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“But sweetheart, it’s always gonna be me,
Who wants you to be happy
And I would pour my heart out
Right out, at your feet
No more holding back from you
No more hiding from me
And if you give me another chance
I will spend every day
Wanting to see you dance
And fly, and dream
I just want you to be happy….
As she listened, Leah felt it. Everything that Callum had felt while she’d been away. The desolation. The unknowing. The guilt. The love. So much love. It radiated from him as he sang to her. He watched her the whole time, watched her hungrily. Like he would devour her. He sang the last line “But sweetheart, I want it to be me. Let it be me, who makes you happy.”Played the final notes with a flourish. When he’d finished, he pushed the microphone aside and just looked at her.
“You do love me,” she said. A statement, not a question.
“So much, Leah. And I’m so sorry I gave you reason to doubt it.”
Trembling, Leah slipped off the stool, barely waiting for Callum to move his guitar out of the way before she threw herself at him, wrapped her arms tight around his neck. “It’s okay,” she said, burying her face in his neck, feeling his arms come around her. He breathed deeply, like he was inhaling her. All of the planning, the list making, the demanding she was prepared to do. None of it mattered. He was already giving her more than she could ever ask for. “I love you, too,” she said against his skin. “I love you so much.” His arms tightened around her.
“I’ve imagined all the things I would say to you when I saw you again,” he said into her hair. “But now I can’t think of anything. I can’t think of the right words.”
“I think you just said all the right words.”
“Leah, I love you. I want to be with your forever. I want to marry you, share my life with you —”
Leah pulled back and looked at him. “Is that a proposal?”
“Do you want to get married again?”
“I do. If it’s to you.”
Emotion flared in his eyes. He cupped her face in his hands. “Well then. Leah, will you marry me?”
She wrapped her fingers around his wrists. “Yes, Callum. I will.” Then he kissed her, sweet and long and deep. He had to slip an arm around her waist when he pulled back, or she would have fallen over. Her legs were like jelly.
He grabbed the microphone. “She’s gonna marry me!” he said. The crowd went absolutely wild. The cheering was deafening. Leah laughed through tears as Callum kissed her again. He said, “You wanna go home?”
“I sure do.” He kept his arm around her waist as they walked off stage. The next few minutes passed in a blur for Leah. They stepped behind the curtain that covered the back of the stage, where the band were waiting. Callum introduced her to everyone, but she had no idea how she even formed words to reply. A curvy, black-haired beauty stepped forward and hugged her, her face wreathed in smiles. Diane. Leah hoped she said something appropriate, but she couldn’t be sure.
Callum held Leah close as they left the band and stepped off stage. He was still finding it hard to believe that she was here. That he could touch her. Kiss her. Hold her. That she loved him. He’d felt like he’d been hit by a truck when he looked down and she was there. He swore he’d felt his heart stop. All the longing, the guilt, the pain, the wondering. And there she was, gazing up at him with her wide green eyes.
They’d only taken a few steps when Mikayla rounded the corner of the stage. Callum braced himself as she flew at them, taking a step back and holding on to Leah as his sister wrapped her arms around both of them in a fierce hug. “Oh my god, I’m beside myself. That was so beautiful and I am beyond excited!” She gushed. “Congratulations.” She squeezed tight.
“Alright, Mik, give someone else a go!” Rafe pulled Mikayla away, grinning from ear to ear as he clapped Callum on the back and kissed Leah on the cheek. “Congrats, you guys.”
“Thanks, mate.”
Juniper was crying as she hugged them both, as was Nora. “Another daughter. I’m so thrilled,” Nora said as John gave Callum a big bear hug.
