‘I don’t think there was any doubt about that,’ she said. ‘Titus has been dropping hints for a while about getting married. I think he’d even like to consider adopting.’
‘Really?’ Lucas asked. ‘I always admire people who are so certain of what they want. I mean, how can you just know that you want to get married and have children? Adopting is a big deal too.’
‘It is, but I think that when you’re sure you’ve found your person, then you can be sure about your direction in life. Titus is thirty-eight now, and he knows what he wants and so does Finn.’
‘Good for them.’ Lucas inhaled deeply. ‘I guess it takes some of us longer to realise what’s important. Pride, jealousy, and insecurity all become less important when you get older. I don’t like to think of it as a clock ticking, but I’m more aware of the fact that I’ve probably lived at least half of my life. And that’s if I’m lucky.’
‘Oh gosh, it’s hard to think that way,’ Thora said.
To their left, the sea stretched out from the beach, its surface rippling like liquid silver in the moonlight while the sand glowed like crushed opals. The cliffs that hugged the cove were silver too and Thora thought everything looked magical, like she was seeing it through fresh eyes. She had always loved Porthpenny, but now it felt even more important to her because it was here that she had first fallen in love with Lucas and now she knew she was falling for him all over again.
When they reached her home, they stood on her doorstep, and he took her hands.
‘That was a fun evening.’
‘It was brilliant.’
‘Is it OK if I…’ He released her right hand and stroked her cheek. ‘If I kiss you.’
She nodded, and he leant forwards and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
‘Lucas … Do you have to go?’
‘I will have to go back because my father is … Well, he’s probably asleep now. He turns in early so I could go back later.’
‘If you text him, will he reply?’
‘Unlikely, as he’s probably snoring by now.’ Lucas smiled.
‘Would you like to come inside?’ Her heart thudded like a drum and she held her breath as she waited for his reply.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked before kissing her again.
‘I’m sure.’ She took a shaky breath. She had so many fears about doing this, but she knew that if she didn’t act soon, she’d lose her nerve, and she wasn’t prepared to lose this chance to be with Lucas again. If he saw her naked and found her repulsive, then she’d know he wasn’t the man for her, but if things went well, then … Perhaps they were meant to be together.
She unlocked the door and they went inside, then Lucas kissed her in the way she’d hoped he would. And all her fears and worries slipped away as she lost herself in the arms of the man she had always loved.
20
LUCAS
Two days after the proposal at The Garden Café, Lucas and his father were heading to the village hall for the annual Christmas party. The village council organised it, and local businesses financed it. Lucas remembered it from his youth in the village when it was always a big deal with everyone attending. Teenagers flocked there to flirt and dance back then, and after one of the parties, Lucas and Thora first kissed in the falling snow.
Walking there this evening, he held his father’s arm tight, not wanting him to slip. They had gritted the streets, but it was a cold evening, and the temperatures hadn’t risen much above freezing all day.
‘I haven’t been to the village Christmas party in years,’ his father said when they got close and could hear Christmas carols and laughter spilling out of the hall and into the evening air. Guilt pierced Lucas again. If he’d been here, if he’d made an effort to make up with his father before now, then he would have known that his father had become so withdrawn from the village and helped him. They could have — ‘Don’t you go beating yourself upabout that though!’ His father frowned. ‘It was my fault and not yours, son.’
‘You say that but?—’
‘No buts … I was an awful husband and father and I’m owning that now.’
Twinkling lights and other illuminations, including stars, snowmen, and bunches of holly, adorned the village hall. They glowed against the darkness, making the hall appear festive and bright.
‘I can remember when the hall was so busy that a marquee had to be set up outside,’ his father said, his voice laced with nostalgia. ‘You’d always run off with other children, keen to look for Santa or to get up to some other form of mischief.’
‘Mischief? Me?’ Lucas chuckled. His father was referring to when he’d been younger and they’d come here as a family. Those memories of family life were happier ones, but perhaps it was because he’d been too young to know what was going on between his parents or perhaps they had been happy then.
‘And then as you got a bit older … That was when we had to look out!’ His father laughed and patted his arm.
