by S J Crabb
Spinning around, I just stare in amazement at the person who has never been far from my thoughts since he left that day and this time the solitary tear is joined by happy ones as I break away and run into those arms I’ve craved for so long.
As they fold around me, I weep with relief because standing holding me so tightly in his arms, is the man I love, Finn.
For a moment, he holds me tightly and I squeeze him just as hard. There are no words because they don’t matter. All that matters is that Finley’s back and my heart is so full I couldn’t feel any happier.
He strokes my hair lovingly and whispers, “Translated, that means, I missed you, beautiful lady.”
My voice shakes as I whisper, “I thought you weren’t coming back.”
He pulls back a little and the twinkle in his amazing blue eyes tells me he still feels the same as he says huskily, “I was always coming back, it just took me a little longer than I wanted it to.”
Again, words don’t matter because it’s more important to share a kiss. In fact, we could just kiss all night long if I have my way because I don’t care about anything other than he’s here in my arms, which have felt so empty since he left.
After a lot of kissing, he pulls back and says softly, “I missed you so much. You were the only thing keeping me going and it was the thought of this moment that got me through.”
“Through what, Finn, please, you need to tell me for my own sanity?”
He pulls me close again and whispers, “I’ll tell you everything.”
He takes my hand and pulls me over to the window and onto the stone window ledge overlooking the magnificent landscape. We are sitting in one of the four turreted rooms and it’s as if time has stood still. There is no furniture and no decoration. We could be from any era, and that’s what’s so romantic about this moment. Two people with so much love in their heart about to reach an understanding.
Finn looks at me and I gasp at the tortured look in his eyes. “I could never discuss my occupation because I signed the official secrets act. However, I can tell you a little about it now because I left my job today.”
I stare at him in shock and he smiles reassuringly. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and when I met you, it reinforced the fact I couldn’t continue.”
“Why?” My voice comes out in a whisper and he squeezes my hand.
“Because it’s a job for a single man with no ties. I always loved it but as I grew older, I realised I wanted more. I wanted to fall in love and share my life with someone special. Marry, have kids, you know, the full works.”
“Why couldn’t you do both?”
“Because of what I did. No man worth any value would subject his family to the uncertainty it brings. I would never be able to discuss it and disappear for months on end. I may not make it back at all, and that’s why most of the guys are single. It would be selfish not to be.”
“Oh my god, Finn, are you James Bond?”
Throwing his head back, he laughs loudly and I stare at him in wonder. He’s really here. I can’t believe he is. Maybe I’m hallucinating because this all so random.
Shaking his head, he says softly, “Not really, but along those lines. I work for the Special Air Service (SAS).”
I stare at him in shock as he carries on. “Our unit undertakes a number of roles, including covert reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, direct action and hostage rescue. We are a secret team of guys who take on demanding operations. It’s not glamorous and it’s not much fun but we get to travel the world, albeit undercover and usually to places not in your standard travel brochure.”
“But…” I shake my head in amazement and stutter, “But, isn’t that dangerous?”
He nods. “Extremely, but we are trained in most situations and work as a team and back each other up.”
I can’t get my head around what he’s just told me. He’s a fighter, a man of courage and bravery.
As I look at him, I see him in a different light. He looks tired, and I see the storm of many bad memories in his eyes. He looks weary and jaded and I can tell he’s lost weight and my heart aches for the torment he must have gone through over the past few months.
I make to speak, but he places his finger over my lips and smiles gently. “That’s all you need to know, Adams. Now you know where I’ve been and why I couldn’t get in touch. However, that’s all in my past now because that was my last operation. As of today, I’m a civilian and nobody is happier about that than me.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Explain.”
I take his hand and raise it to my lips and kiss it softly before saying, “I’m far happier because I’ve got you back in one piece and sitting with me now. Nobody could be happier than I am right now and it’s because of you.”
Just for a moment, we stare at each other with stupid grins on our faces. Then almost at the same time, we shift closer and are soon in each other’s arms, kissing, laughing, grinning and generally doing anything at all that requires some form of contact with the other.
Life began for Finn and I that day. No more secrets and no more extended time apart. Finley and Lily did reach an understanding in that room and it proves that dreams can come true and that life can be amazing if you step outside your comfort zone and take a chance on something incredible.
Epilogue
Three Years Later
“Hurry up, Finn, they’re here.”
I tap my foot impatiently because I’ve been planning this moment for the last year. Trust Finn to mess up the big welcome and I yell again, “Finley, drop whatever you’re doing and get here now.”
“Stop shouting, you’ll wake the locals who are probably enjoying a siesta right about now.”
He slips his arm around my waist and pulls me tightly against him, whispering, “I wish we were having a siesta, although I doubt we’d be sleeping.”
Batting his hand away, I take some deep, calming breaths and readjust my mind that’s always scrambled when he’s near.
“There will be plenty of time for that later. This all needs to be perfect, and I can’t believe there’s a cloud in the sky. That is so inconvenient.”
Finn laughs and rolls his eyes. “One cloud in the sky and it’s the end of your world. The fact there’s also blue sky and sunshine is obviously not good enough.”
I can’t help but grin and he smiles softly. “It will all be fine; you know we’ve thought of everything.”
Nodding, I lean against him as has become the norm for the last three years. In fact, I can’t even remember a time when he wasn’t by my side. As mum always told me, he’s the left to my right. The salt to my pepper and I’m happy to say I was able to tick several items off Aunt Daisy’s list with him. Fall in love, find my soulmate, be happy, all came true when Finn came back into my life.
As we stand waiting for our guests to arrive, he says softly, “Do you regret anything?”
“Of course not, do you?”
“No, but I had already made my decision when I came back. You had a lot more to choose between and I hope that you never regret your choice.”
Snuggling up to him, I say emphatically, “How could I regret choosing us Finn? There was never any choice to make. As soon the seed was sown, it took immediate root. I have never looked back, unlike Sable all those years ago.”
Finn nods, and I can tell he’s also thinking of what happened next.
When Sable and Arthur put their proposition to us, it was a total shock at first, but over the next few days we began to see the sense in it. Sable and Arthur would return to London and Sable would take back her job as editor-in-chief of Designer Homes - on a budget. In turn, Finn and I would remain in Provence and they would pay us to oversee the renovation of the Château. To be honest, we couldn’t have been more eager and as the months went by, we fell completely head over heels with the place, as well as each other.
Then Finn sold his house in Kent and I… well, let’s just say I became a woman of means after A
unt Daisy’s estate was divided between the family. We pooled our resources and bought a large share of what is proving to be a solid investment.
Château de rêves, or castle of dreams, is set for a bright future, as the hard work of the last three years is about to pay off. It’s ready for business and opens its doors to the paying public exactly three weeks to the day.
Finn’s hand slips into mine, as we hear the sound of vehicles crunching along the newly laid gravel drive. “You’ve made me so happy, Lily. I just wanted to tell you that before you start ordering me around like a drill sergeant.”
He winks and I roll my eyes. “You love it, it reminds you of your former life.”
Finn grins and my heart beats just a little faster as I think about how different our lives could have been. If anything had happened to him in the line of duty, I would never have found such happiness. I believe that everything happens for a reason and the letter I found in Aunt Daisy’s dressing room that day set me on my path to my own future.
Where she never followed her heart and let life interfere with destiny, I learned that love was the most important gift you can ever receive and without it, the rest is meaningless.
As I glance over at the bank of daisies that we planted in her honour, I smile and offer a silent prayer of thanks to the woman who always did mean everything to me. We trod the same path, but when it forked, we chose a different route. Without her to show me the way, I wouldn’t be here now and I will be eternally grateful to her.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Finn looks at me with concern and I smile. “I was just thinking of Aunt Daisy and how things could have been so different. I owe this all to her, really.”
Finn nods. “She would have been so proud of you.”
“Yes, I think she would.”
The minibus stops and the guests start to spill out and my eyes mist over as I see the people that mean everything to me – my family and friends. Yes, in three weeks’ time we open the doors to the Castle of Dreams, where many weddings and social events are already booked. However, the first one is very close to our hearts because in a few days, Finn and I will marry in this amazing place that we now call home. The people crowding out of the bus are the people we love the most, and yet there is one important person missing.
With a slight break in my voice, I say, “It’s a shame Aunt Daisy couldn’t be here. She would have loved to help me design the Château.”
Finn pulls me tightly by his side and whispers, “She’s here, Lily, she always will be because she’s held safe in your heart. Every time you think of her she will be on hand.”
“How did I get so lucky to find you?”
“Keep telling yourself that darlin’ because I’m guessing you are going to have your patience sorely tested over the next few days.”
We share a grin and I roll my eyes as I spy mum arguing with the driver and laugh softly. “You know, I wouldn’t have it any other way. How can I possibly complain when all the people I love most are surrounding me at a time that is surely the happiest in any girl’s life? You know, this really is the castle of dreams because mine came true when I met you.”
“Keep talking.”
He laughs as mum shouts, “Honestly, Lily, the people here drive terribly. For starters, they drive on the wrong side of the road and don’t even measure their distance by miles. I’m telling you, we’re lucky to be alive.”
Finn laughs as I roll my eyes and say with resignation. “Ok, we may as well just get on with it but I’m counting on you to keep me sane until they all leave.”
As I walk towards the mother I adore, eager to enjoy every minute I have with her, I do so with a spring in my step and love in my heart. This is my happy ever after and I have absolutely no regrets and I owe it all to Aunt Daisy’s letter.
The End
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The
Wedding
at the
Castle of Dreams
Coming soon!
♥
The perfect wedding, or so she thought.
The fairy-tale castle was the perfect setting.
The venue couldn’t be any more romantic and the man she was set to marry was straight out of the book of Happy Ever After.
The scene was set and nothing was left to chance; it was perfect in every way.
Then the guests arrived and Lily discovered they hadn’t read the memo.
Unwelcome guests, parents on the edge of insanity and friends who think they know best make this a wedding Lily wishes was over already.
A legend that dooms the marriage before it’s even happened and a happily ever after that may not make it past the speeches.
Lily is about to discover there is no such thing as the perfect day and you can’t plan for the unexpected.
The Wedding at the Castle of Dreams follows Lily and Finn’s story from Aunt Daisy’s Letter. You do not have to read it to enjoy this story & if you enjoy this can go back and see how it all began.
It’s how it ends that’s undecided!
♥1
“Once upon a time.”
“Really mum, I’m not five you know.”
“I wish you were sometimes; you certainly act like it.”
Sighing heavily, I sink back on the bed and try to fight my frustration. They’ve only just arrived and my family are irritating me.
“Are you ok, Lily, love?”
My nan’s anxious face peers at me from the seat by the window because she needs an upright chair and she wouldn’t be able to get out of this bed if she got in. She’s accustomed to the orthopaedic one that appears to place her in a standing position and wash and dress her at the same time.
“I’m fine, just a little anxious.”
She looks concerned as mum rolls her eyes. “Which is precisely why I volunteered my story telling services. Now, where was I?”
My friend Heidi nudges me and grins and I try to stem the slightly hysterical giggle that is threatening to send my mother over the edge.
As slumber parties go, this one is a little unusual. I am surrounded by my nearest and dearest who arrived earlier today for my wedding in the Chateau de Rêves, or in English, The Castle of Dreams. It’s where I live with my fiancé and have done for the past three years. We are converting it to a super luxury retreat and to say the progress is slow is an understatement.
Despite everything, I love it so hard it hurts. What was once a crumbling ruin on the verge of extinction, is now a potential Castle of Dreams as its name suggests. Finn and I love the place equally and gave up everything to see the dream reinstated from the nightmare it became. Yes, The Castle of Nightmares is its adopted new name, but I know it’s there. The romance is buried under the builder’s dust and the cobwebs of several generations of spiders. The drafty windows look over an amazing landscape that promises so much and delivers even more. The four turrets that stand proudly guarding the castle secrets are majestic and indicative of a time when life was very different and the huge open fireplaces in every room burn with a warmth that brings the life back to a forgotten paradise.
Once upon a time is not that far off the mark because I imagine this place was a fairy-tale castle when it w
as built and now mum has got a story to tell about something she discovered on google.
I am looking forward to hearing her story despite my interruption and look across with interest as she makes herself comfortable in the chair next to nan and smiles mysteriously.
“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted…” She glares at me and I shrink a little in my seat as I revert back to that five-year-old girl who couldn’t get away with anything around her.
“Once upon a time in a land far away and forgotten, stood a majestic castle. It was the jewel in the crown of a man who longed for the finer things in life. He had great wealth and used the castle to store it all. Word soon spread and people came from far and wide to catch a glimpse of a castle that was rumoured to be clad in gold bars. However, inside this castle of great wealth was a lonely man. He had everything that his money could buy him but one thing – love. He had nobody to share his passion with except for his servants, and he became bitter and jealous of other people’s happiness. Soon, he became consumed with a thirst for finding the last piece of a puzzle he was anxious to finish. He decreed that he would hold a ball in this very castle to find the woman he would marry.”
“Oh, I’ve heard this one already.”
We look at nan in surprise as she shrugs. “Cinderella; it’s obvious. Honestly, Sonia, I’m surprised at your lack of originality.”
I smirk as mum bristles with indignation. “This is not Cinderella, far from it. You know, you’ve always been the same, mother. Interrupting without knowing the facts first. Now, if you will just let me finish, you will see that this is definitely not Cinderella, or even remotely like it.”
Nan rolls her eyes making Heidi and me giggle and mum sighs. “Do you want to hear the story or not?”
“I do.”