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“You have a girl!” the midwife announces.
I can’t even begin to explain the flood of emotions I feel with my baby in my arms, pressed tight to my skin. The most precious little creature in the world with her pink little face, tears settling, skin to skin. She’s gorgeous. Her tiny little fingers are enough to take my breath with pride, transfixed by the beauty of the new little resident of Bucklebury.
The sheets are a mess underneath me, and I must look like I’ve run a marathon, and I can hardly imagine how wrecked I look from such a phenomenal task, but none of that matters. Not to me and not to anyone else.
There’s only one thing that matters right now.
I’m a mother. I have a little girl.
Gerwyn crouches to see her, and Mum’s hand is on my shoulder, and it’s bliss. Heaven.
Gerwyn’s face is the perfect display of love and pride as I offer the little one up to him. He takes her with the most gorgeous, genuine smile, holding her close to him.
I hear the choke of his voice when he speaks.
“Cass, your little girl is absolutely amazing.”
My words come so naturally.
“Our little girl,” I say to Gerwyn, my crusader. “She’s your little girl as well.”
He double takes me. Mouth open wide.
I nod. “She’s ours. If you want her to be, that is. Trust me. I couldn’t be more ready for us to be together. I swear it to God.”
He’s still holding her tight as he leans down close to me, all three of us together.
“There’s nothing I want more than her to be ours, Cass. You can trust me right back on that.”
Mum turns away with her hand to her chest, breathing through her emotions at seeing us like this. My family love Gerwyn nearly as much as I do. They love him and everything he stands for. And she knows what’s coming next…
Our baby girl is back on my chest when I take Ger’s hand, squeezing more gently this time.
My heart is racing with more nerves than I would have ever imagined as Mum takes the box from her pocket and hands it over to me.
This is nothing like I’d have imagined things going down when I was younger and living in fairy tale land, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful an experience. If anything, it makes it more of one.
I open the box in front of Gerwyn to reveal a simple ring. Nothing special. No diamond, just a pattern of an engraving.
“Gerwyn Rhodes,” I say to him. The man I will love for ever. “Will you marry me?”
His mouth is open all over again as he looks at the box in my hand.
I always pictured myself as the princess whose prince charming declares his devotion and gets down on one knee. But not in my fairy tale. Not this time.
This time it’s the princess proposing to the charming prince, and it feels so perfectly right.
“Yes,” he says. “Hell, my God, Cass, it’s a yes!”
As I slide the engagement ring on his finger, I’m the happiest woman alive.
His smile is so humble and true. He kisses me with our daughter in my arms with enough passion to last for all time.
It’s been a long eight months waiting to feel his mouth on mine. Eight months that have been very, very worth the patience.
I really didn’t expect I’d be engaged to a man I haven’t had sex with yet, but again, beauty comes from strange places sometimes.
“He said yes!” I tell Dad, Sarah and Michelle when they join us a few minutes later.
Gerwyn – my fiancé – shows them his engagement ring, displayed proudly on his finger. Dad shakes his hand, and Sarah and Michelle give him a hug, all of them a happy crowd, happy for us, the happy couple.
And then they meet our beautiful daughter, and we become an even happier crowd, all of us together.
Right where I belong.
Cass
I’ve been to so many weddings over the years, always telling the bride-to-be that there’s no need to be nervous, but it makes no difference whatsoever. I’m nervous as hell when I’m standing at the doors to Bucklebury chapel for myself.
My excitement is so intense, I can hardly breathe.
Janie makes sure my dress is done up right before the walk. She laces up the ribbons tighter at the back, making sure the gorgeous white satin trails just so.
I give her a grin over my shoulder, since she’s done this three times already in the past few minutes, and she laughs.
“It’s quite hard being the planner and the bridesmaid, you know!”
I pull her in for a hug. “You’re amazing on both counts. Thank you.”
“I haven’t been a bridesmaid yet, Cass. Hold off your judgement and leave me a review when we’re done, please. Five stars, I hope.”
