We pulled the first cracker. Stevie won a small sparkly pink notepad. ‘More you than me, I think.’ He passed it to me. ‘Not sure it’s quite big enough to write another Ellorinia book in, though.’
I smiled. ‘Perhaps not.’
We pulled the second cracker. He won again: a mini set of screwdrivers. ‘I don’t wish to be sexist by giving you the pink notepad and pocketing the ‘man tools’. Would you like these too?’
I laughed. ‘No. They’re yours. You won them fair and square.’
‘One last cracker and you get to keep what’s in this, no matter what it is, because you’re my guest. Deal?’
I smiled. ‘Deal.’
Giggling, I pulled the cracker with him. ‘Yay! I won!’ I cried as an object tumbled into my lap.
‘What is it?’
‘A keyring I think.’ I picked up the silver fob and held it in front of me. Several silver charms hung from a chain.
‘What’s on it?’ Stevie asked.
I studied the items. ‘It looks like a dog, a pram, a jigsaw piece, a blackcurrant, a house …’ Oh my goodness! My heart started to race as I spotted the connection and my hands shook slightly as I continued to separate the items. ‘It might actually be a cottage rather than a house. And perhaps the blackcurrant is a bramble? There’s an apple.’ For the teacher perhaps? I swallowed on the lump in my throat. ‘And there’s a bean.’ Tears rushed to my eyes as I stroked the kidney-bean shaped charm between my fingers. Could this mean …? I didn’t dare finish the thought in case I was way off.
‘That’s a pretty random set of items,’ Stevie said, reaching for the keyring. Electricity fizzed through me as our hands briefly touched. He lay it on his palm and spread the charms around. ‘Or is it? What do you think?’
I bit my lip as I chose the right words. I needed to be brave. ‘I think that they might initially seem a bit random, but when you put them all together, it’s like the missing jigsaw piece has been found. What do you think?’
‘I think you could be right. And if we add one more element…’ Stevie pulled a shiny brass key from his pocket and placed it on his palm beside the keyring then released a nervous laugh. ‘Sorry. I’m going to have to put these down because my hand’s shaking.’ He placed the key and keyring on the leg of his jeans instead. ‘The first time you came here, you described it as a family home. It is a family home, but the family I expected to live here didn’t quite materialise and Bramble Cottage has always felt like it had a missing piece of the jigsaw. I know two people — well, I’ve only actually met one of them so far — who could be that missing piece and could make it into the family home that it should be.’
I chewed on my lip as I waited anxiously to hear where Stevie’s speech was going to take us.
‘That same day,’ he continued, ‘I told you that I was scared of getting hurt again, or being the one to cause pain, so I’d been cautious with relationships, which was fine because I’d never met anyone worth taking the risk for. As soon as I met you, I knew you were worth taking the risk for. You were with Gary at the time, though, so I put it down to a classic case of unrequited love that I’d get over eventually. Perhaps. With a lot of time. Then it ended and I found myself alone with you in Stardust and you kissed me and… have you any idea how much restraint it took not to run after you that night?’
A warm tear slipped down my cheek. ‘Why didn’t you?’
‘It was too soon. You weren’t over Gary. I’d have pushed you into something you weren’t ready for, and potentially lost you forever.’
I nodded. He was right. Much as I’d been hurt and humiliated at the time, I’d have resented him for taking advantage when I was so confused.
I slowly reached out and touched his leg. ‘How’s the risk assessment looking now?’
Stevie smiled. ‘I think I’m about to take the biggest risk of my life.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Sorry. I’m making a mess of it. This is harder than I thought. I’m so scared of saying the wrong thing.’
I wiped at another tear and smiled encouragingly at him. ‘In the time I’ve known you, I don’t think you’ve ever said the wrong thing. Whatever it is you want to say, please just say it.’
‘Okay. Here goes. Big risk time. I want you to move in and make Bramble Cottage your home. When baby bean arrives, I want it to be her home too and I want to help you with her. I really hope you’ll say yes and help turn this place into the family home it should be. However, I can’t be certain that you feel the same way about me as I do about you. You said no once before, but I know why. I guess I said no to you too in Stardust too so we’re equal in the rejection stakes.’ He reached into his pocket again. ‘I love you, Elise, and I want to be with you, but I love our friendship too and, if that’s where you want the relationship to stay, I completely understand. I hope you’ll accept the keyring and everything that means, and I’d like you to pick one more charm to add to it.’ He opened his palm and arranged two more charms on it. ‘The hands shaking are for friendship or you can go for broke and have my heart. Or you can tell me I’ve completely overstepped the mark and I can shove my keyring where the sun doesn’t shine.’
I wiped my wet cheeks and slowly reached out my hand. ‘If you’re absolutely sure, I’d like to accept these.’ I picked the keyring and key off his knee. ‘That cottage I saw before the wedding was perfect, but I couldn’t bring myself to say yes to it when all I could picture was bean and me living here with you and Meg. I’d love to move in.’
Stevie grinned, dimples flashing. ‘That’s a relief. I wasn’t completely off the mark.’
‘No, you weren’t. As for the extra charm, I’d like to go for this one please.’ I reached forward and picked up the hands shaking.
Stevie’s dimples disappeared as he lowered his eyes to see the heart left in his palm. ‘Oh well. It was worth a try.’ He curled his hand into a loose fist and smiled weakly at me.
‘Not so fast on jumping to conclusions,’ I said, placing my hand over his fist. ‘I’ve picked the friendship charm because I personally believe that a strong friendship is the basis for all successful relationships. I know it may not have ended well, but my marriage to Gary worked at first because we were best friends and my brief encounter with Daniel didn’t work because we weren’t. You and I have a great friendship, which is why our relationship is going to work. At the risk of being labelled greedy, I’d like this too.’ I unfurled his fist and took hold of the silver heart. ‘And I give you mine in return. But I have to be absolutely sure you know what you’re doing. I’m carrying Daniel’s baby. That’s a huge ask. Have you really thought it through?’
Stevie reached out and tenderly stroked my cheek. ‘I’ve done nothing but think about it since I found you on the seafront with your first scan picture and you said you’d have chosen me if things had been different. I know I ran away like a startled rabbit, but it was only because I knew that, if I stayed any longer, I’d blurt out how I felt and I wasn’t sure the timing was right for you to hear it. I want to be with you and I don’t see your pregnancy as a problem. For me, that baby girl is an added bonus. Not only would I get to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love, but I get a baby daughter too. It doesn’t get much better than that. So stop worrying that it’s a huge burden, will you? Because you couldn’t be further from the truth. Do you believe me?’
I nodded as another tear slipped down my cheek and Stevie wiped it gently.
‘Are you sure I haven’t pushed you into this? Was the keyring too much? Clare said it might scare you off, suggesting you move in immediately, but it was killing me viewing those houses with you when all I could do was picture you and baby bean here with Meg and me. I wondered if I should have just asked you on a date again, but I didn’t think we had the luxury of time. You need somewhere to live before the birth and I just thought why not let it be here.’
‘Back up a minute,’ I said. ‘You m
entioned Clare…?’
Stevie wrinkled his nose. ‘I wasn’t meant to say anything. Please don’t be mad at her. All she did was give me a little hope at the wedding that you might feel the same way as me. Then, when I got your text on Christmas Eve, I dared to believe that maybe she was right. Then she called me and pretty much ordered me to grow some and jump you. I decided to go for the gentler approach.’
I laughed. ‘She is right. I love you too, Stevie. So much that it hurts. I really do want to move in and I really do want to be with you. Now can we stop talking because there’s something I’ve been dying to do.’
‘What’s that?’
I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. ‘This.’
For the third time ever, our lips met and this time neither of us needed to pull away. I closed my eyes as I melted into the most amazing kiss of my lifetime. Soft, sensuous, and absolutely perfect. Last year had been about getting over Gary and finding myself. With my re-found interest in writing, standing up to Gary’s mother and standing up to mine too, I’d finally achieved that. This year was about starting over with Stevie and I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be or anyone I’d rather be with. Happy New Year? Yes, and Happy New Life too!
The End
Acknowledgements
Exactly nine months have passed between the launch of my debut novel, Searching for Steven, and this follow-up. I still can’t quite believe that I’m a published author and expect to wake up one day and discover it’s all been a lovely dream.
In my dedication, I thanked my mum. As well as proof-reading and providing feedback on both novels (and my novella, Raving About Rhys), she’s been an invaluable one-woman marketing tool. I don’t think anyone in the village where she lives has been spared from her polite … shall we say encouragement … to buy her daughter’s book. Pretty much everywhere she visited in the caravan last year has had a promotional postcard or two left behind in receptions or shower blocks … just in case!
I had a launch party to celebrate the release of Steven and I was quite over-whelmed by the turn-out. I’d like to thank all the friends and family who joined me on such a wonderful occasion, especially those who travelled a long way to do so. I love my extended family and it’s always great to have an excuse to get together. My dad came up trumps with a homemade blue plaque to celebrate me placing Whitsborough Bay on the international literary map which has pride of place on my office wall. Aren’t dads great?
A huge debt of gratitude goes to anyone who has bought Steven or Rhys, whether in paperback, download or both. I’m particularly grateful to those who have taken the time and trouble to give a review. It makes such a difference to a writer. I wonder if the astonishment at complete strangers buying and loving my work will ever go away.
My local press have been amazing. Pete Spence at The Scarborough Review has posted several articles, and The Scarborough News and Yorkshire Post both featured large spreads ahead of the launch. North Yorkshire Libraries have been super supportive too. They’ve eagerly stocked my book and I’ve had great fun delivering talks at Scarborough, Eastfield, Filey and Whitby libraries. As the series is set in a fictional version of my hometown of Scarborough, it’s pretty special when the local press and libraries are so supportive. My local Waterstones even stocked Steven. It was amazing to see him on the shelves of a real bookstore! I hope they don’t mind me relocating copies from the general fiction section to the romance one. Well, it had to be done!
Thank you to my writing family, the Write Romantics, for their ongoing support and encouragement, especially Alys West and Sharon Booth for chats over cake, and Jo Bartlett and Sharon for their beta reading skills. Jo read Gary a few times as he went through some major changes, and I’m eternally grateful for her ideas and suggestions when I hit a sticky patch … or five. Speaking of beta readers, thank you also to “the usual suspects” — mum, sisters-in-law Clare and Sue, and friends Liz and Nicola for reading, proofing and giving feedback on Gary. You’re all amazing.
Finally, it’s a huge hug for my husband, Mark, and my daughter, Ashleigh. Ashleigh (age 9) is showing signs of following in mummy’s footsteps as she’s constantly writing which makes me very proud. Mark needs a thank you because he nearly read Steven. He doesn’t read books so reading romance books certainly wasn’t going to be high on his to do list. I told him he didn’t have to, but he managed to start Steven on holiday. He actually read several chapters. But then the holiday ended. Perhaps he’ll read some more next time we have a holiday ;) Thank you for trying! xxx
Getting over Gary (Whitsborough Bay Trilogy Book 2) Page 32