AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I love you, too.”
When she laid her head on his shoulder again, he asked, “Will you marry me?”
Jerking her head up again, her face was the perfect picture of surprise. “Really?”
“Really, really.” He stroked her hair away from her face and stared into her lovely eyes. “No matter what happens from here on out, I only need you to know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“If you ever run away again, I will hunt your stubborn arse down. I need you in my life, sweetling. I want you in my life. Not just as my lover, but my best friend too.” He carried her under the water and set her on her feet. “Say you’ll marry me, Emilia. Say you’ll be my wife. Say you’ll have my babies.” He took a breath. “Say you’ll be mine.”
Reaching up to run her fingers through his shortened hair, she smiled and nodded and whispered, “Yes.”
Epilogue One
“Are you nervous?”
Ollie ignored Rafe’s stupid question and focussed on his breathing exercises, and when that didn’t help settle his nerves, he grabbed Mia’s hand and laced their fingers together, anchored himself in the moment with her.
“I’m about to meet my daughter for the first time. Of course I’m fucking nervous.”
The results of the paternity test had finally arrived on the Thursday following Toby and Lucy’s wedding.
And it was positive.
Oliver Bennett was a father.
Rafe had immediately consulted with a child psychologist and they’d worked out a visitation and transition schedule with Ella’s parents. Three weeks had passed since Oliver had discovered his daughter’s existence, and this was to be the first of several shorter visits to get Sigrid used to Ollie and Mia, and for them to get used to her.
“Language,” Mia scolded softly, though there was an undertone of humour in the command. “You’re going to have to cut back on the swearing for a while.”
“You can talk,” he replied. “You swear like a soldier.”
Mia chuckled. “I was a soldier.”
“Yes. Was. What’s your new excuse?”
She squeezed his hand tightly. “Don’t be peevish. Take deep breaths. And babe,” she said, staring up at him, “you’ve got this.”
Oliver took a deep breath then slowly let it out. Then he took another, and another. And then another thought struck him and his breath stuck in his lungs again as his nerves twisted tighter. “What if she doesn’t like me?”
Charlie appeared beside him. “Impossible, little brother. Sigrid is going to adore you.”
“Just don’t forget,” Rafe said in that irritating I’m-a-lawyer-and-I-know-everything tone, “this is just the first step in the process, little more than an introduction. Once she learns who you are, learns to trust you and—”
“Oh, enough,” Mia snapped. “Back off, the pair of you. It’s going to be overwhelming enough as it is for both Ollie and Sigrid without the whole Bennett clan crowding around them. Now everybody get back inside and stay there.”
Ollie rolled his lips between his teeth to stop himself from laughing at his brothers, then winked at Mia.
My protector.
Her scolding sent everyone scuttling back inside the house, grumbling the whole way about “bossy women”.
Once he saw Charlie, Rafe and the rest of them had done as they were told, and left him alone, he relaxed a little.
But when the Mulligans pulled up in front of The Forge and helped a little girl out of the car, his nerves kicked him in the gut and knocked the wind out of him.
Mr and Mrs Mulligan smiled as they led their granddaughter around the car to the garden gate. “What a lovely garden. Look Siggy, can you see the butterflies in the garden?”
