“I wasn’t, at first. I was so torn.” He closed the space between them and wrapped his arm around her waist, taking the figurine from her and placing it gently on the deck. “I was so afraid I was being selfish and letting them down. But they had it all arranged. I’ll tell you all the nitty gritty details later. But for now, I want you to know that I love you desperately and I want to stay here. With you.”
With the emotion swirling inside her finally erupting, Juniper burst into tears. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her tight against him, burying his face in her hair and holding her while she cried, letting go of all the agony of the past weeks. When she was done, she raised her head to look at him and, brushing his hair back from his forehead, took his face in her hands and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Then he kissed her, and went on kissing her as the autumn sunshine spilled over them. He finally lifted his head to look at her. “I love you,”
She gave a sighing laugh. “I love you, too.”
“William!”
Juniper’s breath caught in her throat at the look of utter joy in William’s eyes before he turned to look at Billy, racing down the drive. William jumped to his feet, taking three big strides across the lawn as Billy ran to him, squealing with delight as William swept him up in his arms and spun him around before pulling him in for a fierce hug. Juniper’s heart nearly burst with happiness as she watched them. Billy’s arms and legs were wrapped around William, squeezing him with every muscle in his little body. William, his eyes closed, his hand cradling the back of Billy’s head.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” William carried Billy back to the deck and sat down next to Juniper.
Just then, Mikayla called from the gate, “Hey, lovebirds!”
Juniper looked over.
Mikayla was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes glistening. “Party still on?”
“You bet!”
She gave a wave. “I’ll come back later then.”
Juniper turned back to Billy, reaching out to ruffle his blonde curls as he rested his head on William’s shoulder. “What do you reckon? Pretty good to see William?”
He nodded. “But I’ll miss him when he goes,” he said sadly.
“Well, guess what?”
“What?” Billy asked, lifting his head and looking at William.
“I’m not going.”
Billy tilted his head to one side inquiringly. “Ever?”
“That’s right. I’m going to stay here. With you.”
“In my house?” Billy asked excitedly.
“Well, that’s something I have to talk to your Mum about.” William turned to Juniper. “You’ve got time to go for a drive?”
Very curious, Juniper nodded. “Sure.” She dashed inside to grab her bag and put the figurine on the table, coming out and taking William’s hand as he carried Billy out of the yard. She stopped dead at the end of her drive when she saw where he was headed. “You got a new car?”
He was standing next to a blue Mercedes GLS. He grinned as he opened the back passenger door and helped Billy into a booster seat.
“With a kid’s seat?” She came up next to him.
“Yep. How else would I drive my family around? You all good there, mate?”
Billy nodded enthusiastically.
“Definitely no going back, then?”
“Definitely no going back.” He closed the door and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before opening the door for her.
She sighed blissfully, sliding into the car and putting her seat belt on. More than curious, she watched as he drove, glancing at him as he turned onto the gravel road that led up to the lighthouse.
