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She stares at me. “Propose? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I know it’s only been one date, but I’ve been in love with her for a year, so…”
“I thought you only met at the end of March.”
“I was rounding up.”
A smile slowly spreads across her face. “You really like her that much?”
“I’m crazy about her.”
Her smile turns mischievous, making her look not unlike her niece. “She’s a lucky girl.”
“I’m the lucky one. She even comes with a ready-made family. How cool is that?”
Her eyes glisten then. “You’ve been so good to Finn.”
“Well, we’re not there yet. But I hope that next year he’ll be getting out of my helicopter and walking unaided over to your house. That’s my goal.”
“You’re very driven, aren’t you?”
“I know what I want, and I do my best to get it, if that’s what you mean.”
She chuckles. “I can see why she likes you. I’m half in love with you myself.”
I give a short laugh. “Don’t say anything to her about all this, okay? All in good time.”
“Sure. Come on. I’m sure you want to get on your way to Wellington. You’re the best man at the wedding, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a couple of events planned.” I tell her about them as we walk back downstairs to join the others, and she laughs out loud, prompting everyone to look over as we approach.
“What’s so funny?” Missie asks curiously.
“It’s a secret,” she teases. “Let’s just say I think you’re in for a show over the next few days.”
I sit beside Missie and accept the glass of lemonade she hands to me. “I’m in charge of entertainment,” I explain.
“Oh God,” she says. “I’m guessing it’s all highly organized. He has OCD,” she tells the others.
“I havemildOCD. I like things to be orderly.”
She winks at them. “OCD,” she mouths.
I meet her eyes and raise an eyebrow, and she gives an impish giggle.
“I think she’s still on your naughty list,” Finn says, and everyone laughs.
We finish our drinks while we talk, and then eventually Missie says we should get going. She gives everyone a kiss goodbye, and I hug Finn and shake hands with the others.
“Thank you so much for looking after Zelda,” I say. The puppy is currently flaked out on the flagstones, knackered from running like a maniac around the house with the other dogs. “I hope she behaves.”
“She’s beautiful,” Pippa says, “I think we’ll have a lot of fun together.”
John brings us a whole crate of wine for us to take to the wedding, which I’m very touched about. We wave goodbye, and then I take the crate, and Missie and I walk across the lawn and through the gate to the paddock where the helicopter is waiting.
It’s a gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky, which is a brilliant blue. It’shot as, and apparently the weather is going to stick around for the next few days, which is terrific news for Damon’s wedding.
I secure the crate in the back, and we get in the helicopter, Missie in the front seat this time, and don our headphones. I do all the safety checks, and then eventually I lift the machine into the air, and we head northeast across the Cook Strait to Wellington.
