CHAPTER ONE
Table booked at a suitably posh and expensive restaurant?Tick.
Taxi ordered?Tick.
Ring safely in pocket?Tick
Ashton shuffled nervously from foot to foot as he checked his appearance in the hall mirror. As usual, his hair was sticking up at the front and he smoothed it down. It immediately sprang back up. He was overdue a haircut, but he’d forgotten to go to the barber. He hadn’t forgotten to buy a new shirt for the occasion, though. He’d debated whether he should wear a suit but decided against it – he didn’t wear one if he could avoid it.
A car horn alerted him that his taxi had arrived. Checking yet again that the ring was in his pocket, he grabbed his keys and hurried out the door.
‘The Wild Side in Picklewick please, but can we pick someone up on the way?’ Ashton asked.
After giving the driver Lacey’s address, he settled back in his seat and tried to relax. His leg jerked nervously, and he put a hand on his knee to hold it steady. The other began to jerk instead.
‘Calm down,’ he muttered under his breath, conscious of the taxi driver who kept catching his eye in the rear-view mirror.
‘Special occasion, is it?’ the chap asked.
You could say that,Ashton thought. ‘Anniversary.’
‘How many years have you been married?’
‘We’re not married.’Not yet.‘This is the anniversary of our first date.’
He had met Lacey outside a nightclub in Thornbury two years previously. She had broken one of her stiletto heels, and he had helped her limp home. She had been somewhat the worse for wear, so when she’d offered to take him out for a drink to say thanks, he hadn’t been expecting to hear from her again especially since she didn’t have his phone number. But she did have a fair idea of where he worked, because he had been wearing his Royal Mail uniform at the time. Her night out may have been drawing to a close, but his day had been about to start, as he had been on his way to begin his shift.
He had almost forgotten the incident, but was sharply reminded of it a few days later when he’d found her loitering outside the sorting office in the hope of catching him. She’d caught him alright – hook, line and sinker. They had been going steady ever since.
They didn’t live together though, despite Ashton spending more time at her place than his own. At least, in the beginning he did, but that was until the early morning starts had begun to get to her. These days, he tended to return to his own little house when he had to be up at the crack of dawn, to allow Lacey to get a decent night’s sleep. She wasn’t a happy bunny when she was tired.
The taxi pulled up outside the terraced house she shared with a friend, and the driver beeped the horn. When there was no sign of her, Ashton got out and rang the bell.
Lacey opened the door after the second ring. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t find my shoe.’ She hopped forward on one shoe-clad foot before catching hold of his arm and bending down to slip a strappy silver sandal onto her other foot.
They shared a smile as she locked up.
‘You and shoes,’ he said, shaking his head and opening the rear door of the taxi for her.
She got in, and he hurried around to the other side. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
‘Somewhere nice.’ Ashton caught the driver’s eye again and gave a little shake of his head, warning him not to spoil the surprise by telling her.
The restaurant they were about to dine at was owned by celebrity chef Otto York, and Lacey had wanted to try it ever since it had opened. It had a sterling reputation, was always fully booked, and was eye-wateringly expensive.
It was also a fitting place to propose, Ashton thought, as he patted the ring in his pocket yet again before hastily dropping his hand to his side and hoping she didn’t notice how nervous he was. He didn’t want to spoilthatsurprise, either.
Ashton didn’t do cheesy. He wasn’t a hide-the-ring-in-the-bottom-of-a-champagne-flute kind of guy, and neither did he like the idea of putting it in the delicately flavoured wild bilberry cheesecake with the lavender biscuit base and rosehip compote drizzled prettily around the plate.
Instead, he waited for the coffee to arrive and topped up Lacey’s glass with the sparkling rosé wine before he made his move.
‘I’ve got something to ask you,’ he began, his hand edging towards his trouser pocket.
Lacey had been relaxing into her seat, a contented expression on her face, but she seemed to stiffen and there was a guarded look in her eye.
It was now or never. Taking a deep breath, he eased the jewellery box out of his pocket and slid off his chair into a kneeling position. There was a sudden hush and Ashton was aware that every pair of eyes in the restaurant were trained on their table. With trembling fingers, he opened the box to reveal a sparkling square-cut diamond encased in gleaming platinum.
‘I love you with all my heart, Lacey. Will you marry me?’
