Jonah said nothing, just kept on listening, so I carried on talking.
‘But we are starting to create something beautiful and strong. I’m absolutely convinced that you’d fit right in. Not that I’m asking you to be a part of our family…’ I added, hastily.
Jonah cleared his throat. ‘For the record, when you’re ready to do that then the answer will be yes.’
‘Right. Okay.’ I fought very hard to resist the urge to go ahead and propose right then and there. ‘But we could maybe, I don’t know, have a pizza and a movie with the kids sometime? I think they’d really love to hear you read the rest ofThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’
‘Are you finally asking me out on that date?’
I shuffled in my seat. ‘Well. Technically you asked me, so I’m just getting around to saying yes.’
‘About damn time.’ Jonah laughed, and with the sun rising over the treetops of Sherwood Forest, bathing the world in the red-gold exuberance of a brand-new day, knowing that, for now, all was well and, whatever came next, there was every chance it would end up okay, I had to join him.
‘I might need a few hours of sleep, first.’
There was, however, one thing I didn’t want to wait for. I’d messaged Nicky to let her know when I’d be back, and she not so tactfully slipped away as soon as she saw us standing on the doorstep, waving off my offer of a cup of tea with a grin and a promise that she’d catch up with me soon, a big emphasis onsoon.
‘Saying thank you doesn’t really seem like enough.’ Jonah shook his head, his forehead furrowing.
‘I’m just so grateful Ellis came here.’
He nodded. Now wasn’t the time to contemplate the alternative.
‘There is one way you could thank me,’ I added, ducking my head because my sleep-deprived mouth was running faster than my exhausted brain could stop it.
‘Oh?’
I slowly, deliberately stretched my arms up and wrapped them around his neck. My heart pounding, not with fear but with hope and thirteen years of pent-up longing.
‘Oh.’ Jonah’s eyebrows flicked up. Then he grinned.
And then he kissed me.
A long, slow, deep kiss that held the sweetness of past memories and the promise of a whole future full of challenges, chaos and a heap of craziness, but most of all a lifetime’s worth of love.
50
It was early spring. The forest beyond the freshly painted cottage fence was trimmed with baby leaves and hawthorn blossom. After a busy week appearing on a panel at a midwifery conference, losing out on the pub-quiz crown by one point and smashing a personal best in a 5K run through the trees, I headed downstairs for another big first.
I was having a party. A thirtieth birthday party, in fact.
We would be resurrecting some old family traditions. Isla couldn’t wait to blast out Taylor Swift on the karaoke. Mum had insisted on baking a cake, with a big ‘30’ candle, using the new oven in the two-bedroom cottage she’d recently moved into with Dad. Nicky had asked whether both those bedrooms were being used, but was told that, even if we were a much closer family these days, some questions were still off-limits.
This evening, however, I had extended my celebrations beyond my immediate family. I found Brayden and Silva already in the kitchen, taking photos of the tray of canapés they’d brought along while Finn pulled faces at Platinum Precious – or Patty, as she’d gradually become known – chortling in the sling on her daddy’s back. I heard Toby thundering down the outsidestairs, the lighter footsteps of his new girlfriend stepping more carefully behind him. They appeared at the kitchen doors with Hazel, whose face lit up as she started determinedly crawling towards the nana she was named after.
Nicky and Theo were in the garden, where assorted members of Theo’s family –myfamily, as they insisted I call them – kissed me on the cheek or threatened to crack a rib with a suffocating hug. Dad was at the barbecue, chatting to the women from my pub-quiz team, their children chasing each other around the vegetable patch along with Isla and her new best friend, a scruffy rescue dog she’d called Barbie.
Ellis was sitting quietly in the living room, holding her son, Leo, as a shield against the hustle and bustle, while Billy and my mum kept her company. Mum being able to reconnect with Jonah, Ellis and Billy, and taking on the role of stand-in auntie, if not quite the mother she’d once longed to be, had been one of the keys that enabled us all to finally move on. Coming here today was still a big deal for Ellis. A crowd, alcohol, the party atmosphere, the potential of people asking her questions that she wasn’t ready to answer, but we’d promised to look after her, and Dad would drive her back home to Hatherstone as soon as she’d had enough.
It took longer to find the one person I was really looking for. Every time I spotted him someone else would stop to wish me a happy birthday, or compliment the garden, the party, or me in my shimmering party dress. The times my heart perked up as I anticipated him crossing the garden towards me, he’d get intercepted by someone saying hello.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon, we gathered around the fire pit, pulling up various chairs as we handed around drinks, blankets and slices of birthday cake. I finally got a chance to say a proper hello to Jonah.
‘Have I said how beautiful you look?’ he asked, squeezing in beside me on a comfy garden seat in the shadows, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me closer.
‘Ooh, only about six times. I reckon you could manage a few more. How beautiful is that?’
He laughed against the back of my head. ‘As beautiful as a newborn baby.’
