| Undercover Lover |
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A chance meeting in an airport and a man with a life threatening job. Did Ameera MacIntyre, 30, from London have any ideas what she was letting herself in for? Just imagine the scene. a handsome stranger swoops to your aid and then falls hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with you. It's the stuff of fairytales and it never happens in real life, does it? That's what I thought as I struggled to lug my suitcase through Turin International Airport in Italy, last January. Potential knights in shining armour swept past me as I stumbled for the umpteenth time on the way to the departure gate. So when I dropped my handbag, I felt like giving up. sighing, I reached down to pick it up, but another hand grabbed it before I could. Oh God, someone's stealing m handbag! I panicked. My eyes followed the hand up to a big, muscly arm, and on until I saw a face smiling back at me. "Do you need some help?" the man asked, handing me my bag. "Er....thanks" I said frowning. It wasn't that I was shocked by his politeness but I couldn't shake that feeling that I knew him. Suddenly the penny dropped. "Aren't you that bloke off the telly?" I blurted out. Very cool Ameera I cringed. "Yes" he laughed, holding out his hand. "Donal MacIntyre." "Ameera" I replied shyly. So that's where I recognised him from! You probably know him too. He's that guy who infiltrated the Chelsea Headhunters, an infamous gang of violent football hooligans in 1999. I bet he's on his way back from a dangerous assignment, I thought as I tried to regain my composure. As it turned out, telly's best-known undercover reporter hadn't been exposing criminals. He was on his way back from a skiing holiday with some friends, just like me. We sat next to each other on our easyJet flight to Luton Airport, chatting away the entire journey. An hour and a half later, we landed and swapped numbers. "I hope to see you seen" Said Donal, 40, kissing me on the cheek. I could barely contain myself as I arrived at my mum's house in Wimbledon, south London. I was moving to Dubai to start work as a TV presenter in a few weeks, so I'd been staying with my mum, Anna Ahmed, 68, while I prepared to go. "You'll never guess who I met!" I teased, as I stepped through the front door. "Who?" Mum asked. "Only a gorgeous undercover reporter" I gushed. "Wow!" she said. We'd watched all of Donal's programmes, hiding behind our cushions as he mixed with drug dealers and visited some of the roughest places in the UK. The truth was, although as mad as a box of frogs I found his bravery sexy. I never thought that he'd call, but two days later my mobile beeped with a message. Hi Ameera do you want to meet up? Donal Did I ever! I slipped into a new top and put on a bit of lippy, then went to meet Donal at the studio where he was editing his documentary on the notorious Manchester gangsters, Dessie and Dominic Noonan. "Don't you ever get scared?" I asked, as I watched the footage. "Sometimes" he said. "I get a few serious death threats a year." I shuddered. I wasn't a wuss, but the idea of doing anything to put me or my 4 year old daughter Allegra's life in danger turned my stomach. Donal was obviously a man who thrived on flirting with danger. It's probably why he's single...... Still, it was just a bit of fun. I would soon be leaving for Dubai, so it wouldn't last anyway. But as time passed, we got on like a house on fire. And Donal was fantastic with Allegra. He'd spend hours baking with her and reading her stories. Allegra got used to having Donal around too. "Hello Daddy!" she piped up as he walked into the house one day. Oh no! I thought, hoping the ground would swallow me up. How embarrassing! We'd only been together for a couple of weeks. I could barely bring myself to look over and half expected to see a Donal-shaped hole in the wall! But he was still there, smiling. " Hello Allegra" he replied. My heart melted. As the weeks flew by I was having so much fun I didn't even notice what was happening. But then Donal went to Oman to live with a remote tribe to film his series, The Edge of Existence and it hit me like a truck. I'd fallen in love with him. I couldn't sleep for thinking about everything that could go wrong. OK, so it wasn't a gun-toting drug gang, but what about vicious beasts, freak weather conditions or the tribe turning against him? And something else bothered me too. I was about to move to Dubai to take up my dream job. I'd grafted for years to get to this point in my career. It sounds mad, but now the thought of going there without Donal tore me apart. Everything seemed meaningless now if it didn't involve him. The next day I spoke to my mum. "I can't leave. I love him" I said. "Don't be taken in by that Irish Charm" she warned. "Look at his job, he'll never settle down". She was right. The monotony of parenthood and married life would probably drive Donal crackers. And his job was so dangerous. If the gangs he'd angered in the past couldn't get to him, would they go after his nearest and dearest? Could I really give up all my dreams to put my family at risk? For says my thoughts went round in circles. I made myself dizzy trying to decide what to do. But eventually, I knew there was only one right answer. The day Donal returned, he came straight over to my mum's house. "Donal" I said sitting him down. "I'm not going to Dubai". "But your job....what about your career" he stuttered. "I'll make that sacrifice, if you do something for me" I told him "What?" he asked. "Less dangerous jobs" I said. "It's not just you any more." A smile spread across his face. "It's a deal" he said in his warm Irish lit. Then he kissed me. Donal moved in soon after, and one morning mum eyeballed him across the kitchen table. "You have a very dangerous job Donal" she said "Don't let anything happen to my girls" "I won't" he promised solemnly. Two weeks later on Valentine's Day I went to see Donal give a speech at Oxford University. He'd done it a thousand times before but he seemed jumpy. What’s the matter with him? I wondered. Later in our hotel room I found out. "Ameera" he stuttered, "W...w..." "What's wrong?" I asked terrified. "Will you marry me?" he finally blurted out. "Yes" I cried. I told mum as soon as we got home and she was over the moon. But after a few days Donal had to go to Kosovo to infiltrate a criminal gang selling explosives. I was sick with worry thinking about the nutters he was with. Men who wouldn't think twice about killing him if they knew who he was. Would I be able to cope with the fact that my husband to be risked his life every day for a job? A week later he moved on to film with a remote tribe in Borneo. "I'm going free-diving" he told me, one night on the satellite phone. A knot tightened in my stomach. That meant diving without equipment. I knew just how dangerous free diving could be because my friend's wife, Audrey Mestre, had died three years ago doing the same thing. "Please don't do it" I sobbed. "It's too risky" He lives for danger, remember? The line crackled for a moment. Then Donal spoke. "OK I won't" He replied. "Do you mean it?" I spluttered. "If you don't want me to then I won't" he said. It was then I realised that Donal would do anything for me. When he returned we started planning the wedding. Well weddings really. We were going to have four separate ceremonies. First we had a service at Richmond Register Office with our close family. Then Donal, Mum, Allegra and I flew to Malaysia where we exchanged vows on the beach. Next we had a traditional Muslim blessing, in the memory of my father, in the Dubai desert. Finally we had a wedding at Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland. We didn't stop until our honeymoon in Bangkok. It was only then that it occurred to me that I was late... A pregnancy test confirmed it. "You're going to be a daddy" I told Donal. "I never thought I'd have a family" he said. "Not with a job like mine" "Really?" I asked. "But now I have everything" he said, clasping my hand. It's only been a year since the chance meeting in Turin, and my life couldn't be more different. But it's so much happier for having Donal in it. Our baby is due in April and Donal's getting so excited. Yes he still goes to dangerous places, but he's a lot more cautious these days. I guess that's because he's got so much more to lose now. Donal wouldn't risk his family for the biggest story in the world.
Pick Me Up |