She leaned forwards and nibbled on his bottom lip. ‘My place it is.’
‘Hey, you know what would be absolutely perfect?’
Caitlin tilted her head. ‘Can it be more perfect?’
He nodded. ‘Why don’t we double-barrel our surname?’
Caitlin pondered for a moment. ‘Double-barrel?’
Archie grinned. ‘Think about it. It would mean the world to Sophie if she could keep her name to remind her of her mum. And the fact that your surname is Fraser, like Sophie’s, means that both girls get to keep their own identities. But we still get to share our names and be a family. We can all become the Fraser-Sutherlands.’
A lump of emotion tightened her throat and she reached out to hug him. ‘You’re right. It’s perfect. Thank you.’
‘Right, let’s go get the girls up, make a family cooked breakfast, and have a chat to them about it all, eh?’ Caitlin couldn’t help her contented sigh at his use of the wordfamilyand loved how easily it had tripped off his tongue.
* * *
‘Can we have pretty dresses?’ Sophie asked after Archie and Caitlin had explained the plan for the secret wedding.
Grace giggled with enthusiasm. ‘And can Bowie and Cleo have outfits too? You can get tuxedos for dogs! And tutus!’
‘Yes! Please can we, Daddy?’ Sophie asked before leaning close to Grace and whispering, ‘What’s a tadeedo?’
Grace grinned. ‘It’s like a little suit and tie for a dog.’
Sophie’s eyes widened. ‘Oh yes! One of those!’ she said with excitement.
Caitlin giggled, loving the way the girls had already become such firm friends and how they were excited to be involved in wedding plans, even if their ideas were a little unorthodox. ‘I’m sure we can arrange all of that. Now, you girls must promise to keep this a secret, okay? Just for us. You can’t tell anyone, not until afterwards.’
Grace scrunched her brow. ‘But why not? Why is it a secret?’
Caitlin and Archie shared a glance. ‘Well… Reid and Jules are getting married at Christmas and we’re kind of jumping in first, so we don’t want to spoil it for them… you know, steal their thunder. We don’t want lots of fuss either. Plus, we just want it to be a special time for us as a family.’
Grace nodded. ‘Oh, okay.’
‘Erm… Daddy…’
‘Yes, Sophie, what’s up, darlin’?’
Sophie tucked her hands under her chin as she so often did when she was shy or nervous. She climbed down from her chair and walked around to where Archie sat. He lifted her onto his lap, and she whispered into his ear.
Archie smiled and nodded at her, and the child hugged him hard. Caitlin glanced at him questioningly and he said, ‘She was just asking…’ He cleared his throat, clearly emotional. ‘If this means Grace can be her big sister forever, and for real, and… if you can be like a new mummy, but so she doesn’t forget her real one could she call you Mummy Cakelin?’
Caitlin had no words. Just emotions that trickled down her face as she beamed at them.
31
Keeping the news of her impending nuptials from her best friends was trickier than Caitlin had anticipated. It came with a certain amount of guilt, too, but she didn’t want to make a huge fuss, nor did she wish to take the shine away from Jules and Reid and their wedding later in the year.
Her marriage to Archie was due to take place in two weeks at Gretna Green, thanks to a cancellation, and Isla was booked to cover the bakery for the Friday and Saturday. They had agreed that Caitlin wouldn’t wear her ring on her finger until they were married, so for now, it was on a chain around her neck, hidden under her T-shirt. Caitlin had told everyone she was going on a long weekend trip with Archie and the girls to Glencoe, but every time she talked about it, she blushed bright pink. Although no one seemed to suspect anything, so that was a relief, at least. She and Archie had discussed whether they were crazy to travel the five-plus hours to get married at Gretna, but they had decided it was definitely what they wanted. A private ceremony in a place synonymous with romance, no guests, just their own little family of six – because, of course, the dogs were included.
Grace had found a tuxedo for Bowie and a tutu for Cleo, both that were as inobtrusive as possible, seeing as none of them knew if either dog would comply with the silly outfits. Caitlin had ordered the most beautiful, fitted, ivory lace dress with long sleeves from an online bridal boutique, and it fit perfectly, hugging the curves she knew Archie adored, whilst remaining classy for a woman of forty. She had, so far, managed to keep it a secret from her fiancé and intended to do so until their wedding day, but she had shown the girls who insisted she looked like a fairy princess.
A Saturday shopping trip to Inverness had been successful in acquiring matching dresses for Sophie and Grace, in a dusky blue with lace and a tiny bit of sparkle. Blue velvet ballet pumps finished off their ensemble perfectly.
The two girls had done an amazing job of keeping the secret. Caitlin had periods of guilt around that as well, where she felt she had asked too much of them, but they were being so grown-up about it all and had turned it into a game.
Under cover of darkness, Archie had started moving small amounts of belongings into Caitlin’s cottage and they were staying there more than they were staying at his place. They didn’t announce anything, however, as doing so may trigger further questions, hence the manoeuvres being carried out at night, with plenty of giggles and a little swearing on account of stubbed toes.
