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“They’re engaged!”
Grant’s face breaks into a smile as he walks over and slaps Max on the back.
“Good work, man,” he says, sounding impressed. “I fucking knew it.”
“This happened last night, didn’t it?” Ellie gasps. “That’s what was with all the secrecy.” She slaps Max on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell us? Or at least Grant?”
“Because I knew he’d tell you, and that you’d tell Kiara,” Max shoots back. “And I didn’t want any pressure on her if she wasn’t ready for this.”
Ellie eyes me suspiciously. “You said yes, right?”
“Would I be wearing it if I didn’t?” I laugh, shaking my head. “I’ll tell you everything in a minute, Ellie. But first I need to tell Tilly.”
“Okay, she’s outside. Tell Cassie I want to speak to her,” Ellie says, filling the coffee machine.
Outside, I sit with the girls for a few minutes before telling Cassie her Mom wants her back inside. I wait until she’s disappeared inside, then I sit in the sandpit with Tilly and watch as she builds a castle.
“This is where the princess lives,” she explains, her face creased in concentration. “And when she marries the prince, she’ll move into an even bigger castle.”
“Wow, lucky girl,” I grin. My heart races as I wet my lips. “Can I talk to you about something?”
Tilly nods, and sets down her tools. She looks at me expectantly as I try and find the words to say what I need to say.
“You know Mommy has been spending lots of time with Max,” I begin. She nods again, her eyes fixated on mine. I begin to sweat. God, this is harder than I thought it would be. “How would you feel if Max was a bigger part of our lives? Like when the princess meets the prince,” I add, pointing to her castle.
“You mean we’re gonna move into a castle with Max?” she asks, her little eyes growing wide.
“No,” I laugh. God, we haven’t even discussed living arrangements. “What if we married Max? And he would look after us?”
“Like a Daddy?” she asks, her voice quiet. I reach for her hand, sure of what she’s thinking.
“Till, Daddy is always going to be your Daddy. Nothing will change that, okay? Max just wants to try and make us happy.”
She doesn’t speak for a long time, busying herself in the sand. Eventually, she looks up at me and nods.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I repeat, my heart thumping.
“We can marry Max,” she says.
“Are you sure?” I ask. I stand up, and lift her into my arms. “I’d never do anything you didn’t want me to, Till.”
“We can marry him,” she repeats simply, kissing me on the lips. I squeeze her tight and carry her inside, unable to wipe the smile off my face. Max catches my eye, a grin spreading across his face.
He walks over to us, wrapping his strong arms around us both. Tilly giggles, until I let her out of my arms. She stands on the sofa so she’s the height of Max’s chest and throws her arms around him. My heart swells as I watch.
“You have to give me lots of hugs,” she warns. He laughs and kisses her on the nose.
“You’re on,” he grins, lifting her back down onto the floor.
“Do I get a ring like Mommy’s?” Tilly adds, eyeing the sparkling diamond on my finger. I snort as Max crouches down beside her.
“Tell you what. We’ll go shopping, just you and me, and pick you out a special necklace. How does that sound?”
Tilly giggles and begins jumping up and down on the spot to show her excitement. I catch his eye and smile, loving how amazing he is with her, just as Ellie comes in, holding a bottle of champagne.
“Sorry, El, we’ll have to take a raincheck on the champers,” I say quietly. “There’s one more person I need to tell.”
