‘The thing is, that, well…I wondered if you would reconsider…us. The truth is that I have fallen in love with you. I couldn’t bear to see you leave tomorrow without telling you how I feel. And Theo loves you as well. Even if I was stupid enough to let you go without a fight, the thought of his fury if I didn’t give it one more chance – well, I can’t even think about it.’
My heart raced as I took in his words.He loves me!Then I smiled at the thought of Theo. ‘I can see how terrifying that could be.’
‘So…what do you think?’
Every fibre of my being was screaming yes, but my reply was pre-empted by a vigorous shiver.
‘Oh, Fallon, I’m sorry, it’s far too cold to be sitting out here. I thought the blankets would be warm enough, but I’m freezing too. Shall we go inside?’
‘What, back to the party?’
‘No – unless you want to? I meant inside the van. At least it’ll be a bit warmer.’
‘Good idea.’
He put the cocktails on the bar area, and we gathered up our furry blankets and hurried inside the van, where Alexander hurriedly shut up the flaps.
‘Sorry, it wasn’t meant to be like this,’ he said, as we hunkered down on the floor on the blankets and he switched on a small electric heater. ‘Hardly the grand gestures ofMayfair Mews– I should have realised.’
‘I don’t mind at all,’ I said truthfully. ‘It’s better to be warm and it’s very cosy in here with the fairy lights. Maybe you should hire it out for dates? Sorry, sorry, no work talk. Although it’s not a bad idea.’
He laughed and wiggled his hand out from the folds of the blanket to reach for mine.
‘Fallon, I promise I wouldn’t expect you suddenly to be Theo’s mother, or to commit to anything you aren’t ready for. He adores you, but my reasons for wanting to be with you are entirely selfish.’
‘So are mine,’ I confessed, then realised that there was something very important I hadn’t said. ‘Alexander, I love you too. I was silly enough to look for reasons to stop all this happening, but none of them held up to the way I feel about you. And you know I love Theo as well.’
His eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and he cleared his throat before replying.
‘I know.’
I edged a little closer to him, as he did the same, the hand that had held mine now moving up my arm. ‘But no flowery aprons or pot roasts,’ I said warningly.
‘I hope not,’ he replied. ‘Being a mother – maybe even a wife – doesn’t mean being anything other than you.’
Now it was I who had the lump in my throat, and I nodded vigorously while he continued.
‘Fallon, you’ve made me feel so loved. You don’t care, do you, that I’m not a surgeon anymore?’ I shook my head. I hadn’t even thought about it. ‘See? I can’t imagine you pressing me to do my physio so I can get working again, or suggesting a marvellous clinic in Switzerland where they can do wonders for both mind and body.’
‘Is that where your ex-wife wanted you to go?’
‘Yes. As soon as I came round from the accident, she was trying to get me back in the operating theatre and up in her estimation. I wasn’t of any interest to her once I ceased having that role. But I wasn’t going to play act for her benefit, just as I wouldn’t ask you to do for mine. Just be Fallon.’
We had edged our way so close together now that all I had to do was tilt my head a tiny bit and it was the most natural thing in the world for our lips to meet. The kiss had a beautiful familiarity but also, now, an exciting promise of a future to look forward to.
When we finally broke apart, Alexander smiled at me with such warmth and love that the furry blankets were hardly necessary.
‘I wish we could stay here forever,’ I whispered.
‘My love,’ he said, his voice full of emotion. ‘We can.’ I snuggled closer to him and could suddenly feel him shaking with laughter. ‘Well, maybe not on the floor of a mobile gin bar, but you know what I mean.’
I started giggling, too, with the ridiculousness of the joke but also purely because I was bubbling over with such happiness.
‘I suppose we’d better get back to the party for now and raise a glass to our parents.’
‘We should,’ replied Alexander. ‘But maybe they can wait just a few minutes more?’
TWENTY-EIGHT
