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I nod, not even sure what I’m nodding for, but then something cold touches my hand and I realise he’s pulled off my glove and is pushing a ring onto my finger, a big fat diamond ring that glistens in the evening snowfall.
‘Zach.’ I expel his name on a sigh. ‘This is too much.’
He stands up, pulling me into his arms. ‘What’s too much?’
‘You showing up here with a ring? Like you planned to do this?’
‘I made a tiny stop on the way from the airport,’ he says gently. ‘I needed you to know that I’m serious. I made a mistake the other night but I’m a quick learner and, it has to be said, there was no more effective teaching technique than realising I might have lost you for ever. I don’t want to live that reality.’
I grip his cheeks in my hands, holding his face steady. ‘You don’t have to. I was miserable the whole way back. I felt like I’d left so much of myself in Singapore and I didn’t know if I’d ever get it back again. I love you, Zach Papandreo, and I always will.’
EPILOGUE
Two years later, a week before Christmas.
‘I’M SO PROUD of you.’
I stare at the still-empty building with a sense of bursting pleasure. ‘Me too.’ Zach squeezes my hand then turns to Dimitrios. ‘What do you think?’
Annie answers. ‘I think Max gives it his seal of approval.’ We turn in unison to the brightly coloured playground, where Max is running over the equipment, testing it all out.
My first school is due to open in January—a joint venture between She-Shakes Global and The Papandreo Initiative—and three more are in the works. That’s on top of the work we’re doing for the children of single parents, making it easier for these kids to access books, clothes and technology to relieve the burden on their parents.
Annie and I work together often, our passion for these projects one of the many interests we’ve bonded over. Strange to think that two years ago I had a prickly relationship with my own sister and now Jemima and I have become so much closer and I’ve gained Annie as another sister.
‘The twins are finding it a bit harder.’ Dimitrios grins, as his daughters attempt to climb up onto the slippery slide.
‘Oh, dear.’ Annie smiles as she moves towards them and a moment later Dimitrios follows, each parent scooping a happy little bundle into their arms.
‘It’s perfect,’ I say honestly, looking up at Zach.
‘You had a vision.’
‘Yep.’
‘And you made it happen.’
‘It hasn’t happened yet. I want twenty more of these schools.’
‘And then twenty more,’ he agrees, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
‘For now.’
‘Things might get a little harder for a while,’ he reminds me, pressing a hand to my rather rounded stomach.
I put mine over his, certainty filling my heart. ‘That’s okay. We’ll make it work.’
And we will. Because we’re a team, and with Zach by my side and me at his, there’s nothing we can’t do. That, I have learned, is the power that comes from loving someone—strength, confidence and knowing that there’s one person out there who always, without fail, has your back. And Zach has mine, and always will.
* * *
If you enjoyed No Strings Christmas by Clare Connelly, don’t forget to make sure you read An Heir Claimed by Christmas, part of the A Billion-Dollar Singapore Christmas duet.
And look out for all of Clare Connelly’s sizzling The Notorious Harts series,
Cross My Hart
Burn My Hart
