by Holly Martin
It was gone eleven o’clock and Neve had barely been able to take her eyes off the doors to the ballroom all night. Despite his promises, there had been no sign of Oakley all evening. She didn’t know if he was still in Lerwick or whether he was on the island somewhere. Earlier that afternoon she and Pip had caught a plane and he hadn’t been on that. The last boat and plane had been and gone that evening with no sign of Oakley on either. But somehow she knew that he wouldn’t go back on his word either.
The ballroom looked spectacular. The lights in the coloured jars and on the trees sparkled, the floor gleamed, the music was beautiful. The night had gone without a hitch. All the guests looked stunning in their ballgowns and tuxedos as they swept each other around the dance floor, their dazzling masks making the whole affair look exotic and exciting, as if everyone had some kind of secret.
In the middle of the floor Adam was sweeping Ivy around the room and she was laughing at something he was saying to her. They looked very happy together. Gabe was dancing with Pip and Wren, looking happier than she had ever seen him. Neve glanced over to a darkened area of the room, near the store cupboards, and smiled when she saw Luke kissing Audrey in the shadows. Luke needed someone lovely in his life and Audrey fitted the bill perfectly. Even her parents were dancing away happily, looking at each other as if they were the only ones in the world. Everyone had someone but she had spent most of the night alone.
Gabe approached, looking dashing in a black tuxedo and a silvery blue mask. He sat down at the table with her, taking his mask off.
‘Maybe he isn’t coming,’ he said, gently.
‘He’ll be here.’
Gabe nodded. ‘What’s going on with you two?’
‘I have no idea.’ She paused, hating what she was going to say next. ‘I’m moving to America.’
Gabe sighed and nodded. ‘I thought you might be.’
‘My son needs a dad and Oakley will make a wonderful father. I can’t deprive either of them of the chance to be in each other’s lives.’
He moved to sit next to her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. ‘I’m going to miss you so much.’
‘I’m going to miss you guys too, but I’ll come over as often as I can. I’m sorry to let you down.’
He frowned. ‘You’re not letting me down. At all.’
‘But this place has just opened and—’
‘And Adam will take over. I’m here too. I’m not saying that it won’t be difficult without you, you’re so good at your job and Adam will have very big shoes to fill, but in no way are you letting me down. You have to do what’s right for you and your child. I don’t think spending the rest of my life on a remote Scottish island was ever part of my game plan, but things change when you have children and you have to do what’s best for them. I only want you to be happy and if you are, then I’m happy too.’
Neve leaned her head on his shoulder. ‘Thank you.’
‘And if things go badly with Oakley or you miss English bacon too much and you want to come home, you will be welcome back any time.’
Neve smiled. ‘Yes, bacon is an issue I hadn’t thought of. I’ll have to take whole suitcases back over with me every time I come to visit.’
They were silent for a while and Gabe leaned his head on top of hers. ‘When are you thinking of leaving?’
‘Not yet. We have the big Fire and Ice Festival in January and our first wedding on Valentine’s Day. I don’t want to leave Adam with all that stuff to deal with. I know he’s very proficient and experienced, but things are different up here than they were in London. I want to make sure he’s OK before I leave. I need to do a proper handover, not just drop everything and run. Maybe I’ll leave end of February, after my twenty-week scan.’
He nodded.
The doors to the ballroom were suddenly pushed open and Neve stood up, something inside her knowing instinctively that it was Oakley.
Her breath caught in her throat as she spotted him. Despite the fact that he was wearing a turquoise and gold mask, there was no mistaking him. His gaze found hers straight away and he moved towards her. There were murmurs of interest as several people clearly recognised him but he had eyes only for her.
As he approached, he caught her hands in his and kissed her on the cheek. ‘I’m sorry I’m late, Freckle. The jobs I needed to do took longer than I would have liked. I missed the plane and I had to make alternative arrangements that included hitching a ride with a fishing trawler and a helicopter ride from some very nice Navy men for who I now somehow have to get a walk-on part in the Obsidian movie in order to repay them. But I’m here, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.’
‘I knew you’d come.’ Neve couldn’t help but smile.
‘I promised you a dance. Now let’s do this, because I have another promise I need to keep before midnight. Several, in fact.’
She frowned a little. What other promises did he need to keep? Would he be dancing with anyone else?
But before she could ask any questions, Oakley took her hand and escorted her onto the dance floor. With one hand in hers and the other on her waist, he started to sweep her around the floor. He was clumsy and very ungraceful but being in his arms was the only thing that mattered. She wanted that moment to last forever. He took her hand and spun her out and then back towards him as if it was some kind of rock and roll dance, which made her laugh. The music came to an end and changed to something much slower. He smiled and shifted her closer into his arms so that he was hugging her as he moved slowly around the dance floor. She leaned her head on his chest, listening to his heart.
‘You look so beautiful tonight, Freckle.’
He held her tighter and as the song came to an end he whispered in her ear. ‘I love you so much.’
She pulled back slightly to look at him; his eyes were filled with so much love and tenderness.
Suddenly there was an announcement from one of the staff over the microphone. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the fireworks over the lake will be starting at midnight. If you want to make your way down to the lakeside now, hot drinks will be available.’
There were murmurs of excitement as all the guests slowly filed out but Neve was glued to the floor, wrapped in Oakley’s arms as she stared up at him. He’d said he loved her. Could they really get back together? Would he put what had happened behind them?
As they were left completely alone in the middle of the ballroom, she reached up and kissed him. This time he didn’t hesitate, he kissed her straight back. Something shifted between them, a need and urgency. If he was leaving and this was goodbye then she wanted to make love to him one more time and from the way he was kissing her, he felt the same.
‘Let’s go upstairs and we can talk in private,’ Oakley said, taking her by the hand and almost dragging her out of the room. She giggled at his desperation to be alone with her too, though she’d much rather go back to her lodge and reconcile their differences in the privacy of her home.
She quickly kicked off her heels and ran up the stairs after him, her hand firmly in his.
They reached the top and she pulled him towards her, kissing him hard. He didn’t pull away, instead he kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her and shuffling her back against the wall as he slid his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her. He let out a moan of need. She wrapped her hands round the back of his neck, caressing his hair before she let them fall to his shoulders and slowly started to slide off his jacket.
He suddenly snatched his mouth from hers. ‘Freckle, we can’t.’
Her heart fell in disappointment.
‘Not yet anyway, I have several promises to fulfil before we can do that.’
‘What do you mean?’
He led her to the doors that led to an observation room overlooking the lake, though he didn’t push them open.
‘Freckle, I’ve been an ass over the last few days and I’m sorry. I hate that you lied to me but I know you did it for all the right reasons. But we all make mistakes and I made the bi
ggest one of my life the day I let you go. I came back here vowing to get you back, I should have known you would make me work for it, but I learned a long time ago that if you really want something then you have to fight for it. We will argue and fall out, you’re feisty and demanding and I’m stubborn and prideful, but we love each other and that’s all that matters. I promised you there was nothing that could stop us being together, that whatever problems came our way we would face them. I promised that I would love you and take care of you and our child forever. I also promised Gabe that I would do everything I could to make you happy. I intend to fulfil those promises. We’re getting married.’
She stared at him in shock. He wanted to be with her, he wanted to marry her.
‘We’re getting married?’ Neve whispered.
‘Yes, right now.’
Chapter 21
Her heart roared in her chest. ‘Wait, do I not get a say in this?’
‘No, Freckle, not this time.’
‘But—’
‘Do you love me?’
‘Yes, but—’
‘Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me?’
‘Yes, of course, but—’
‘Then we’re getting married now before you try and push me away again, before we have another stupid row and I storm off. What we have is forever and once you have that ring on your finger, once you’re my wife, you’ll know no matter what happens, there’s no getting rid of me. I’m in this for the long haul, baby. I never wanted forever with anyone until I met you. Now the prospect of my life without you in it is completely unbearable. I need you, I love you. You’re the other half of my heart. Will you marry me?’
Neve had no words.
‘Mikki O’Sullivan is in there waiting to marry us, she made me sign the registration papers earlier in the week. To be honest, I’m not sure how legal this is. Crazy lady from the village who claims to see into the future says we can marry without the twenty-eight days’ notice due to extenuating circumstances, but she’s all we’ve got. We can do it all over again properly in a few months, we can have a big party and I’ll buy you a great big meringue dress if that’s what you want, you can have a hundred bridesmaids and a St Bernard who carries the rings, you can have whatever you want, but I’m not leaving here tomorrow unless you’re my wife. If I go and we’re not married, doubt will slowly start to creep in, you’ll come up with some other silly noble reason why we shouldn’t be together, so just say yes now and we can get married and we can get back to what we were doing five minutes ago.’
Neve’s throat was dry. ‘Mikki is our official registrar for the hotel. She forced me to sign the registration forms earlier in the week too. If she says it’s legal then. . . it’s legal.’
‘So, looks like it will be official after all. We can still do the big ceremony thing if that’s what you want, but let’s do this now before you come up with any more excuses.’
‘I need my family, I can’t get married without them.’
Oakley pushed open the door and Neve looked inside. Her parents, Gabe, Pip, Wren, Luke, Audrey, Adam and Ivy were all waiting for her. Mikki was waiting at the far end of the room, by the large glass windows overlooking the lake. The room was filled with flowers, lit only by candles and fairy lights and the light of the star-filled sky outside.
She turned back to face Oakley. He’d had all this planned.
‘Say yes, Freckle, and me and you and our little bear will be a proper family, just as you’ve always wanted.’
‘Are you doing this because I’m pregnant?’
Oakley stepped closer, wrapping one arm round her waist and pulling her against him. He caressed her cheek, his thumb dancing over her freckles. ‘I’m doing this because I love you with everything I have.’
Tears filled her eyes. ‘Then yes.’
Oakley sighed with relief and before she could say another word, he took her hand and marched her up to the window, standing before Mikki.
The ceremony was very short, no readings, no songs or poems, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Oakley throughout the whole thing. She kept waiting for the panic or the fear and doubt to take over and cause her to stop the proceedings, but it never came. This was right: she knew that with every fibre of her soul, she and Oakley were meant to be together.
Before she knew it, Mikki pronounced them husband and wife and Oakley took her in his arms and kissed her like she was the oxygen he needed to breathe.
There were a few minutes where her family and friends all fussed around them, giving them both hugs and congratulations before they all rushed outside to help with or watch the New Year’s fireworks, leaving them alone, overlooking the lake and the island beyond. Neve felt numb with shock. She was married. She had woken up this morning thinking there was no way back for her and Oakley, that they would never be together as anything but friends, and now she was married to the man she loved.
‘I love you, Mrs Rey,’ Oakley said and her heart roared at the sound of her new name. ‘You’re very quiet.’
‘I’m still in shock over your sneaky tactics. What did you say to that press photographer to make him leave, by the way?’
‘I told him we were getting married on New Year’s Day in Lerwick and he could have exclusive photography rights if he left us alone on the island after we got married.’
Neve laughed. ‘I can’t quite believe we’re actually married.’ She stared down at the wedding ring, a twist of platinum and obsidian. ‘This is beautiful.’
‘I had a ring designer make it specially, Annabelle Brent on Lerwick. It took her bloody ages though, which is why I was so late.’
‘I love it.’
She moved to the window to look out over the lake and Oakley moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her belly and peppering kisses over her neck.
Down by the lake, Neve could hear the guests starting the big countdown to the New Year and the start of the fireworks.
‘This is a clean slate for us, Freckle. After midnight, we’re going to look forward to our future. We won’t dwell on the things that have happened over the last few weeks, us splitting up, the lie, or my overreaction to it. We’re starting fresh as of now.’
She nodded. ‘A new beginning.’
The night sky exploded into a blaze of colour, the fireworks competing with the moon and stars to light up the night sky. Sparkles of ruby, emerald and sapphire danced and fizzed across the inky darkness, reflecting off the lake beautifully.
She turned her back on the riot of colour and wrapped her arms round Oakley’s neck.
‘If we’re drawing a line under our pasts tonight, how about we go back to my lodge and give last year one hell of a send-off?’
Oakley smirked and, taking her by the hand, led her out of the room and down the stairs. They had reached the front door before Neve realised she had kicked her shoes off somewhere, but as she looked around for them they were nowhere to be seen. Oakley wasn’t to be deterred though. He took off his jacket and wrapped it round her, doing up the buttons. It completely dwarfed her. He removed his shoes, took off his socks and kneeled down to put them on her feet. She giggled as she watched him and then he stood up and put his own shoes back on before scooping her up into his arms.
‘Oakley, you can’t carry me all the way back to my lodge.’
‘Knowing what’s waiting for me back at the lodge, I have some incentive, but fortunately I won’t have to.’
He used his back to push open the door and Neve laughed at the snowmobile that was waiting for them, complete with a newlywed plate and ribbons and tin cans tied to the back. After placing her astride the snowmobile, he climbed on in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his chest and he took off in the direction of her lodge. When he got to the lodge, he repeated the process, but this time he carried her through her door and straight up the stairs to the bedroom.
He kissed her, helping her out of his jacket as she helped him out of his shirt. His hands moved to her back and slowly unzipped h
er dress and then let it pool at her feet. His hands wandered over her body, caressing and slowly taking off the rest of her clothes. When she was naked, he lifted her and laid her on the bed. He quickly removed his own clothes as she watched keenly.
‘Do you think it will feel different, making love as husband and wife?’ she asked.
Oakley climbed on the bed onto his hands and knees and then crawled up so he was leaning over her.
‘I think it will be the best sex we’ve ever had,’ he said, smiling down at her.
‘Really? Well, don’t let me stop you.’
He kissed her, nudging her legs apart he slid inside her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him close.
‘Happy New Year, Mrs Rey,’ he whispered against her lips and as he kissed her again he proved just how happy he really could make her.
Adam walked up the hill from the ice palace holding Ivy’s hand. It was gone two in the morning and the last guests had finally disappeared off to bed. After the fireworks, which were supposed to mark the end of the New Year’s ball, many of the guests had returned to the ice palace and decided to carry on partying. And Adam had stayed to supervise things, offering the musicians more money to stay, apologising to the bar staff who were having to work a bit later, and finally pulling the plug on the event, half hour before. All the while he would much rather have gone off to celebrate the start of the New Year with Ivy in a much more private and intimate setting.
‘I’m sorry about tonight.’
Ivy looked up at him with a big smile on her face.
‘I had the best time tonight, we danced. . .’ She smiled mischievously. ‘We kissed.’
He grinned. After the second half of the party had gotten underway and all the staff seemed happy enough to work a bit longer, he and Ivy had snuck upstairs and shared a celebratory kiss that had got so heated it had very nearly turned into something more. As Adam knew how inappropriate it would be for the newly appointed hotel manager to be making love to his girlfriend somewhere where they might get caught, he’d somehow managed to hold back before they’d gotten too carried away.