AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I collapsed over his chest, smattering kisses on every patch of skin I could reach as we fought to catch our breath.“How are the foxes?”
He shifted to look at me.“That’s really your first question?”
“They’re an important part of this family.”
He grunted my favourite of all of his grunts. It was his trying-to-act-annoyed-and-failing-miserably grunt.“A pain in my arse.”
“Liar, you love them.”
“I love them,” he agreed, eyes shining, and the words just burst out of me.
“Marry me.” I’d planned to ask a little more romantically, out beside our bench on Christmas morning, but there was no taking it back now.
“What?” His hands tightened on me, as though I might fly away.
I pushed up, staring into his eyes that held mine just as steadily.“Marry me.”
“Did you look in my sock drawer?”
I bit my lip.“Yes. I’m sorry, it was an accident, and I got sick of waiting.” I’d seen the ring months ago.
Mal groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.“I didn’t want to rush you.”
“It’s a good thing I’m happy to rush you, then. I think we should get married tomorrow.”
His eyes flew back open. Full of wonder and disbelief.“Tomorrow?”
“I want to get married before I leave again.” I had three weeks off over Christmas and then a final eight weeks of filming in Portugal, though Mal was coming to stay with me for two of them. He’d been attending therapy twice a week since the summer and felt certain he was ready for his first plane ride.“Plus, Alastair can be there and your dad is still well enough to attend. We don’t know if that will be the case in a few months.” It was a hard transition for Mal and Jim over the last six months. Mal was trying to be there for his family and Jim, aware of his condition, wanted his son around. That was easier said than done when Jim wasn’t entirely capable of making up for the sins of the past. I doubted he would ever truly know the lasting effect his outdated views on mental health had had on his youngest son. And in order to make peace with his father, Mal felt he had little choice but to let it go. Again, easier said than done. He didn’t always tell me what was discussed in his therapy sessions; sometimes he returned home weary with purple shadows beneath his eyes and I would hold him or talk to him on video-call until that spark reignited. Other times, he would appear a million times lighter than when he left. He said they were helping, and in the long run, that was all that mattered.
“I don’t care about Alastair and my dad. I care about you,the weddingyouwant. We don’t need to rush it.”
“I want to marry you out on the bank beside that hideous bench you built for me. Tomorrow or in a week or two years from now.” I leant down to kiss him, licking softly at his lower lip.“But I’d prefer tomorrow.”
Mal swore, flipping our positions until I was beneath him.“You drive a hard bargain, April Sinclair.”
I giggled.“What can I say?Us actorsare used to getting what we want.”
Just as I expected, his cheeks reddened as he smiled.“And did you? Get what you want?”
Outside, snow began to fall again, a frosty blanket of white. Tucked cosily in our warm bed where it couldn’t touch us, I smiled.“Don’t ask stupid questions, Macabe.”
