‘I was trying to tell you,’ Oliver said. ‘That’s why I told you about my parents, because I wanted you to understand that it was different for us. That I didn’t want to marry you just because other people might expect it.’
‘But… you said that we came from very different backgrounds.’
‘And we do. Thank goodness. And maybe some people will think it’s not a perfect match. Maybe that’s what you think too but… I’m in love with you, Bella. So much in love.’
There it was again. The ‘L’ word.
‘And maybe I’m just lucky that you were careless about contraception because now there’s a chance that you might consider marrying me.’
Bella was confused again. ‘Why wouldn’t I?’
‘Because I’m… stuffy. Boring and predictable.’ Oliver was smiling again as he tightened his hold on Bella. ‘Like the steps?’
‘You’re crazy,’ she told him. A smile was trying to break out on her face. She could feel it coming, her face muscles softening. Her heart singing. ‘I’d marry you if there was never going to be a baby.’
‘You would?’ The mix of surprise and delight in Oliver’s voice made Bella’s smile escape further.
‘Of course I would. I love you, Oliver. I have for ages. Ever since you smiled at me that time. That first day when I was looking after your mother.’
For a long, long moment, they simply gazed at each other. Basking in the kind of glow that only newly declared love could bring.
The gift of that love was the biggest joy Bella had ever received. She wanted to do something just as big for Oliver.
‘I promise I won’t do anything irresponsible again,’ she whispered.
Oliver simply smiled. ‘You are who you are, Bella, and I love you. Maybe my stuffiness will help keep you safe in the future. You will certainly keep reminding me how joyful life can be. What it feels like to bereallyalive.’
Bella’s smile couldn’t get any bigger. She could never feel any happier. This moment was absolutely perfect. Except…
Except poor Bib was still stuck in the tree.
Bella tore her gaze from that of the man who was going to become her husband and looked over her shoulder, up into the branches of the old tree. As she did so, she could hear the faint cry of an elderly woman’s voice coming from the garden well above the step she was sitting on with Oliver.
‘Bib? Bib-Bib-Bib? Come here at once, younaughtywee cat.’
Bella wasn’t the only one who’d heard the command. Oliver was smiling. And Bib? The small, fluffy grey and white cat trotted along the thin branch until it got to the main trunk of the tree. Then she turned herself around and shimmied down backwards until she reached ground level. With barely a glance at the couple locked in each other’s arms, Bib scooted past, up the steps, towards the garden and Lady Dorothy.
Bella laughed. ‘She knows who she wants to get a cuddle from.’
‘So do I.’ Oliver’s arms tightened around Bella again.
She raised her face for another kiss but a tiny frown was creasing Oliver’s brow.
‘What about all the things you were dreaming of for your future, my love?’
‘Like what?’
‘A dozen kids?’
Bella grinned. ‘It’s a big house. We could fit in more than one, couldn’t we?’
Oliver laughed but then looked serious again.
‘The overseas travel?’
‘Aren’t we going to have a honeymoon?’
‘Of course. We could go anywhere you want. Where would you most want to go?’
