I answered, feeling giddy with excitement, and he told me a hotel porter was on his way up to collect my bags, and Guido, who was already waiting outside, would be taking me straight to him. I hoped I was dressed up enough. Last time I’d stayed, he’d taken me to some quite fancy restaurants, the kind you had to book months in advance, but he’d been able to snag a table at short notice. There were bonuses to having money and a recognisable name. He’d found it highly amusing, though, when I’d admitted to him that gorgeous as the gourmet food had been, I much preferred the slices of pizza and New York cheesecake we’d had from a walk-in place in Little Italy.
Guido was waiting with the AMD luxury limo and helped me into the back with a smile as the hotel porters loaded my two cases into the boot. Then I sat back and gazed out of the privacy windows, drinking in the vistas of my soon-to-be new home. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to living in a city, but being with Miller was more important.
I was surprised when instead of pulling up at his building on the Upper East Side, Guido parked at the head of Central Park. As I stepped out of the car, my breath was stolen from me. Miller was waiting, never looking more handsome, in a bespoke custom-fit tuxedo, standing by a horse and carriage. The two horses and fairy-tale, Cinderella-style carriage were white, and everything had been adorned with red roses.
‘I thought it would be a nice night to have a ride around the park, to end a memorable day in a memorable way,’ he confirmed, as I stared up at him in awe. He kissed me, then helped me up into the carriage and jumped in himself, draping his arm around my shoulder as our driver and an assistant called the horses to walk on.
‘This is amazing,’ I cooed as I snuggled against him, my eyes wide with excitement as we trotted through the park, a number of other carriages following us. The sun was just setting as we pulled up at the Bethesda Terrace, with a magical fountain set below it.
‘Come on, let’s go for a walk,’ Miller suggested as he hopped out and held out his hand to assist me.
‘What’s going on? Is tonight a special horse and carriage night for gay couples and we’ve gate crashed?’ I asked, as I noticed sets of men alighting from each of the four carriages that had followed us.
‘No,’ Miller laughed. ‘It can be kind of dangerous in the park at night. They’re some of my security team, to make sure we’re safe and to give us some privacy.’
‘Privacy for what? I’ve got to tell you that after an over-amorous dolphin called Mahi tried to mate with me in broad daylight in Mexico, I’m over the whole public-sex thing.’
‘We have a lot of catching up to do,’ he said with an incredulous look, then wove his fingers through mine as he led me down the steps at the side of the terrace and across to the imposing fountain. I gasped as the warm white lights that had lit up the fountain and terrace changed to hues of red, pink, and purple.
‘It’s so beautiful, Miller,’ I exclaimed, gazing up at it in wonder.
‘I thought you’d like it,’ he confirmed, letting go of my hand as I stepped a little closer. ‘And I figured as our relationship started with water, it would be as good a place as any to take it to the next level.’
‘You want to climb in the fountain?’ I giggled, as I leaned over the side of it and dipped my hand into the cold water. ‘Miller?’ I looked around, wondering why he wasn’t answering me, and inhaled sharply, my hands flying to my mouth to see him on one knee, holding out an exclusive Havershams’ leather ring box.
‘I promised soon, Abbie, and I like to keep my word. These last few months without you have been the most miserable of my life. I’ve missed your crazy sense of humor, your laugh, your smile, your cuddles, and your kisses, especially your kisses,’ he grinned with a twinkle in his eye. ‘Marry me, Abbie Carter. Marry me and start a family with me, so we can give our children a life filled with all of the love that we missed from some of ours. Marry me and–’
I cut him off in his prime by throwing myself at him, thudding against his chest as I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around his neck.
‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!’ I cried. He laughed and wrapped his arms around me tightly as he kissed my neck.
‘I wasn’t done, I had a whole heartfelt speech prepared.’
‘It doesn’t matter, you had me at the first “Marry me,” Miller.’
Chapter Sixteen
June
‘WE’RE DOING THIS? WE’RE really doing this?’ I asked, yet more tears appearing for the umpteenth time today as we hugged each other, the soothing noise of the fountain behind us gurgling away.
‘We’re doing this,’ he confirmed, gently prising me away from his body, then sliding one of his hands across my cheek to palm it as we exchanged an emotionally charged look. He leaned forwards and kissed me softly. It wasn’t a kiss of passion, the kind of kiss that ignited my body, but a loving kiss, the kind that ignited my heart and reminded me how in love I was with this man. ‘You realise you said yes without even seeing the ring?’ he whispered as our lips parted, but our foreheads remained touching.
‘I’m not marrying the ring, I’m marrying you,’ I reminded him.
‘Which is why I should have asked you sooner, Abbie. You have no idea what it means to me that you’re not bothered that I’m August Miller Davis, that you’d marry plain old Miller Davis, the kid that came out of the foster system without a penny to his name.’
‘You should be so proud of yourself, Miller, for what you’ve achieved. I know I am. How did you sort … I only left you a few hours ago, how did you organise all of this and a ring so fast?’
‘The flowers, the carriage ride, and the colored fountain were easy, money talks,’ he chuckled. ‘But the ring, well, that was harder. I spent weeks searching for the perfect one, the one that you wouldn’t feel embarrassed or uncomfortable wearing because it was too ostentatious for you. But I also wanted one that told everyone how much you meant to me, that warned other guys to take a hike, that you were already taken. But most of all, I wanted it to mean something to us both. I wanted it to remind us of the first moment we met, that split-second that took both of our breaths’ away because we knew we’d just looked at our soul mate.’
‘Weeks? But … I only proposed today, I don’t understand,’ I replied, my eyes flitting across his face in confusion.
‘I came to England with Quinn with the intention of proposing to you, Abbie, wanting to have my only family, my new sister, with me when I did. But I royally screwed up my chances of that when I was tempted to make you jealous first, to make you realize how much you wanted me, and you ran away instead. I already had the ring, I just needed the girl.’
‘You’ve got her,’ I nodded vehemently, overwhelmed to know that even though I thought I’d chased him, he’d been chasing me first without me knowing it. I knew how hard that must have been for him. I swallowed a lump of emotion as he slowly opened up the leather box, and I inhaled sharply, stunned. Traditional it wasn’t, massive it wasn’t, but it was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen, and the second I saw it, I understood the significance, which made it even more special. It was a slim platinum band with a modern design that had a square white diamond at its centre, then brightly coloured square and rectangular diamonds of varying sizes surrounding it. I saw purple, pink, yellow, orange, green, turquoise, and fuchsia. ‘My dress, it’s my technicolour bridesmaid dress,’ I exclaimed in wonder.
‘I got it to remind me of the first moment I saw you, but if you hate it as much as you did that dress, I can get you another. I can get you anything you want, Abbie,’ he stated earnestly.
‘No, the dress I hated, the ring though … My God, the ring … I love it, almost as much as I love you,’ I uttered, tears of happiness streaming down my face as he slid it onto my ring finger, then clasped my face and kissed me, full of passion this time. We finally broke for air and he wiped the tears off my cheeks, then kissed the tip of my nose.
‘When’s your flight home?’ he asked as he helped me to my feet.
> ‘Sunday lunch time,’ I stated apologetically. ‘In case you said no, I didn’t want to be here any longer than I needed to be.’
‘I’m sorry I made you doubt what you mean to me, Abbie, I never meant to hurt you.’
‘Nor me you,’ I said sincerely, accepting his hand. Our fingers laced together tightly as we walked back towards the steps, his entourage following at a discreet distance. We stayed silent on the journey out of the park, just soaking up the atmosphere, smiling at each other, letting everything sink in. I kept looking down at my ring in amazement. I was engaged. I was really engaged. Maybe the curse of “never the bride” was really going to be broken. I couldn’t wait to ring Georgie, Daphne, and Charlie to tell them the news.
I couldn’t stop laughing when I discovered that our exclusive restaurant booking was none other than the pizza and cheesecake shop in Little Italy. He’d reserved a window countertop seat, and we sat on high stools feeding each other gooey slices as people stared at him, overdressed in his tuxedo, and we toasted our engagement with a cheap bottle of their best sparkling wine. Despite all of his money, Miller was realising it was the simple things that made him happiest. And he’d made me so happy by coming here and not going crazy with an expensive celebration.
‘Seriously, how much more cheesecake are you going to eat?’ he groaned, as I started forking his leftovers. ‘I haven’t seen you in forever, I want to get you home so I can check out the sexy underwear you promised me.’
‘We have all the time in the world now for you to check me out in sexy underwear,’ I reminded him. I really needed to go on a shopping spree while I was in one of the shopping capitals of the world. Shrewsbury was great and all, but New York was going to take some beating when it came to kitting myself out to make sure I kept my man satisfied. ‘Oh, Miller, I’m so happy,’ I exclaimed as I looked down at my ring again.
‘Me too, baby. So, it looks like instead of attending weddings, we have one of our own to plan.’
‘So it seems. Are you the rare species of male who wants to be involved in the planning?’
‘Afraid so. I already know where, and I won’t take no for an answer because it’s important to me. But I’ll leave the when and the reception to you.’
‘Oh, ok,’ I replied, somewhat subdued. I already knew where I wanted to have it, but it wasn’t like I could have everything my way. We were a couple, it was a joint decision.
‘I want us to get married at home.’
‘A service in your penthouse?’ I asked, slightly confused, as I swallowed the last delicious crumb of his cheesecake and dabbed my lips with the napkin.
‘No,’ he replied, shaking his head. ‘Home is Dilbury, where your heart and your friends are. And wherever you are, Abbie, from now on I’ll follow.’
‘I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say.’ My heart was beating fast at the implication. I loved him, I’d accepted that I needed to be in New York to be with him, but deep down I’d always miss Dilbury, I’d always have an element of sadness that we couldn’t make it work there as our permanent home.
‘A man’s job is to make his woman happy, Abbie. And the fact that you were prepared to leave behind all of those memories, and your friends, to be here with me means more than you’ll ever know. But I’ve had time to think too while we were separated, and I planned to tell you this when I came to England last time, before you crumpled my heart and left. New York isn’t my home, it’s just a convenient base. I’ve never really had somewhere I could call home. I moved from town to town, family to family, until I talked my way into a job as a sales assistant at a gaming shop and worked my way up to manager, where I was able to earn the money I needed to set up my own firm from my apartment. I settled in New York when my company went global because it fit my needs at the time, and I felt bound to it as I searched for my family. But the truth is, the times I’ve felt most at home have been the times in Holly Cottage, with you, in Dilbury.’
‘You’re saying … you’re saying you want to move to England, to live with me in Dilbury?’ I whispered, hardly daring to hope that was where he was going with this.
‘I am,’ he confirmed as I stared at him, totally elated. ‘I’d obviously need office space there, and I’d still need to come to New York on a regular basis for meetings, but I can oversee things from pretty much anywhere in the world. It’s time I took a step back and let my directors do the job I pay them so well for, running my company, while I focus on the designing and testing, which is what I really love.’
‘So what you really want is an excuse for a cushy gaming room so you can sit and play all day,’ I laughed, wondering if anything could possibly make this day better.
‘Pretty much,’ he chuckled in response. ‘But your cottage isn’t big enough if we want children, which I think we’ve already agreed we do. How would you feel about us extending it, adding on a few more bedrooms and some space for me to work?’
‘To make it into our home, while still having memories of my childhood, my dad, and Sumo? I’d feel amazing about it,’ I confirmed excitedly.
‘Then forget your flight on Sunday. Stay with me for a while, give me a few days to arrange for some time away in England, and we’ll head back together next Friday and start making plans for the house and the wedding, ok?’
‘Ok,’ I confirmed, as I leaned forward to plant an ecstatic kiss on his face and promptly slipped off my stool and landed on the floor with a thud and a cackle of laughter.
Miller made some calls as we headed back through the city to his, and I checked the time before FaceTiming Georgie first, propping my iPhone up on my knees. I had to force myself to stop bouncing them, I was so excited to share my news with her. She answered in an instant, her sparkling azure eyes wide with anticipation as she spoke in an excited rush.
‘Oh my God, I’ve been on tenterhooks all morning, Daphne too. She’s here waiting for the news with me. Let me angle the screen so you can see us both,’ she suggested, everything moving in and out of focus until I finally saw them both sitting next to each other at her kitchen table.
‘Oh, Abbie, please tell us it’s good news?’ Daphne’s nervous voice asked.
‘He put a ring on it!’ I squealed, holding up my hand to the camera for them to see. I laughed as their screams of excitement filled the limo, and Miller shook his head, an amused smile on his lips as he tried to carry on with his business call. I filled them in on the day’s happenings and suggested they remain sitting down before I told them that we were coming home, that I wasn’t leaving Dilbury and it would be our main base. ‘Georgie,’ I moaned, tearing up again as she started sobbing.
‘I’m sorry. I know I said I was fine with you moving away, but I lied through my teeth. I was just trying to be the supportive best friend. I never wanted you to go, and I was so upset that you were going to leave us, and now I’m just so happy that you’re not,’ she sniffed, disappearing off screen for a second and returning with a box of tissues. She pulled one out to wipe her eyes and honk her nose.
‘When and where will you get married, Abbie?’ Daphne asked.
‘Miller said he wants to get married in Dilbury church, which has made me so happy, but we haven’t discussed the rest, other than we both want it to be soon. But I need to ask you both something important first. I don’t have my dad to give me away, and I can only think of one person who could ever stand in his place, who would make it truly special for me, and that’s you, Daphne. You’ve been like a mother to me ever since I was little. I’d really love it if you’d walk me up the aisle and give me away?’ I waited with bated breath as her eyes filled with tears and she snatched the box of tissues that Georgie was hogging out of her hands.
‘Oh, Abbie. You know I think of you and Georgie as the daughters I never had. I’d be honoured to,’ she nodded, blowing her nose as Georgie did hers again. ‘But I’m so slow on my feet. We’re going to have to have a serious think about your entrance music, or they’ll be playing Here Comes The Bride ab
out fifty times on repeat by the time I escort you from the door to the altar,’ she sniffed, wiping away her tears.
‘How about we get you one of those fancy zippy scooters you mentioned then, and you can drive me up the aisle?’ I suggested, making them both laugh.
‘I think Reverend Potter will have something to say about that!’ she scoffed.
‘We’ll work it out, Daphne. I don’t care how slowly we make our way to Miller, as long as I reach him. And Georgie, my dear, dear, friend, Georgie. You know that there’s no one else I could ever consider for the position of chief bridesmaid, don’t you?’
‘Well, I should think not!’ she retorted sternly, before breaking into a wide smile and eagerly nodding her acceptance.
‘I’ll ask Charlie to be a bridesmaid too, and maybe Quinn, Miller’s sister. I’m going to spend the day with her tomorrow, getting to know her. I really just want a nice, quiet, simple wedding with friends from the village and Miller’s friends.’
‘It sounds wonderful, Abbie, but aren’t you forgetting something?’ Georgie added, pulling a face at me.
‘What?’ I asked, giving her a puzzled look. It wasn’t like it was going to be a huge wedding. Neither of us really had any family to speak of and our circle of close friends was pretty small.
‘The pact,’ she reminded me with a tut. ‘The thirteen bridesmaids from school, including that horror, Fi-Fi?’
‘Oh no,’ I groaned, my shoulders slumping in defeat. I didn’t want a ridiculous big wedding, I didn’t want sixteen bridesmaids, and I certainly didn’t want that vicious tramp turning up and ruining my big day, the way she’d ruined the last two weddings. How the hell was I going to get out of this?
Never the Bride (Dilbury Village #1) Page 27