“I realised I could hide behind every excuse in the book but the idea of never giving us a real chance was more terrifying than the risk of getting my heart broken. Another bit of Harper wisdom. I told myself I was letting you go because I loved you, because I thought it was noble. But I finally realised it was just sabotage. And I think maybe I owe it to myself to find happiness. I just … I really hope I’m not too late.”
He emptied her hands of the sweets and sparklers so that he could take her hands. “Eiley, you could show up at my door in fifty years’ time, and it still wouldn’t be too late.”
“Really?”
“Really,” he whispered, the gap between them and tucking her hair behind her ear. Between them, the fireworks continued to burst, leaving the night sky a smoky, velvety purple. “But you need to know those things you didn’t like about me are still here. I’m always going to want to keep you safe, even if it makes me an overbearing arse. I’m trying to be better, but I know what it’s like to lose you now, and fuck, I never want to again.”
“And I might sometimes accidentally make reckless decisions, but I can try to be better, too. It was always you who brought the impulsiveness out of me, anyway. If I’m a firecracker, it’s because I found someone who lights me up.” She leant in closer, the rubber tip of her trainers scraping against his boots. “And maybe we’ll fight again. Maybe we’ll disagree on more things. But I’ll be here afterwards to tell you that you won’t lose me, as many times as you need to hear it.”
A tear trickled down his cheek. It was everything he’d needed to hear. “I like the sound of that, firecracker. So, what happens now?”
“Now, I’m going to kiss you,” Eiley said. “And then I’m going to take you home, and we’ll light sparklers together. And my mum will stress that she didn’t cook enough jacket potatoes for an extra guest. Brook will read to you, because he really, really wants to. Then, maybe when the kids are asleep, we can eat these sweets without having to share them. Then tomorrow, we’ll come back up here and park the van where no one can hear us and, this time, I’m going to make you see stars.”
Warren’s hungry touch swept over the warm nape of her neck as he hardened against her. “You’ve got it all planned out, then.”
“For once, I have, aye.”
Her mouth pressed against his with all of the finality of a book being closed – a new one opening, because this felt more like a beginning than an end. She hitched her armsaround him, and he lifted her onto his waist with perfect ease, every split fibre of him knitting back together.
“How was this for a happily ever after?” he couldn’t help but question when she pulled away.
The breathtaking smile on her face was bright and beautiful enough to put the fireworks to shame as she replied, “As good as any book.”
Epilogue
Eiley walked blindly over the paved driveway, Brook and Sky holding her hands at either side of her.
“Is this really necessary?” she questioned through bubbling giddiness, her eyes squeezed shut. “Me and the house are quite good friends these days.” And every square inch of it was perfect, even if she hadn’t been the best painting assistant in Belbarrow when the time had come to decorate. Still, she’d enjoyed getting her hands, and other parts, dirty over the last few months. Some of the rooms had been “christened” before even becoming functional, which Warren seemed to take great pride in.
As spring bloomed through Belbarrow, she’d been told to keep away until the final reveal today, but she wasn’t sure what more to expect. Last time she’d been here, it had already been the home Warren had dreamed of, new furniture slowly building up the rooms and landscapers working through the front and back gardens.
She wondered if she might just take a peek …
“Yes!” Warren insisted, and she forced her eyes shut again quickly. “You’ve never seen itfinished.”
“Does it have a pool?” inquired Brook hopefully.
“Er, not at the moment, bud,” Warren replied, earning a sad “Awww.”
“Well, now this is going to be quite underwhelming,” he muttered.
Saffron babbled obliviously, and Warren’s warmth brushed Eiley’s side as he adjusted his hold of her daughter. Since she’d let him gradually into their lives, the children had been more enamoured by Warren than ever, and their bond only strengthened day by day with the way he doted on them, planning days out on the weekend and coming home from work with a million stories to tell. She kept expecting him to get tired – she loved them, but they were a handful, and she’d made clear that he was entitled to space when needed. Still, he treated them like they’d always been his, letting them visit the fire station on quieter afternoons and being used as a climbing frame even after long shifts.
He made them happier than Eiley had ever thought possible.
Just as he made her happy. It was difficult, balancing a fairly new relationship, but they found a way to steal moments together, mostly because Fraser and Harper were always begging to babysit. Last weekend, Warren had stayed in the flat with the kids for the first time, and they’d enjoyed a sleepy Sunday morning bundled in bed to watch TV, squished and content. Like a real family. The fear that something would go wrong still surfaced sometimes, but Eiley saw the love in Warren’s eyes and knew they were all safe. He wasn’t going anywhere. He was theirs, now, and they were his.
Since her hands were full, she could only nudge his leg with her foot. “It couldneverbe underwhelming. Pleeeease can we see it?”
“All right. On the count of three. Ready?” He and Brook counted to three together, with Saffron adding a random, “Ten!” between one and two.
Eiley opened her eyes and was greeted with the most beautiful house she’d ever seen. She couldn’t remember how Galbreath Farm had looked before the fire all those years ago, but the new build was both airy and cosy, a place that most people could only dream of owning. No wonder Warren had put so much money and effort into restoring it. The chestnut-brown door was flanked on either side by hanging flowers not yet bloomed, and the fenced-off garden-in-progress, which Mum was itching to get her hands on, surrounded the house on all sides. Blue sky reflected off the tall windows, sun beaming off the slate roof tiles.
She glanced at Warren, awed, and saw his eyes glassy with tears.
“Your parents would be so proud of you, my love,” she whispered, affection filling every corner of her. “All that pain and hard work … You’ve made something truly magical out of it.”
Warren smiled, squeezing Saffron tighter until her golden pigtails eclipsed his face. “I’m not sure I could have carried on without you. All this … It’s for them, and for everything I lost. But it’s for you, too,mo ghaol.For us.”
