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‘I do love you, Lucas. I can’t help it.’
‘Isn’t that a start? I wouldn’t have done this unless I was sure, Thea. For a long time I used my responsibilities towards Ava as an excuse for not living my life. But when I saw you again…you helped me find my passion again. And then you helped me find the courage to change, to believe that I could love you and never let you down.’
The candle next to her guttered and flamed. Something clattered onto the table. It didn’t matter. She’d given him ten minutes and he’d used it well. She would hear him out now.
‘Time’s up.’ He seemed to be very interested in the candle.
‘That doesn’t matter now, Lucas. Forget it, I’m not going anywhere until we’ve sorted this out.’ It might take all night. But she’d spent nights with Lucas in stranger places than a tent.
‘It matters because…’ He picked something up from the table, suddenly realising it was hot and bouncing it from one hand to the other.
It sparkled in the candlelight. ‘I didn’t reckon on this getting caught in the flame. Obviously not my best moment when it comes to forward planning.’
‘What is that?’ He blew on the object in his palm and she saw. Lucas grinned, and slipped from his seat onto one knee in front of her.
‘I’ve said what I want to say. And I want to offer this to you now. Not in the hope that you’ll take it but to show you that I’m serious about this.’
‘I…’ She almost reached for the ring, but contented herself with just staring at it for a moment.
‘I know. You have to think about it. I’ll wait.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘What, you’re not going to think about it with me?’ This time she did reach out, tracing her fingers down the side of his cheek.
Slowly he leant forward. Brushed his lips against hers in an almost-kiss.
‘Is that the best you can do?’ Thea took his hand.
‘I can do better.’ This time he kissed her properly. All she wanted. All she needed. Right there.
‘Are you expected home tonight?’
She’d thought his kiss was everything, but his smile was more. ‘I was really hoping you’d ask that.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
FOR THE NEXT two weeks the ring was a constant part of Thea’s life, turning up everywhere and anywhere. It sat on the mantelpiece at Lucas’s house for a couple of days. It appeared in a glass of champagne when they celebrated the good news of Ava’s Mantoux test results. She found it under her pillow when she woke in the morning and in her napkin when they went out to dinner together.
‘You’re going to lose this.’ She held it up in the light of the chandelier, which had now been restored to its rightful place in the oak tree. It was beautiful. A single diamond, flashing with blue light, on a plain band.
‘I keep my eye on it, wherever it is.’ He turned his attention back to the map that was spread out between them. The canopy of the tree still sheltered them, even though the leaves were turning to gold and they had to wrap up warmly to enjoy the tree house now.
‘So we go to Bangladesh first. To see Dr Patel and Ayesha.’
‘Yes.’ Thea hugged herself with excitement. ‘And I’d like to spend some time at the hospital too. How do you feel about taking Ava with us?’
‘She’s asked me already about going. I said we’d wait and see but I don’t see why she shouldn’t come along. What do you think?’
‘I think, if she wants to go, we should take her. We’ll both be there to keep an eye on her and make sure she’s not confronted with anything too distressing.’ One of the unexpected gifts that both Lucas and Ava had given her was to take it for granted that she should be a parent to Ava.
He nodded. ‘Makes sense to me.’ He dropped the pencil onto the map and it rolled towards the centre fold, where Thea’s ring sat. ‘There’s something I want to ask you.’
‘Fire away.’
‘I was thinking…children.’
Thea had been thinking about that too. She wanted to have children, and Lucas’s children would undoubtedly be a handful but they’d make her life complete. But if he didn’t want that…
‘What do you want?’ She decided to play things cool.
