It was a pile of ice chips.
Very pretty ice chips—a little heap, decorated with rose petals, the one in the middle sparkling in the candlelight.
She leant over, frowning slightly, not quite sure…
‘I thought you said it was carrot based?’ she murmured, puzzled.
Ben reached into the pile of ice and drew out the centre one, the one that sparkled. Only it wasn’t ice at all, it was—
Carat, she thought, not carrot, and her heart did a little skitter.
The waiter removed the dish, and Ben took her hand in his. ‘I love you, Daisy Fuller. I think it was the sea bass, but it could have been the tea all down your dressing gown,’ he said, making her laugh. Or cry. She wasn’t sure. And he was humming now, the tune he’d sung with Florence. Just a few bars, and then he broke off.
‘I don’t want to go down on one knee in front of everyone, but I will, if it’ll make a difference. So what’s your answer, Daisy?’ he asked softly. ‘If I promise to keep the plumbing in order and not complain about chocolate spread sandwiches, will you marry me? Will you be my wife, and give me and Florence all the love I know is in your heart?’
His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were uncertain, and she couldn’t let him struggle. ‘Yes,’ she said softly, tears filling her eyes. ‘Oh, yes, Ben, of course I will. I love you—I’ll always love you. And I’ll love Florence as if she’s my own.’
He let his breath out on a shuddering sigh, smiled and slipped the ring onto her finger, then stood up and pulled her up into his arms, laughing and hugging her until she thought her ribs might break. And then he let her go, just a little, and looked down into her eyes and kissed her.
‘Time to go somewhere a little more private,’ he murmured, and she realised that everyone was clapping and cheering.
Ben let her go. A little. He still kept his arm around her firmly, but he smiled down at her, his eyes glowing.
‘I want to set a date. And I want it to be soon.’
‘For Florence?’
‘For all of us, because until we’re married, we can’t be together when she’s there, and I’m an impatient man, I’ve realised. So—how quickly can we organise a wedding?’
She smiled. ‘Very quickly. I have two experts lined up who’ve just done it. I’ll pick their brains.’
‘Good.’ He topped up her champagne and held the glass out to her, clinking it gently with his. ‘Here’s to us.’
‘Mmm,’ she said, smiling, and sipped it. ‘This is the first time I’ve drunk champagne in a hay barn.’
He chuckled. ‘Me, too. I could grow to like it.’
‘Does Florence know?’
‘No. I expect my parents have worked it out. They heard us rehearsing the song. And there was champagne in the fridge.’
‘Maybe they were expecting to share it with us.’
‘They can have some for breakfast,’ he said, and taking the glass away from her, he laid her back against the blanket and took her in his arms…
The wedding was planned for the second weekend in September.
They booked a local venue, a hotel and leisure club that had been refurbished a few years ago and had an excellent reputation, and they’d had a cancellation. They could offer everything—the entire wedding package at a substantial discount.
They didn’t care about the discount. What they cared about was that the timing was perfect—and that was dictated as much as anything by the delivery date of the MCMA twins.
‘I can’t go until they’re 32 weeks,’ he said. ‘If they’re still OK then, we’ll grab a few days away and I’ll make sure Matt’s here until we get back, so if anything happens over the weekend, he can deliver them. And we’ll have a proper honeymoon later.’
Daisy just smiled at that. She loved him for so many reasons, but his dedication to his patients was definitely one of them, and she was more than happy to fall in with his plans, because she’d become so involved with Mel Grieves and her babies that she wanted to be there when they were born.
She was, but only just.
It was the night before the wedding, and Ben rang her at eleven. Amy was staying with her, and they were still up putting the finishing touches to her headdress when he called.
‘One of the twins is struggling. I’m going in with Matt to deliver them.’
‘I’m coming!’ she yelled, and threw the phone down and ran out of the door, leaping into his car as they pulled away.
‘Will we be in time?’ she asked desperately, and he shrugged.
‘Don’t know. Hope so. I can’t go any quicker.’
They were in time, Ben on one side, her on the other and Matt standing by, happy to let her play her part. The heartbeats had recovered, but one of the twins had been compromised for a few minutes and she didn’t know what they’d find.
Two healthy little girls, was the answer. Very small, but both a good colour, and her eyes filled with tears. Mel had had steroids a few days before, to prepare their lungs, and as they took their first breaths they pinked up beautifully and cried—not loud, not much, but enough that Ben gave a laughing sob as he handed the second one over to the SCBU nurse who was waiting.
Mel was sobbing uncontrollably, so was her husband, and Ben’s smiling eyes met Daisy’s across the table and he said, ‘How’s that for a wedding present?’
Wedding! she thought, and glanced up at the clock.
It was ten to twelve, and she looked at him and bit her lip. ‘Are you superstitious?’
He glanced at the clock and smiled again. ‘Not even slightly, but I’m not doing anything to jinx this marriage. Go home, darling. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Have a great day,’ Mel said, and Daisy stripped off her gloves and hugged her.
‘You, too. Congratulations!’
And then she ran.
He was standing there waiting for her, turned towards her with Matt at his side, and even down the length of the crowded room she could see the love in his eyes.
Her father walked her down the aisle between all their family and friends, Florence following behind her with Amy in charge.
Amy, she thought with a flicker of worry, but then she was at Ben’s side, and her hand was in his, and she could feel the love radiating from him and warming her heart. ‘OK?’ he asked softly.
OK? She was marrying the man she loved—the only man she’d ever truly loved. He’d given her so much, taken away the pain and hurt that was her constant companion, and he and Florence had filled her life with love and laughter. It was, quite simply, the best day of her life.
She turned and looked up at him, at the love shining in his eyes, the incredible depth of kindness, the tenderness, the passion. OK?
‘Very OK,’ she said, and smiled.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1615-0
TEMPTED BY DR. DAISY
First North American Publication 2011
Copyright © 2011 by Caroline Anderson
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