Heath was silent for a moment as he looked at the woman he now knew for certain had claimed his heart. ‘How did you become so wise?’
Phoebe looked away. She didn’t think she was wise. But she knew that Heath was not the selfish playboy who had pushed her away. He was a man who hadn’t known how to deal with the pain from his past. But she was hopeful now that he had clarity, and that he and Oscar would be okay. They could move forward and maybe even one day have their own Christmas tree.
The cab blasted its horn again and brought her back to reality.
‘That’s me,’ she said, and she softly placed his hand back on his lap and stood up to walk away.
She understood his pain, but it didn’t change anything. She had to leave. Heath would always hold a place in her heart but she needed more than she thought he could offer.
‘I have a plane to catch. But I do forgive you and I hope we can always be friends.’
‘I don’t want to be friends, Phoebe,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘That is not why I came here tonight. I mean, of course I wanted your forgiveness—but I want so much more.’
‘Heath. I’m leaving for London. This was a crazy dream, and we’ve both grown, but I think it’s too late for anything more—’
‘I won’t let it be too late,’ he cut in hastily as he gently pulled her back to him. ‘You’ve never been anything other than loving and understanding, and I’ve been so consumed with fighting my feelings for you, and with the denial and grief and fear built up over the last five years, that I was blind to how much I love you. I was scared of loving you. Really loving you and then losing you. But love is a risk worth taking, and I know that now. I will never be whole without you.’
Phoebe stilled. ‘How much I love you.’ Tears started falling from her eyes again. But these were tears of joy, and she let his hand gently wipe them away.
‘I love you, Phoebe. I think I have from the first time you fainted in my arms. I don’t want to spend another minute without you in my life.’ Heath pulled her close to his hard body and kissed her mouth as if she was his lifeline. Then, dropping to one knee, he continued. ‘If you love me—and my dinosaur-crazy son—I want more than anything for you to be my wife. Phoebe Johnson—will you marry me and allow me to spend my life making love to you?’
Heath kissed her passionately, and when he finally opened his eyes they were on her. They didn’t look anywhere else. Everything he needed was in his arms.
And Phoebe could see it and she had everything she had ever wanted too. She nodded. ‘Yes, I will—because I do love you, and I love your wonderful son.’
EPILOGUE
‘PLEASE BE CAREFUL, darling,’ Phoebe said.
‘Yes, Daddy, be careful. You’re up pretty high.’
Balancing precariously on a ladder, Heath smiled down at his wife and son standing below. In one hand he held a large gold five-pointed star with the letter ‘N’ decorated in red crystals, while the other hand held on to the top railing.
‘As soon as I secure Natasha’s star on top of the tree I’ll be finished.’
Heath’s long arm reached over the top of the ladder and placed the Christmas star atop the ten-foot lush green tree that took pride of place in the living room. It was the same tree that Phoebe’s father had sent for her very first Christmas in Adelaide. It was the tree that Oscar thought was the most gigantic tree in the world.
They had added baubles with their names on, handwritten in gold, which they had bought at the Christmas market their first Christmas as a family. And each year they had added more—including one for their beagle, Reginald, who had been rescued from the pound and now sat chewing his favourite toy while eyeing the new kitten, Topsy, who lay on the armchair. She was the most recent addition.
It was their third Christmas together, and Oscar was now eight. Each year Heath took pride in putting their hand-crafted remembrance of Natasha in place.
‘Tilly, Paul and the girls are on their way over,’ Ken announced as he walked into the room with sparkling fruit punch for everyone.
He placed the tray on the coffee table and took a few steps back to admire the festive decorations before he picked up the individual glasses and gave one to everyone in the room. Then he sat down next to Dorothy and she softly kissed his cheek.
‘You know, at this rate, Phoebs, I’ll be making an annual Christmas pilgrimage to your home Down Under,’ Susy said as she sipped her chilled drink. ‘This is my third, and it won’t be too difficult to convince me to leave the snow behind to sunbathe and swim to the sounds of Christmas carols again next year—and the one after that. A white Christmas in England is quite spectacular, but I would never refuse the opportunity to exchange my Wellingtons for flip-flops.’
She looked down at her feet and with a huge smile wriggled her bare toes.
‘Now all I need is an Aussie lifeguard to make my Christmas complete.’
‘We’re just glad you could make it again this year,’ Phoebe said with an equally happy expression. ‘We hope you can always share Christmas with us—and I’ll keep a look-out for that lifeguard...then you might move here permanently.’
‘You’ve outdone yourselves—all of you. Your home looks beautiful,’ Phoebe’s father said as he came down the stairs from the guest bedroom, carrying colourfully wrapped gifts he had pulled from the suitcases and handed them to Phoebe’s mother, who was arranging them on the floor with the others already there. ‘And I haven’t seen a prettier tree ever,’ he added with pride.
‘It’s the best, Grandpa John,’ Oscar said as he dropped down cross-legged on the patterned rug, patted Reginald’s head and then looked up with a toothy grin at the huge expanse of green foliage, sparkling lights and glittering decorations.
Heath climbed down from the ladder and folded it up against the wall. His smile grew wider as he reached around and gently pulled his pregnant wife against his chest. With a heart filled with love, he said, ‘And it’s all because of you.’
‘No, not me,’ she told him gently, with a smile in her voice. ‘It’s because you were ready to believe in Christmas again.’
‘And love,’ he reminded her with a kiss.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781460389782
A Mommy to Make Christmas
Copyright © 2015 by Susanne Panagaris
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