Page 90 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

‘Thanks,’ she replied before walking on.

It shocked him how much he wanted to reach out and hold on to her. To never let her go. And yet he forced himself to stand as far away from Beth as he could endure.

But although he couldn’t see her in the crowd, he had forgotten about the microphone and so he could still hear Beth’s soft voice as if she was standing next to him.

‘Good evening, everyone,’ she said. ‘And welcome. We’re starting the new year off with one of the strongest meteor showers of the year and, thankfully, the skies are finally clear!’

A huge cheer went up around the audience.

As Beth carried on explaining about what they were about to see, Noah stared upwards. He tried to concentrate on the vast, dark velvet sky above, punctuated by the glittering constellations that he knew so much about now, thanks to Beth. Would he ever be able to look at the stars again without thinking of her? He didn’t think so.

Suddenly, the first meteor streaked acrossthe night sky and everyone gasped at the beauty and wonder of the spectacle that carried on for a couple of hours.

Finally, the celestial show was over and everyone headed back to the hotel, chatting excitedly about what they had just seen.

The remainder of the night was busy serving guests food and drink until, sometime after midnight, all the guests had gone to bed and it was finally just the family remaining in the bar tidying away.

‘What a lovely night,’ said Dotty, with a yawn.

Walter nodded. ‘Told you those skies would clear,’ he said to Beth, who reached out to hug him.

‘You were absolutely right as always, Walter,’ she told him.

‘Let’s not get too carried away by telling him that,’ said Ben, with a grin. ‘But before you all turn in for the night, there was just one more thing I wanted to say.’

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

‘I’ve been thinking today about family and how it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes,’ he began, glancing at Noah. ‘But primarily I’ve been thinking about love. And talking of that most important of subjects…’

Ben suddenly sank down onto one knee in front of Lily and held out a ring box which he had just brought out of his jeans pocket.

‘Will you marry me?’ he asked, opening the box to reveal a diamond solitaire ring inside.

He had barely got the words out when Lily shouted, ‘Yes!’ and leapt into his arms.

Suddenly the whole family were cheering, laughing and crying, all at the same time. Even Tiny the dog woofed his joy at all the merriment.

Noah felt over the moon for Ben and Lily. They were a perfect couple and suited each other so well.

‘Champagne for everyone!’ called out Frankie, and there was another cheer. ‘On the house, of course!’

‘How wonderful,’ Faye was saying, with tears streaming down her face. ‘I’m so happy for you both.’

Noah waited to take his turn to hug the happy couple and offer his congratulations.

‘Thanks,’ said Ben, clapping him on the shoulder.

As Noah released Lily, Ella stepped forward.

‘We’re going to plan the most fantastic wedding for you,’ she said. ‘Or rather I am. Oooh, I’m having a wonderful idea…’

Hannah, who was standing next to her, shook her head. ‘Can we just enjoy the moment for one night?’ she asked.

‘You can but I’m already planning the theme,’ said Ella, with a gleam in her eyes.

Ben groaned. ‘We should have eloped,’ he muttered. But his smile betrayed his words.

‘Don’t you dare,’ warned Dotty, hugging her grandson for the fifth time.