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ne. Let me be there for you, for you and for Reuben.’
She shook her head. ‘No, Luke. I can’t expect that from you and why would you want to?’ Her voice rose in confusion. ‘You can walk away and not look back. You don’t owe us anything.’ His hand rested on her shoulder and her head automatically leaned towards it, finding comfort in its warmth. She placed her own hand over his. ‘You’ve already been through this, Luke. You had a brother that you loved and lost. I couldn’t ask you to do that again.’
He shook his head. ‘This is different. I was a child myself back then, with two parents who couldn’t deal with the situation. I’m an adult now, I’m free to make my own choices. And this is the choice that I choose to make. I only wish I’d been smart enough to be with you from the start of this. I don’t want to walk away. I might not be Reuben’s father but I know what’s here …’ he pointed towards his chest ‘…in my heart. For you and for him.’
‘But how can you?’ Her voice wavered. ‘How can you choose to do this again?’
‘Because the love always outweighs the pain.’ His voice was quiet and determined. ‘No matter what I went through with my brother, it was worth it. He was worth it. I have millions of fabulous memories of our time together. And if you told me right now that I could have my life again, with or without him in it, I would choose him every time.’
He put his finger under her chin and lifted her head towards him. ‘We don’t know what will happen with Reuben. But how much joy has he brought you, Abby? Isn’t he worth it?’
A single tear slid down her cheek. ‘Of course he is.’
‘Then all I’m telling you is that you don’t have to do this alone. Because I think that you’re worth it, Abby. I think that Reuben’s worth it too.’ He slid a finger through her blonde hair. ‘You know what they say—for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.’ His voice was trembling now; she knew what he was trying to say.
Her eyes were heavy with tears and she swallowed the lump in her throat that was the size of baseball. ‘Can we do this in baby steps?’
‘We can do this anyway you like.’
EPILOGUE
‘I THINK I need an eternity ring.’ Abby twisted the single diamond on her finger with the plain gold band underneath.
‘What makes you think that?’ Luke turned to face her, hoisting his hand under his head.
Abby stretched out on the blanket, lying on the grass in front of their house. She smiled as she watched Reuben play with his new brother. Austin, or the ‘tiny terror’ as they’d nicknamed him, was more than a match for his older brother. At the age of two, his ambition in life appeared to be to wreak havoc wherever he went. He’d only been with them for three weeks and so far he’d wrecked the sofa, gouged a hole in the dining-room table and trailed a black felt tip-pen along the pale cream wall in the hall.
Reuben was doing well. He’d had another course of treatment and been in remission for over a year. His energy had returned in leaps and bounds and he’d been over the moon at the prospect of a little brother.
She lifted her hand and let the sun’s rays catch the diamond on her finger, glistening against the dark green grass. ‘Some women get an eternity ring after they’ve been married a number of years. Some women get an eternity ring after the birth of their first child.’ She waved her hand across the grass. ‘Well, that’s been over a year now, and I’ve got two kids, so cough up, mister.’
Luke reached his hand up and pulled the parasol a little lower, hiding them from the boys. ‘Is this negotiable?’ A wicked smile danced across his face. ‘I might have bought you an alternative present.’
She sat upright. ‘What do you mean?’
He took her hand in his and pulled her upwards, leading her towards the front door. She watched as he opened the cupboard directly inside the front door and heaved out a huge flat brown box, sliding it carefully across the floor.
Abby was amazed. When had this arrived? And how had she missed it? ‘What is this?’ she asked curiously.
‘Open it and see.’ He pulled a pair of scissors from the drawer of the dresser that sat in the corridor.
She bent down and snipped at the heavy-duty string that was wrapped around it, peeling back the cardboard layers.
‘Wow.’
A perfect round stained-glass window. To match the one at the other end of the upstairs corridor. But this one didn’t have yellow daffodils and bluebells. This was the one she’d always imagined. This had a dazzling display of multicoloured freesias—colours that would send rainbow streams of light down her corridor.
‘Oh, Luke, it’s just perfect. More perfect than any ring could be.’ Abby trailed a finger across his bare chest. The fire hadn’t stilled between them, it just seemed to burn brighter and brighter.
‘Good. Because I’ve been trying to keep that a secret for over a month. Now, what do I get in return?’ he whispered in her ear.
Abby wriggled closer, loving the feel of his body against hers. ‘Why, Dr Storm, you get me and two very noisy little boys—your very own fan club.’ And she planted her lips on his, sealing their love with a kiss.
