I took the fabric of his shirt in my fingers and pulled him in for a kiss. ‘Always,’ I whispered.
EPILOGUE
NINE MONTHS LATER
‘Oh, darling!Whata beautiful wedding! And no, I’m not just saying that.’ Caro was sitting in the warm spring sunshine, a glass of Champagne in one hand – her wedding present to us, all fifty crates – as she popped a canapé in her mouth with the other. ‘Just perfect!’ she said through the food.
‘Thanks so much for coming, and for the Champagne.’ I bent and hugged her again.
‘My pleasure. And here’s the man of the hour. Hello, handsome.’
‘Caro.’ Jesse grinned, bending down to kiss her on the cheek.
‘I don’t suppose you have an older brother or father free, do you? I’ve never been too fussy about age.’
‘Parents still happily married. No brothers. One sister was enough.’ Jesse chuckled.
‘A sister who recently won the award from Best Small Business in the County and is being put forward for a national award,’ I added, bursting with pride for my new family and feeling tears prickle as the word settled in my mind.Family.‘I have an extremely talented sister-in-law. Those canapés are all her work, you know.’
Caro picked another off a tray as the waiter circled by. ‘Really? Absolutely delicious. Always on the lookout for a good caterer. You must give me her card.’
‘I’ll put you in touch.’
‘Do! Do! And keep a lookout for a good man as well, won’t you? It seems there’s definitely something about the country air here.’ She gave Jesse a wink and squeezed my arm.
A movement to our right caught my eye. ‘Ray!’ I flung my arms out to greet my friend. Now that I’d got over my nerves, and Ray had got over his crush, we were firm friends and he always kept an eye out for pieces that he thought I might like. Inevitably, he was always spot on too. Quite a few of the pieces we’d sourced for Caro’s places had come via Ray.
‘You look beautiful. As always.’ He flushed a little as he said it and I gave him another squeeze.
‘Thank you.’
‘Jesse.’ He held out his meaty hand and Jesse shook it. ‘You look all right too.’
‘Thanks,’ my new husband replied, laughing.
‘And who is this?’ Caro said, rising from her chair like the queen that she was from a throne.
‘Caro, this is Ray, one of my very best friends. He owns the salvage yard I’ve told you about.’
‘Ray.’ She held out her hand and Ray shook it carefully, as though afraid he might break it. Caro was petite and looked delicate, but she was tough as hell. I was so glad that something good – her friendship, not to mention work I enjoyed – had come out of my time in London. ‘Felicity told me about the salvage yard, but she omitted to mention such a dashing, big bear of a man ran it.’
I tilted my head up to meet Ray’s eyes. He looked both slightly bewildered and enormously happy.
‘Could I get you some more Champagne?’ he asked.
‘You certainly may. In fact, I’ll come with you.’
He offered his arm and Caro, delighted with his manners, placed her hand on it.
I caught her arm just before they moved off. ‘If you hurt him, you’re dead to me.’
Caro glanced up at him then back at me and kissed me on the cheek, her smile genuine and relaxed. ‘Understood.’
We watched them walk back towards the marquee. Maisie was swishing her bridesmaid dress and playing with our ring-bearer, Ned, still looking wonderfully dapper in his silk bow tie. She waved when she saw me watching. I waved back and blew her a big kiss.
‘Well, who’d have thought?’ Jesse said, his attention still on Caro and Ray.
‘It’s not an obvious pairing but I think they’d be good for each other.’
