realised was kidding himself if he thought he could spend time with her and just be her friend. His heart broke every time he looked at her and remembered what he had lost. He was seriously in danger of losing it and he had to get out of here quickly before he fell apart in front of her.
Paul swallowed hard as he gathered himself in check and reluctantly released his hand from hers.

"Sorry Steph, but I've got to get going. I've got an early start in the morning."

He saw her face instantly fall as he stood up and grabbed his jacket. He started to walk away but couldn't leave things as they were, not when he knew he had upset her. Paul retraced his steps and leant over the table letting his brown eyes get lost in her for only a few seconds before eventually placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Goodnight." he hushed.

His lips lifted in the tiniest of smiles as he silently whispered his love for her and his child before turning and leaving her there. It took everything he had to put one foot in front of the other when all he wanted to do was go back and take Stephanie in his arms and hold her just as tightly as he could. Because he would never let go. Not now. Not when he knew exactly how hollow and empty he felt without her.

Paul's footsteps were heavy as he entered the hotel lobby. As he walked to the staircase, he saw the last person on earth he wanted to see at that precise moment. He tried to avoid him and focused his eyes on the floor but of course, the cocky bastard just had to come right over to him and say something.

"Hey Levesque! Been drowning your sorrows tonight?"

Paul's nostrils flared as he glowered at him and shook his head in disgust. "I'm not in the mood Martin so I'd appreciate you getting out of my face right now."

Andrew deliberately stood in front of him blocking his path with a sadistic grin on his face. "Now now Paul, there's no need for that. I was just being civil to you."

Paul clenched his fists at his side resisting the urge to punch him square in the face. "I don't care. Move out of my way. Now!"

Andrew laughed as he blocked his path again. Paul dug his fingers tightly into his palms as he tried his best to control his anger.

"So, tell me. How does it feel to look at a man who has everything in his life and realise you have nothing at all?"

Paul glowered at him, his eyes flashing black with his anger and the pure hatred he felt for this man. It took all he had not to grab him and tear him limb from limb. "You listen to me and you listen real good!" he snarled. "Stephanie will get her memory back and when she does, she'll be back with me where she belongs."

"Dream on Levesque. By the time Stephanie remembers anything, it will be too late. We'll be married and she'll be living happily ever after with me and our baby."

Mentioning the baby made Paul see red and he couldn't control himself any longer as he grabbed Andrew by the collar of his shirt throwing him up against the wall and pinning him there. "Don't you dare ever associate yourself with my child! That baby is mine. Mine and Stephanie's!"

The surprised cry behind him made his heart stop for a second. Paul's stomach churned anxiously as he let go of Andrew and slowly spun on his heel. Stephanie was standing in front of him and his soul shattered when he saw the unshed tears pooling in her eyes. Her face was pale and her expression completely stunned. As Paul's mouth parted to try and say something, anything, she looked at them both before shaking her head and he could only watch as she backed away and ran out of the hotel.