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Dropping his bag at his feet, he swept me up into his arms, spinning me around as he kissed me.
“I’m so proud of you. You were amazing out there.” I placed kisses all over his face, and he laughed before capturing my mouth with his.
“Yeah, I was amazing. But so were you. My favourite supporter.”
“Your number one.”
“My number one,” he agreed, dropping a final kiss to the tip of my nose before he released me. “Come on, let’s go home.”
* * *
“I knew you loved my music.” Knox gave me a smug smile as he brought his Maserati to a stop outside the Ashcroft mansion, sending up a spray of gravel. “You were singing along then. I saw you.”
With a shake of my head, I unclipped my seat belt. “That’s not my fault—that song gets stuck in my head. Why does it have to be so catchy?”
He eyed me, clearly unconvinced. “Baby. You’re in denial. Don’t pretend that you don’t love it.”
“Nope. Sorry to disappoint you.”
I caught his smirk as he exited the car and smiled to myself.
When I joined him next to the car boot, he shouldered his duffel bag, picked up the bag with JoJo’s gifts in one hand—an elaborate Duplo castle, plus a ridiculous amount of dressing-up clothes and shoes that I’d chosen—and slid his fingers between mine with the other. We walked hand in hand to the front door, and even before we reached it, it was being pulled open and Maria was throwing her arms around us both. We were joined seconds later by Anthony, carrying JoJo in his arms, and as soon as JoJo saw Knox, she squealed, reaching out for him.
“He’s so good with children, isn’t he?” Maria nudged me, then gave Knox an indulgent smile as he dropped the bags and lifted JoJo onto his shoulders.
“Very good. He’ll make a wonderful father one day, don’t you think?” Anthony joined the conversation with a smirk that was so much like Knox’s on his lips.
I looked at each of them in turn, my brows raised. “Hmm. Let’s revisit this conversation in, say…seven to ten years.”
They both laughed, and Maria linked her arm through mine to follow Knox and JoJo down the hallway while Anthony picked up the discarded bags. We headed into the kitchen, where we tended to eat more often than not, even though the Ashcrofts had a huge dining room. On the kitchen table, a huge fairy-tale castle cake topped with three sparkling candles stood, waiting to be lit.
Knox placed JoJo on her booster seat at the table, dropping a kiss on the top of her head, and then returned to me, taking my hand. “Come and sit next to me.”
We sat down opposite JoJo, Maria next to her, and Anthony at the head of the table. After we’d sung Happy Birthday and JoJo had blown out the candles, Maria served up slices of the cake while Knox gave his dad a rundown of the lacrosse game, and I entertained JoJo by playing a game where we attempted to copy each other’s movements. I felt so content right then, a part of the family that had welcomed me into their lives against all odds.
Placing the cake fork down on his plate, Knox leaned into me, curling his arm around my shoulder. He placed his mouth to my ear, speaking too low to be overheard by anyone else. “I love you so fucking much.”
Turning my head, I met his eyes. “I love you too,” I whispered. It was the first time we’d spoken the words aloud to each other, and I leaned into him, sliding my fingers between his, still in disbelief that everything had worked out for us, despite our circumstances.
He brushed his lips over mine softly, a promise of more to come later tonight, when we were alone in the dark, just the two of us, sharing our bodies and our souls.
Drawing back, he smiled down at me, and I was struck all over again by just how lucky I was to be here by his side.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he murmured.
I smiled back at him. “Me too,” I said.
EPILOGUE
ELENA
9 MONTHS LATER
AFTER GRADUATION—A-LEVEL RESULTS DAY
“This is it, then.” Seated in front of my laptop, I clicked the link that would take me to my results page. Behind me, Anthony and Maria collectively held their breaths, while JoJo sat at my feet, staring up at me with huge eyes as she clutched an Iron Man figure in her palm.
When the page loaded, I stared at it in disbelief. “I passed all my A levels,” I whispered.
