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‘Sorry—I’m really late. Maybe it would be better to do this tomorrow,’ he said.
‘No, come in,’ she said. ‘Have you eaten?’
‘Yes,’ he lied. He didn’t want food—he wanted Abby. And he didn’t want to give her an excuse for distraction.
‘At least let me make you a cup of coffee.’
‘Not if the smell makes you feel queasy.’
‘It’s fine.’ She bustled around the kitchen. ‘Your flowers were lovely.’
‘I got your message.’ He smiled. ‘I’m glad you noticed I picked the flowers deliberately.’ The day they’d talked about going to Monet’s garden together in the spring.
‘How did you get someone to deliver so early?’ she asked.
‘The Internet can be a wonderful thing,’ he said.
And then he couldn’t stand it any more. ‘Abby.’
‘What?’
He took the tin of coffee from her and put it on the worktop, then drew her into his arms. ‘I missed you.’
‘You were only gone a day.’
That bright, breezy tone meant she was trying to hide her feelings. And it gave him hope. ‘I still missed you.’ He dragged in a breath. ‘Forget the coffee. I need to tell you something.’
She went very still. ‘Oh?’
Did she really think he was going to let her down again? He pulled back slightly, keeping his arms loosely round her but making sure she could see his eyes. Making sure she had no cause to doubt his sincerity. ‘Last night, I tried not to put any pressure on you. But I’m done with trying to be noble. I need you to know the truth. Abigail Scott, you’re the love of my life—you always have been, you always will be, and I want to be with you.’
She looked as if she was about to say something, and he gave the tiniest shake of his head. ‘Hear me out, because I’ve been practising this all the way from London and I want to get it right. Five years ago, I was very, very stupid. I thought I was doing the right thing in letting you go in order to find the happiness you deserve with someone else. But it’s the worst thing I ever did and I’ve regretted it every single day since. I bury myself in work so I don’t have time to realise how empty my life is without you.
‘But I want you back, Abby. I want you and I want our baby. I want the life we should’ve had together if I hadn’t gone into meltdown when Dad died. And I don’t want to be a part-time. Actually, I’m scared as hell I’ll make as much of a mess of being a dad as I have of being a son, a brother and a husband, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this work. I want to be a full-time family, with you. I know you don’t want to live in London because it’s too far away from our family, so I’m moving back to Norfolk.’
She looked utterly shocked. ‘But—’ she began.
‘Hear me out, Abby,’ he said again. ‘Yes, I love my job, but I love you more. If it’s a choice between you, then you’ll always win. I’m coming home to you.’
‘But I don’t want to give you an ultimatum, Brad. I don’t want you to give up the job you love.’
‘I don’t have to,’ he said. ‘I didn’t tell you, but last year I was headhunted to work for a company in Manchester. I turned it down because my boss gave me more responsibilities and I wanted to see my current project through, but I got in touch with the headhunters today to see if they had anything else available.’
‘Did they?’ She looked hopeful.
‘No,’ he said, ‘but my boss trained with someone who runs a lab in Norwich, and he’s put in a good word for me. It’s not absolutely definite, and there are no guarantees I’ll get the job, but they’re ringing me on Monday to arrange an interview. It’ll be a mix of lab work and teaching postgraduate students, which suits me fine. Plus my hours will be reasonable and it’ll be only a forty-minute commute from here—that’s less time than it takes me to get to my lab now. Even if they don’t offer me the job, then I can find something. The main thing is I’ll be here with you.’ He took a deep breath. ‘The first time I asked you this question, I pretty much knew the answer before I asked.’ The second time, she’d said no. Would this be third time lucky? ‘This time, I don’t. It scares the hell out of me that you’ll say the words I don’t want to hear, but even if you do I’ll be here for you and the baby. That’s not going to change.’ He swallowed hard, then dropped to one knee in front of her. ‘I love you, Abby. I always will. Will you marry me and make a family with me and our baby?’
