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I nod again, my chest heaving.
“Then will you marry me?”
Marry him?
Spend the rest of my life with this guy, worshiping his body, having him worship me? Knowing he’s mine, and that he’s never going to kiss anyone but me? Having his baby growing inside me?
“Yes,” I say with a sob. “Yes, yes, yes!” And this time I do throw my arms around him and hug him tightly.
He nuzzles my neck and kisses me there. “I’m so glad,” he whispers fiercely. “Ah, thank you.”
Thank me? As if I’m not the one who got the best deal in this relationship!
Is this real? Does he honestly want to be with me forever? I can’t believe it. He wants to marry me. I didn’t believe in fairy tales, but this really is a dream come true. I fell down the rabbit hole, and I really did end up in Wonderland.
“Here.” He moves me back and slides the ring onto my finger. “I’ll get you a new one tomorrow,” he says.
But I shake my head, watching the diamonds glitter in the light from the kitchen window. “This one is absolutely beautiful. I’d love to wear it, if you’re sure your mum doesn’t mind.”
“She bawled her eyes out when I told her I was going to propose with it. So no, she doesn’t mind.”
He holds my face and looks into my eyes. “I love you, Alice Liddell. I have since the first moment I saw you, and I just know I’m going to love you until my dying day.”
“I love you too.”
He kisses the tears from my cheeks. Then my nose. Then finally my lips, wrapping me in his arms as if he’s afraid to let me go.
Epilogue
June 21st (two months later)
Kip
It’s the winter solstice, exactly six months after I met Alice, and Mum and Dad’s house is full of people who’ve come to celebrate the renewal of Saxon and Catie’s vows and their baby-naming ceremony. Saxon sprung a wedding on her after Christmas while they were on holiday, because he wanted to marry her but knew she’d be overwhelmed by having to say her vows in front of lots of people. However, six months have gone by now, and she’s settled down a lot, to the extent that when he suggested they combine a naming ceremony with a vow renewal ceremony, she jumped at the idea.
Dad’s twin brother, Brandon, and my aunt, Jenny, are chatting to Mum and Alice’s mum. Penny has been spending a lot of time with Mum, and I’m so pleased that they genuinely seem to get on well. Penny’s holding one of Catie’s twins and Mum’s holding the other, and the two of them are clearly enjoying themselves.
Kennedy’s helping Catie get ready. Her husband, Jackson, with baby Eddie, is over talking to my cousin, Titus, and his wife, Heidi, who are visiting from the U.K, and Charlie and her partner, Jake, who’s visiting from Auckland. Titus’s parents are here, and I’m also pleased to see that he seems to be getting on better with his hard-nosed father, Julian.
There are a few other family and friends present, and a couple of people from work, all gathered on the terrace, as it’s a clear day, and Saxon wanted an outdoor ceremony providing it wasn’t raining.
Damon, Alice, and I are chatting to Mack and Sidnie, Elizabeth and Huxley, Victoria and Evie, and Hal and Izzy, all close friends of ours who’ve come down for the ceremony.
“How are the house alterations going?” Mack asks me.
“Good,” I reply. Alice and I found a place in Island Bay only days after we started looking, and within five weeks the place was ours. It’s a beautiful, one-level house just a few minutes from where Saxon lives, with only a short walk to the beach, and magnificent views across to Taputeranga Island. “We’ve had builders in, putting in a few ramps and improving access for Penny’s wheelchair,” I tell the others. “They’ve almost finished, then they’re going to make a start on Alice’s studio. We’re planning on moving in by the end of July.”
“We’ve found a buyer for our house in Gisborne,” Alice explains.
“That must be hard,” Sidnie says. “It’s tough to say goodbye to your childhood home.”
“It’ll be difficult to leave it,” Alice agrees. Then she slides her hand into mine and smiles at me. “But I’m moving on to better things, and that makes it easier.”
“Aw,” Elizabeth says, rocking from side to side with her baby boy in her arms. “Young love.”
Huxley snorts. “Kip’s thirty this year. He’s hardly young.”
“Thanks for that,” I say wryly.
