‘So, you’re cured?’ He pressed his forehead against mine. It was so safe, so lovely, soright, that I knew now was the time.
‘I don’t know about that, but I’m on my way. Which is why I’ve come to a decision…’
Gideon pulled his head back, eyes boring into mine, wide with hope and brown flecks of fear.
‘I’m going to stay.’
‘What?’ He pulled me over to a bench, where we both sat down. ‘You mean, you’re not leaving after your work with Hattie is finished?’
‘That’s what staying is. Not leaving.’
‘Tell me everything.’
‘I don’t… there isn’t much to say, except that… I love you.’
Gideon couldn’t have looked more stunned if I’d pulled out my own heart and offered it to him. Which, to all intents and purposes, I had.
After opening and shutting his mouth a couple of times, he closed his eyes, took a moment then opened them again, looked right in mine and said, ‘I love you, too. Sophie, I have never felt this way about anyone before. From the first time I saw you tumble on your backside in that filthy water, it was as if something inside me just knew. I don’t know how else to put it. I am so completely, agonisingly in love with you.’ He stopped to release a breathless laugh. ‘These past few weeks have been torture. Trying to be all cool and mature. Wanting to throw myself at your feet and beg you to stay. Oh, Sophie. I love you so much it almost killed me.’
‘I felt it too,’ I said, ducking my head, overwhelmed by the moment. ‘That first time. And every time since.’
In between kisses, Gideon peppered me with questions about where I would live, what would happen with my business and how I’d earn money now. I answered as honestly as I could, hanging onto the knowledge that in a couple of days, I could finally be as open as I yearned to be.
‘We should get back.’ I sighed eventually, aware that, even if no one else missed us, I didn’t want to abandon Ezra and Naomi for any longer.
‘One second.’ Gideon walked over to the far side of the enclosed garden, picking up a pair of secateurs and snipping off a white bloom that he then tucked into my hair. ‘Will you carry roses on our wedding day?’ he asked.
I nodded, taking hold of his hand. ‘Three white roses, for each of my family. The rest will be the brightest colours you can cultivate.’
‘So that’s a yes?’ He smiled, eyebrows shooting up his forehead.
‘Gideon Langford. Was that meant to be a proposal?’ I looked at him.
He laughed. ‘Just putting a feeler out, seeing how the land lies.’
I turned to him as we stepped through the rose-garden door. ‘No feelers necessary. Whatever happens next, however things work out with a house and a job, everything else, you can be sure of what I’ve told you. I love you, Gideon. You are my heart’s home. The family I’d tried to convince myself I didn’t need. You’re everything. No matter what happens, know that.’
‘Hey!’ Kalani called from across the grass. ‘Is Hattie with you? It’s time to cut the cake and Laurie’s getting antsy about leaving it outside for too long. We can’t find her anywhere.’
‘Hattie’s missing?’
I stomped down my initial prickle of panic and hurried with Kalani back towards the house. Deirdre and Laurie met her on the terrace, both of them breathless from the search.
‘Who saw her last?’ I asked, scanning the crowd.
‘She was on the dance floor but stopped halfway through a song and said she needed a rest. No one noticed which way she went.’
‘You’ve checked the house?’
Deirdre nodded. ‘All the downstairs, and her bedroom suite, too.’
‘I’ve been to the studio, it’s all locked up,’ Laurie added.
‘Okay.’ The prickle spread to a sharp stab of fear. ‘Maybe someone should try the attic, just in case.’
It seemed unlikely that Hattie would have gone up to the attic. We’d completed our work there, shut the ghosts of the past away and moved on. But on the off chance that the party had sparked an impulse to return to her mother’s bedroom, someone ought to make sure.
There was one other place where Hattie might be. My main concern was why she’d be there long enough for everyone to miss her.
