by Holly Martin
There was another silence from his dad, then Dougie heard him sit down, probably in his favourite battered old leather recliner judging by the tell-tale squeak. ‘Is that what you think?’
‘You were happy for years before you got married and afterwards you would argue constantly. I can’t see how I would think anything else.’
His dad sighed. ‘We were never happy, Dougie. Well, I guess we were at the beginning, in fact the first two or three years we were together it was pretty bloody great. And then, I guess we just became really complacent. We stopped making an effort. We’d go to work, we’d come home, we’d end up eating at different times because our work would mean we’d never get home at the same time and we’d both go to bed too exhausted to even talk let alone do anything else. We didn’t argue, because I think one or both of us would have had to care to argue and we just didn’t. We existed. I don’t think we were unhappy but we definitely weren’t happy either. We never got married because there was always something more important to spend our money on – even after you were born, marriage just didn’t seem a priority. We worked fine, so why do anything to change that? But when you were thirteen, your mum had an affair.’
Dougie sat up straight. ‘With somebody on the island?’
‘Somebody from her work on St Mary’s.’
‘I had no idea,’ Dougie said softly.
‘We agreed not to tell you. I don’t blame your mum at all. I neglected her, I know that. We hadn’t made love for years; of course she was going to go somewhere else. It was a bit of a wake-up call for me. I didn’t want to lose her. She promised that it wouldn’t happen again and for some reason we both fought for our relationship, when there was nothing left to fight for. I thought maybe if I asked her to marry me it would show her that I did love her. So we got married. And it obviously didn’t change anything. I tried to change, I made an effort, I plied her with gifts but nothing I did was ever good enough, I guess it was too little too late. I didn’t trust her and your mum felt trapped and probably angry at me for all those wasted years. She’d had a taste of what it felt like to be adored and she resented me for never giving her that. All that anger, contempt, frustration and disappointment came out in arguments over the next few years. I think she continued to have her affair and, in an attempt to stop it and to inject some excitement into our lives, I moved us to America where she promptly left me. It wasn’t marriage that killed our relationship; we’d managed that on our own years before.’
Dougie stood up and went to the window, staring out at the fairy lights that were strewn across the street. He didn’t know what to say. For years, he had believed that marriage was the thing that had ruined his parents’ relationship when that hadn’t been the case at all.
‘Would you ever get married again?’ Dougie asked.
His dad gave a little chuckle. ‘Well actually that’s the reason I’m calling. Me and Gaby have got engaged.’
Dougie felt his mouth pop open. ‘Wow, Dad, that’s… That’s fantastic. This is… I… This is so surprising. You seemed to be so anti-relationships for so long after Mum left. I never thought that you would ever find love, least of all get married again.’
‘I love her and I want more than anything to make this work. I learned my lesson with your mum – I know that you have to make an effort and take the time to talk and listen, really listen. I know I need to make her feel special every single day and tell her that I love her. Maybe if I’d done all that with your mum we would have still been together, or maybe it never would have lasted between us. I know we never showed you what a loving relationship really looks like but if you want a good role model for marriage then you need look no further than Eden’s parents. They have been happily married for probably forty years and from what I saw when I lived there they were both completely and utterly in love with each other.’
Dougie smiled. ‘They still are now, anyone can see that.’
‘Exactly. Dougie, don’t be afraid of marriage. If you both love each other then no bit of paper or a fancy white dress will ever take that away from you. If you truly do love Eden with everything you have and you want forever with her then ask her to marry you. I don’t mean now, you’ve only been together for a few days, but maybe, a few months down the line, if you still love her as much as you do now, then ask her. I tell you, nothing will ever beat that feeling of seeing the woman you love crying with happiness because you ask her to marry you. If you can make her that happy, then why wouldn’t you do it?’
Dougie didn’t say anything for the longest time. He felt such a sense of relief all of a sudden. Why had he been so fearful of marriage? His dad was right, it was silly to be scared of a label or a marriage certificate. He knew what he had with Eden and was confident she felt the same way. And maybe it was a bit too soon to be rushing into that, but he wasn’t scared of it any more.
‘Thanks Dad.’
‘Oh, I’m glad I could help.’
‘So when’s the wedding?’
‘We’re probably looking at late next year. I think Gaby wants a Christmas wedding.’
‘Well let me know when and I’ll come over and give you away.’
His dad laughed. ‘Give Eden my love.’
‘I will.’
Dougie said his goodbyes and hung up, feeling lighter than he had in years.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eden let herself into her house later that day and was surprised to see there was no sign of Dougie. The log fire was burning merrily in the grate, the fairy lights were twinkling on the tree and the scent of her ‘Sparkling Snow’ Yankee Candle drifted around her. Dougie had clearly done everything he could think of to welcome her home, except be there himself.
She called out to him and she heard him curse upstairs, heard several bangs like he was throwing stuff inside her wardrobes, and then a thunder of feet as he came running down the stairs.
He appeared in the lounge wearing only his tight black boxers which was the best welcome home Eden had ever received.
He looked flustered as he leaned against the door frame in what he clearly hoped was a nonchalant way, but he wasn’t quite pulling it off.
‘Well this is a lovely welcome,’ Eden said, leaning up to give him a kiss and slipping her hands into the back of his shorts and giving his bum a friendly squeeze. ‘And I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re obviously up to something as you’re always up to something.’
‘I’m not up to anything,’ Dougie said and she arched an eyebrow at him. ‘OK, OK, I might have had a little accident upstairs and there might just be a very large stain underneath your bedroom rug.’
Eden laughed. ‘You really are good at this wooing malarkey, aren’t you?’
Dougie wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose. ‘Hey, I have my moments.’
‘Are you like this with all the women that you date?’
‘No, only with you.’
Eden smiled. ‘Well it seems you have me at a disadvantage. Why don’t I get out of these clothes and then we can have mad passionate sex? And for your information, welcoming me home with hot sex is probably the best way to greet me after a long day at work.’
‘We’re not having sex, well not until later, but this is much better. But yes, you definitely need to get your kit off.’
‘You’re so romantic,’ Eden said, pressing a kiss against his chest in the hope that she could put sex back on the menu. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been told to get my kit off before.’
‘Less talking, more stripping,’ Dougie said, unzipping her coat and flinging it over the back of the sofa. ‘In fact, get naked and meet me upstairs in your bedroom.’
He placed a kiss on her forehead and turned and ran back up the stairs humming ‘The Stripper’ again.
‘And we’re definitely not having sex?’ she called after him.
‘Nope.’
She thought for a moment. ‘Are we having a nudey party?’
He laughed. ‘Something like that.’
‘So how does this nudey party work?’
‘I’m going to give you a massage,’ Dougie said.
She couldn’t help but smile at that lovely gesture. ‘You are?’
He nodded. ‘I’ve looked it up and I know exactly what I’m doing.’
‘Oh, a massage courtesy of Google, I feel in very safe hands,’ she teased.
He grinned. ‘Trust me.’
She walked up to him and kissed him. ‘I do.’
‘So lie face down on the bed and we can get started.’
‘Do I get to massage you later?’ Eden said, running her hands up his strong back.
‘If you want to.’
‘I definitely want to.’
He smiled at her. ‘OK.’
She slipped out of his arms, tied her hair up in a loose bun and lay face down on the bed.
‘So I have a clementine oil to use which I thought sounded a bit more festive than the normal lavender oil. If you’re going to have a massage three days before Christmas it definitely needs to be a festive massage.’
‘Do I get to eat mince pies while you massage me?’
He chuckled as he climbed onto the bed with her. ‘No, the crumbs would get everywhere.’
‘Fair point.’
She heard him pour the oil into his hands. The smell was divine and was definitely what she had smelled when she had walked into the room.
‘Is the clementine oil what is underneath my rug?’
‘Shhh,’ Dougie said and she grinned because she guessed that it was.
He rubbed his warm hands over her shoulders and down her back to spread the oil around and then cheekily spread it over her bum too.
‘You’re such a pervert,’ Eden said.
‘Hey, a bum massage is very important if you spend a lot of time sitting down.’
‘I spend all day on my feet.’
‘That shows that your bum gets ignored. I’m here to put that right.’
‘Well, thank goodness for that.’
He pressed his thumbs gently into her spine, as he moved his hands up her back and then spread his hands out to her shoulder blades. It was heaven and she couldn’t help emitting a little moan.
He rubbed his hands round her neck, over her shoulders and then down her back, straight over her bum, his fingers trailing wonderfully over the apex of her thighs. She arched her bottom up slightly at his touch and he chuckled softly. Frustratingly he slid his hands down her thighs and to her feet, where he started massaging her toes. The feel of it sent an unexpected punch of desire straight to her stomach and she let out a noise that sounded almost animalistic.
‘Is that good?’ Dougie asked as he rubbed and stroked her toes.
‘Ah, oh god, yes don’t stop,’ Eden muttered.
He spent an inordinate amount of time on each toe and the balls of her foot before swapping over and doing the other foot. By the time he started working his way up her thighs, she was in complete heaven. He skirted his fingers round her inner thigh but she was so blissfully relaxed that he could have done anything to her and she wouldn’t have cared. He moved so he was straddling her bum, though he was clearly careful not to put any weight on her as he ran his hands up and down her back. More of the warm oil was poured onto her back and he gently rubbed it into her skin, stroking and caressing everywhere and occasionally putting slight pressure where he kneaded her muscles. Her mind cleared so she was aware only of his hands against her skin, his gentle touch. It was heavenly.
Eventually, when she was practically comatose, he pressed a kiss to the back of her head and gently climbed off her, lying down on his side next to her.
‘How was that?’ Dougie whispered.
‘I can’t move,’ Eden murmured.
‘I’ll take it that it was good then.’
She reached out and placed her hand over his heart. He linked his fingers through hers and she smiled. This was perfection.
Dougie watched Eden dozing next to him with the biggest smile on her face. He had kind of hoped the massage would lead to sex afterwards and when she had offered to massage him after he had massaged her, he loved the thought of her hands all over his body. He wasn’t going to get any of those things now but he couldn’t find it in him to care. If there was a utopia then this was it. The woman he loved lying naked in bed next to him with a smile on her face because of the way that he had taken care of her.
He looked down at her fingers entwined with his over his heart. He wanted this forever and he should have felt scared how quickly things were progressing for them but he didn’t. He knew part of that was because he already knew her so well; she was his best friend. There were no nerves or second-guessing. This was what love felt like.
‘I love you,’ he whispered and her smile impossibly grew bigger.
He stroked his hand down her hair and then down her back. She was still a little oily. He thought about getting a wet towel and cleaning her up but he didn’t want to disturb her. They could have a shower together shortly when she woke up properly. He liked the idea of that.
Her eyes fluttered open, that pretty denim blue gaze watching him with such affection.
‘Hey beautiful,’ Dougie said.
She shifted slightly so her cheek was resting on his shoulder.
‘That was wonderful, thank you.’
‘So I’m not doing too badly in the wooing?’
‘You get a gold star in wooing,’ Eden said.
‘Good to know.’
‘You know, having a massage was on my list too.’
‘Two gold stars for me then.’
She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion. ‘You’re crossing off lots of things on my list actually.’
‘Because I am the perfect boyfriend.’
‘I don’t need the perfect boyfriend, all I ever wanted was you. You don’t have to try to impress me or win my heart. It’s already yours.’ Dougie stared at her and she sat up. ‘I know you don’t believe me but you and this is everything that I want and need.’ She bit her lip as she thought for a moment. ‘I have something I want to show you.’
She swung herself off the bed and padded across the room.
‘Is the thing you wanted to show me you walking around stark naked? Because I can completely get on board with that,’ Dougie said.
Eden laughed as she walked over to a black-flowered wooden chest and lifted the lid. She fished around inside for a moment, moving aside what looked like several photo albums, diaries, souvenirs and other memorabilia from her life until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a tattered pink sparkly notebook and a deep blue diary and brought them back over to the bed and sat down next to him. She stroked her hand over the cover of the pink notebook, clearly undecided whether to show him or not.
‘I think I was around seven years old when I realised I loved you and that love has changed over the years but it was always there. I was thirteen when I made this so please bear that in mind when you look at it. It’s very embarrassing.’
She handed him the pink book and he held it in his hand, somehow feeling the weight of its importance. He opened it, the pages creaking and cracking – evidently they had not been opened for many years – and there on the first page was a photo of him and Eden stuck right in the middle of a big red heart. He smiled. The
photo had clearly been taken when they were twelve or thirteen years old and they were both wearing Santa hats and laughing. He had his arm around her shoulders and she was looking at him with complete and utter adoration and love. He ran his fingers gently over the photo.
He turned over the page and there was another faded photo of the two of them when they were no more than four years old, holding hands as they played together in the sea. This page was decorated with pink sparkly heart stickers. On the next page, also covered in hearts, was a picture of Dougie giving Eden a piggyback in a race against Rome and Bella when they were around nine or ten. This page was also graffitied with words like ‘Dougie and Eden forever’ and ‘True love always’.
He carried on flicking through. Every page was covered in hearts and words of love, surrounding photos of them in various stages of growing up, always together and side by side, always best friends. Most of the photos showed her staring at him with complete love in her eyes. He’d never seen how she felt when they were kids. He had always cared for her but his emotions hadn’t turned to love until he was much older, or maybe he had never recognised them for what they were. But it was obvious that for her those feelings had always been there. While he looked through the photos, Eden flicked through her diary, obviously trying to find the right page she wanted to show him. He turned to the last page of the notebook and smiled when he saw that it was a photo of a bride and groom, clearly cut out from a magazine, with Dougie and Eden’s heads over the top of the real heads.
‘Gah,’ Eden said, snatching it off him. ‘I’d forgotten about that page. I was thirteen, don’t judge me.’
‘I’d never do that.’
‘And if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, this is my diary. I never kept a diary religiously or wrote in it every day, but I’d write my thoughts in here from time to time so this book spans a few years. This entry is from my fifteenth birthday.’
She handed it over to him and he smiled to see her writing filled with hearts instead of dots over the Js and Is. He started to read it