Relieved, I slide the ring onto her fourth finger, and everyone cheers. To my surprise, Wren lifts her arms around my neck, and she gives me a big hug. I hug her back, then eventually shift onto the sofa next to her when she releases me.
“A wedding!” My mother is flushed with pleasure. “How wonderful!”
“Don’t get too excited,” I warn. “You’ll have to wait for Aurelia to get married to have the big ball I know you’re hoping for. We just want a quiet wedding, and we’d like to get married soon. In three weeks, actually. Sixteenth of January. And before either of you say anything, no, we don’t ‘have’ to get married. We just don’t want to wait.”
“Is that what you want?” Mum asks Wren. When she nods, Mum says, “Well, in that case, I’m all for it! Oh, we could evenhold it here, if you wanted? Or did you have somewhere in mind?”
“No,” Wren says, “I hadn’t really thought about it. But here would be lovely.”
“We could have a marquee on the lawn.” Mum gets up and beckons to Wren. “Come with me, I’ll show you the perfect place for the altar.”
Wren rises, glances at me with a smile, and follows Mum through the dining room and out into the garden.
I lean back on the sofa and look at my father, who’s sitting there quietly. “What do you think?” I ask.
He tips his head to the side. “I just hope you’re not doing this for me. I know what I said in the boardroom, but it was meant to be a wake-up call for the three of you to start thinking about the future. I didn’t expect you to propose to the first girl you met.”
I open my mouth to defend myself, but to my surprise Aurelia speaks up. “That’s not what this is, Dad. I’m surprised, but not shocked. I knew Marcus liked her back in the day.”
Caesar’s eyebrows rise. “Did you?” he asks me.
“I asked her out,” I tell them. “When I was eighteen. She turned me down. Said I was too young. Broke my heart.”
Caesar smiles slowly. “I didn’t know that.” I can see understanding dawning in his eyes. He’s realizing how I must have felt when Wren asked him to donate. And why I leapt at the chance to ask her to marry me.
“In that case,” Dad says, “I’m very pleased for you. She’s a lovely girl—intelligent, with her head screwed on right. She’ll be good for you. Keep your feet on the ground.”
“I hope so. She wanted me to tell you that she’s expecting a prenup, and she wants a clause that says if we ever part, she doesn’t want a single cent of my money.”
Dad’s eyebrows rise. “Really? Well, I’m glad, for your sake. I didn’t have to worry about that with your mother, as the money didn’t come until after we were married.” His gaze drifts out of the window, and he smiles to see Mum wandering around the garden with Wren, gesturing enthusiastically. “You’ve made her day,” he says softly. “For that, I’m very grateful.”
“I admit the thought of making Mum happy did cross my mind.”
“Are you sure you want to get married so quickly?” Dad asks. “The girls might enjoy having longer to plan.”
I shake my head. “We’re both certain, and I think it’ll be good for Wren to have less time to panic. She won’t want too much pomp. Just friends and family, nothing too fancy, or we’ll have to have oxygen on standby.”
Aurelia giggles. “Poor Wren.”
“And although I haven’t done it for the company,” I tell him, “it is, of course, a factor. The sooner I’m married, the sooner we can have a child and secure your legacy.”
“The board will probably see it as a stunt,” Dad says.
“We’ll have to make them understand that it’s not. Your ultimatum was a catalyst. It brought me to my senses, that’s all.”
Dad nods, apparently satisfied.
“I was thinking of taking her to the farm for the honeymoon,” I add.
“What?” Aurelia rolls her eyes. “Is that the best you can do?”
“Go to Japan,” Caesar says. “You’ve got the food and the history. She’d love it.”
“Or England,” Aurelia continues, “she’d adore the art galleries and, yeah, the history there, too. As long as she doesn’t mind the rain.”
“Prague’s beautiful,” Caesar states.
“I think the farm is a lovely idea,” Dad says. He looks genuinely touched.
