‘I think, Frances, that we arrived at the wrong time,’ Vivien remarked shrewdly from just inside the doorway as she took in Olivia’s glowing features and the slight hint of impatience on Bernard’s rugged face.
‘Your timing was not at fault,’ he corrected suprisingly, glancing across at Olivia in a way that stained her cheeks a delicate pink. ‘I’ve asked Olivia to become my wife.’
Vivien’s expression registered surprise and pleasure which was almost comical, but Frances was the first to rally. ‘Olivia, are you? Will you marry Daddy?’
Olivia touched the shining head gently. ‘Yes, if you don’t mind having me for a stepmother. ’
‘Oh, there is magic in the baobab tree!’ Frances rejoiced, tears chasing each other down her cheeks. ‘Do you remember the day we made a wish?’
Olivia smiled. ‘Yes, I remember it well.’
‘I wished then that you’d marry Daddy,’ Frances announced without embarrassment.
‘Darling, did you really?’
‘Cross my heart,’ Frances nodded, and Olivia caught her close in a rush of warmth and kissed her.
‘As a matter of interest, Olivia, what did you wish for that day?’ Bernard asked with a speculative grin on his face.
‘You’re not going to believe this,’ Olivia laughed selfconsciously as she glanced up at Bernard and Vivien who stood waiting expectantly for her reply. ‘I wished that Frances’ wish would come true.’
There was a moment of absolute silence while they digested her statement, then a burst of laughter followed as they realised the significance of her wish.
‘May I say how very happy I am for both of you,’ Vivien said eventually, controlling her laughter as she embraced them both affectionately and enthusiastically. ‘It’s what I hoped for all along.’
‘We realise that,’ Bernard remarked, grinning wickedly across at Olivia who had gone through quite a few agonising situations because of Vivien’s clever manoeuvring.
‘Come along, Frances,’ Vivien laughed, quite unabashed. ‘Let’s go and have something to eat. Your father and Olivia will join as a little later at the show grounds, I’m sure.’
Frances allowed herself to be led off quite happily knowing that Olivia would always be there in future and, as the door closed behind them, a peculiar little silence hovered in the lounge between Olivia and the man she loved so deeply.
‘Bernard?’ she questioned with a strange uncertainty as she saw a frown slowly caressing his brow.
‘I know it’s not going to be easy taking on a husband with a ready-made daughter, but—’
‘I love you both very much,’ she interrupted, banishing his doubts as she went swiftly into his outstretched arms.
‘Where was I when we were so rudely interrupted?’ he queried, sliding his exploring lips along the column of her neck and finding the vulnerable little spot behind her ear. Tremors of delight raced through her, and she pressed closer to him. ‘Oh, yes,’ he murmured huskily, ‘I seem to remember that I was about to do this.’
His lips found hers, wreaking havoc with her emotions as she clung to him unashamedly to do so. Passion flared between them as she melted into his embrace, her body yielding to the demand of his, and it was Bernard who finally released her with a groan on his lips.
‘I think we’d better get back to the show grounds,’ he smiled a little unsteadily, ‘or I might not be responsible for my actions in a moment. ’
Surfacing from her dreamy-eyed state of bliss, Olivia laughed softly as she drew his head down to hers and kissed him briefly on the lips before she left him alone for a moment and went through to her room to do something about her appearance. It was like a dream, she told her image in the mirror silently. An almost impossible dream that would most definitely come true despite all the doubts she had nurtured over the past months, and with Bernard, solid and dependable beside her, the dream would continue through all eternity. His heart belonged to her, as hers belonged to him. Always!
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Magic of the Baobab Page 19