Silver Lining

by E. J. Shortall

  Looking weary from the whole thing, Craig slumps forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “Honestly, I don’t have a clue, but she seemed to think the lie would work.”

  “So why didn’t you divorce her?” This is the crux of our problem. He is still married to her.

  “After I moved in with my grandparents, I felt so betrayed and let down, I vowed I would never get involved again so it wouldn’t matter. We couldn’t divorce in the first year of marriage, and she swore I was the father. Until the baby was born, and I could prove I wasn’t the father with a paternity test, I couldn’t get an annulment. I honestly thought I was just best off getting as far away from her as possible and letting her fight if she later wanted a divorce. There was no way in hell I was going to let her get a penny from us.”

  “So you have just left it all these years?” It all sounds so unbelievable.

  “Up until recently, I had absolutely no desire to ever marry again, or to even be in another serious relationship. I had no reason to have to face her again, so I didn’t bother.”

  “What changed?”

  With a warm smile, he looks me straight in the eyes and reaches up to play with a loose strand of my hair. “You did, Ambs. You waltzed into my life like a stick of dynamite, blowing apart the walls I had built up around my heart. You showed me that true genuine love does exist. Whether what we had worked out or not, you showed me it was time to stop letting Aleisha’s actions control my emotions and to finally have a clean break from her.”

  My head is seriously spinning, and I don’t know if it’s from these revelations or from the wine. I do know I need another glass though.

  “So what happens now?” I ask, unsure where this leaves us.

  “I have filed for a divorce. That is why she was at the offices that day. She is fighting it though, not that she has any real grounds to. She just wants to make it awkward to be done and dusted quickly. Beyond that, it is up to you. I miss you, Pingu. I’m miserable without you and want you back safe and sound in my arms again.”

  Oh God, and I want to be back in his arms, so much, but at what personal cost? Will I constantly fear betrayal and mistrust? Will I be forever looking for signs of things that aren’t there? What if he keeps things from me in the future? I’ve had a taste of that from him already, and lived with it for many years with David. I can’t do it anymore. But then I could also be turning my back on something that could very well be amazing.

  “I’m scared, Craig. I want to say I’m yours and come running into your arms, but I am terrified of being hurt again. I couldn’t take it,” I manage the words as barely a whisper. “But I love you and I am miserable without you too.”

  His eyes dart to mine and he places both palms against my cheeks. “What are you saying, Ambs? Do you mean-?”

  With tears filling my eyes, I smile and nod, letting Craig know that I’m all his, for as long as he will have me. “Yes, Craig, I’m all yours. You have to understand, though, that you can’t keep things hidden from me. No more secrets, Craig. I can’t cope with it. There has to be complete honesty from now on.”

  Craig smiles widely and draws me into him, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me onto his lap. “Once again, Miss Merchant, you floor me. I love you too.”

  I have denied myself this man for nearly two weeks and I can’t contain myself any more. I wrap my arms around his neck and snake my hands up into his hair. With only the slightest movement, our lips meet in a passionate reconciliation.

  The world around us fades away, and it is just Craig and me, sharing with each other our love and promises of things to come.

  When we pull apart, I see love and desire burning deep in his eyes and know he is torn. I feel it too. Do we leave early and give in to our carnal desires to reconnect, or do we stay and take things slowly, enjoying each other’s company and doing the social thing as a couple.

  Standing abruptly, Craig holds on to me while I steady my feet. He then takes my hand and starts walking back toward the function suite where music is now blaring and people are dancing on a makeshift dance floor, while others stand around laughing and joking. “Come on,” he says as I struggle to keep up with him in my heels.

  “Where are we going?”

  He stops suddenly and turns to face me. “I desperately need to get you home and back in my bed, where you belong, but I also want to show you off to my team mates and enjoy your company, so we are going to dance.” He starts walking back inside again with me in tow.

  Well, alright then.

  Craig pulls me into the middle of the dance floor. With one arm wrapped around my waist and the other holding my hand against his chest, he starts moving us to the beat of “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. He leads me around the dance floor with little effort and maximum grace, and I love the feeling. I have never been much of a dancer, pretty much just doing the handbag shuffle whenever I have been out, but Craig makes it seem so easy.

  As the song ends and moves on to “How Long Will I Love You” by Ellie Goulding, Craig slows us down, and we remain on the spot, swaying together with our foreheads resting against each other.

  “I love you, Amber, and I promise you with all my heart I will do everything in my power to make you happy and give you everything you could ever want.”

  “All I want and need is you, Craig.”

  “And I want and need you too, but I want it all, Ambs. I want to marry you. I want to start a family with you. I want to grow old and grey with you and share Christmases with our hoards of grandchildren and tell them the story of us right here, right now.”

  And that right there is one of the many reasons I do love Craig with my whole heart. Tears are streaming down my face again, and I don’t try and hold them back. They are proof of the overwhelming reaction I have to this man; of the love and devotion I have for him.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” he whispers in my ear, and with my hand in his, he leads us off the dance floor.

  We spend a few minutes saying goodbye to some of Craig’s team mates before heading over to where Scott and Becki are standing near the bar. As soon as she sees me, Becki has the biggest grin on her face and pulls me into hug. “I am so happy you guys have worked it out. You are so good together,” she whispers in my ear.

  Taking a step away from her, I give her a shy smile as Craig pulls me back against his chest and wraps his arms around me. “We are going to head off now, guys, so enjoy the rest of your evening, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Craig reaches a hand out to shake Scott’s, but he ignores it and instead pulls Craig forward into a bro hug, squashing me between them. When he pulls away, I am laughing, and Scott looks down at me affectionately. “I’m so glad you two have sorted yourselves out. I couldn’t cope with his mopey arse any more. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” With Scott’s arm around Becki’s waist, and Craig’s arms wrapped around me, I feel that finally things are right in the world.

  With a last goodbye, we walk out to Craig’s car to go start the journey to the rest of our lives together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  Six Months later

  Handing a box to Craig, I take one final look around my flat.

  “That’s the last one.”

  I think back over the past seven months of my life. Little did I know when I stepped foot in here for the first time in May just how quickly my life would turn around. Now here I am packing up again and moving on. This time, though, I have a clear path ahead of me. I have absolute certainty that my destination is right where it should be.

  Taking the box from me, Craig plants a brief kiss on my forehead and walks out onto the main landing. “Are you ready to head home then?” The wide smile spreading across his face matches mine, I’m sure.

  Home.

  Craig’s home.

  And now my home.

  “Lead the way.”

  As Craig makes his way toward the stairs, I take one final quick scan to make sure we have taken e
verything. I pick up my bag and walk toward the front door. With one final tug and a deep breath, I pull the door closed behind me and lock it; the end of one chapter, and the start of a new one.

  After our reconciliation at his football reception, Craig and I spent the next few weeks really getting to know each other. He took me out on dates, and we regularly spent time at each other’s places. If I thought I was in love with him then, it was nothing compared to what I feel for him now. I truly am the luckiest girl in the world to have found this man in my life. Not only does he mean the absolute world to me, by some miracle, he feels the same way about me.

  Aleisha finally signed the divorce papers after some rather damning evidence came Craig’s way. It made it pretty easy for him to get her off his back and ensure she didn’t get a penny from him. I’m not sure what happened with the whole Kieran and baby situation, and in all honestly, I don’t care. She deserves anything that comes her way for doing what she did to Craig and his family, and as long as she stays far, far away from us, I never want to have to think about her again.

  “Ready?” Craig asks as I approach my shiny new white BMW. When I agreed to move in with Craig, he insisted he buy me a new car because I would be doing more driving, and my old Civic would “just not be up to it.” I had laughed at him because I would be driving at most an extra ten miles a day by living with him. I do love the car though. She is so comfortable and easy to drive, and now that it is winter, it warms up straight away. I would be freezing my butt of the whole drive to school before the Civic would even think about pumping out any heat.

  “As ready as I ever will be. I’ll meet you back at home.”

  “I like the sound of that,” he says, pulling me in to his chest he wraps one arm around me and tilts my chin up with the other. “I love you.”

  I wrap my arms around him and hold on tightly. This man has made me so content and happy. I cannot imagine a life without him in it anymore. “I love you more.”

  “Not possible,” he says and drops his lips to mine for a sweet, chaste kiss.

  Pulling back, he picks the box up off the ground and nods to my car with his head. “Come on, let’s get this stuff home so we can get ready for Scott and Becki.” He turns to his Rover and puts the box in the boot before getting in the driver side and starting the engine. With a final grin, he backs out of his parking spot and drives away.

  I look up at the building one last time, a silent movie of images running through my mind of my short time in there. Some are good and some are bad, but all of them tell the story of Craig and me.

  As I get in the car and start the engine, my phone starts ringing and the Bluetooth picks it up. I love the wonders of modern technology. Hitting a button on the steering wheel, I answer the call, “Hi Bec, how goes it?”

  “Just peachy, my little cherub. How did the move go?” When Craig asked me to move in with him and I agreed, I wasn’t sure how Becki was going to take it. I offered for her to stay in the flat, but she said it wouldn’t be the same without me so she wanted to look for somewhere else. That somewhere else happened to be Scott’s place. The thought of his girlfriend being homeless gave him the nudge he needed to open his heart to her completely, and he asked her to move in with him. For the last two weeks, they have been getting cosy in their new love nest, and I couldn’t be happier for them.

  “We just finished up. I’m on my way home now. What time are you guys coming over?”

  “Craig said around seven. Is that okay with you?”

  “Absolutely, I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Great, we’ll see you later then.”

  We say our goodbyes and I drive off. I have to stop in town first to drop the keys off with the Estate agent and then I can get home to Craig.

  ***

  “Something smells nice,” I shout as I walk down the stairs of Craig’s, no our, house. I hear laughter coming from the kitchen, so I know that Becki and Scott arrived while I was showering and getting ready.

  As I walk past the dining room, I notice that the doors are closed; strange, because they are usually always open. Shrugging it off, I walk into the kitchen and over to Becki to give her a hug.

  “Hi Bec, I’m so glad you came.”

  “You couldn’t keep us away, not tonight. I am so excited,” she squeals as she returns my hug. What on earth is she talking about? It’s only a meal with friends.

  “Erm, right, okay, a bit over the top, but… great. I’m glad you are excited then.”

  “Oh, I am,” she winks, making me suspicious; suspicion that only heightens when Scott gives her a gentle kick.

  “It will be ready soon, guys. Why don’t you go and get comfy in the living room while I finish this off?” Over recent months, I have come to learn that Craig is in fact a great cook. He has nothing on his mum’s culinary skills, but he is still much better than me. How lucky am I?

  Scott, Becki and I walk into the living room that is now adorned with so many Christmas decorations it could rival the local garden centre’s display. In fact, I think we did pretty much buy out their stock. When I found out Craig didn’t own a single Christmas decoration, I was appalled and let him know so. He immediately dragged me out and proceeded to buy enough that we could have opened as a high end Santa’s grotto. I was humbled though, when he explained that since the deaths of his father and grandparent’s, Christmas had just been another day for him so he didn’t bother, especially when he didn’t have anyone special to share it with. Now we are both looking forward to hosting a big get together on Christmas day. His mum and sister are coming, along with Scott and Becki, and even my dad has said he will come. I was going to begrudgingly ask James, but since our phone conversation several months ago, no one has heard from him. Despite our differences, I do still worry about him and only hope that he hasn’t gotten himself into some sort of trouble. Or worse.

  “So have you settled in okay, Ambs?”

  Scott’s deep voice breaks me free of my thoughts. “It’s weird. It just feels… right, like I have been living here for months anyway. The only difference now is that we have a shit load of boxes in the garage that we need to sort through and a ton of address change paperwork to fill out.”

  “Well, you have pretty much been living here for months,” Becki chimes in. “God, you really sucked on the roommate duties.”

  I start laughing at her, but realise she is probably right. After that night at the Petersham, I kind of did focus everything on Craig. I’m not one bit sorry about it though.

  “It’s ready, guys,” Craig shouts from the kitchen. “Do you want to head on into the dining room?”

  We all three get to our feet and start walking toward the dining room. As we get close, Craig appears in the doorway and opens it for me. Stepping inside, I gasp in astonishment. The room is beautiful. Craig has lit candles everywhere. There are large vases of my favourite pink peonies on the table which has been set with crystal glasses and shiny silverware I have not seen before.

  “You did all this?” I ask Craig as I step further into the room with Scott and Becki behind me.

  “I wanted to welcome you home in style,” he whispers, pulling me into his arms. “I am so happy you are finally here with me, Pingu.”

  “Me too. I don’t want to be anywhere else. Not anymore.”

  For the next two hours, we enjoy a wonderful meal and great friendships with lots of laughter. The guys constantly rib each other, and Becki and I throw our own playful insults in for good measure.

  During dessert, Craig becomes quiet and withdrawn. If I didn’t know better, I would say he is nervous, but he has nothing to be nervous about. Maybe he is just tired from the exertions of the day.

  “So, Ambs, when do you break up for Christmas?” Scott asks as I’m about to take a bite of the delicious lemon tart in front of me.

  “The twentyi-”

  I’m interrupted by the sudden and loud scraping of Craig’s chair on the wooden floor. He gets to his feet and stands next to me.
Without a word, he grabs my chair and twists it so I am looking at him head on, and then he drops to one knee in front of me and grabs my left hand in his.

  Oh my God. Is he? He isn’t, is he? As realisation dawns, my other hand immediately comes up to cover my mouth as a lone tear slips down my cheek.

  “Ambs… God, I had this whole speech all prepared in my head, and now I can’t think of a word of it.” He takes a deep breath and continues, “Baby, when you stepped into my life all those months back, I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love you. You have changed me, shown me that there is good in people, and that with a little faith and trust, the world can be conquered.

  “You must know by now what you mean to me, but I want to say again that you are my world, and I would do anything for you. I would walk through flames just to see your smile. I would scale a snowy peak just to hear your laugh and feel your touch. Every second of every day I am with you, I feel like the luckiest guy on earth that you are with me.

  “Amber, I love you with every fibre of my being and I want to share my life with you. Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?”

  Silent tears are now streaming down my face, and I can hear Becki trying to contain her own emotions opposite me.

  When Craig grips my hand a little tighter, I realise I haven’t yet answered him. “Yes,” I whisper.

  That is all he needs to hear and is immediately slipping a stunning Platinum Princess cut diamond solitaire ring onto my finger. It is exquisite; elegant, yet timeless. I can’t take my eyes off it.

  “I love you, Pingu, and I promise to be the best husband I can possibly be and take care of you and our children one day, always.”

  Throwing myself down into his lap, I fling my arms around his neck and laugh. I cry and kiss him and tell him over and over how much I love him.

  This is it, at last, my silver lining, my forever, and what a mighty fine forever it is going to be.

  SILVER DOVE

  The story of Amber and Craig continues in Silver Dove.