‘I’m not being stubborn. I’m—’
But he stopped any more arguing by closing the gap between them and pressing his lips against hers firmly enough that she knew he meant business, softly enough that it took seconds to sink into the kiss she felt through every part of her body.
20
Autumn arrived with a pleasing palate of yellow, orange and red dotted around Little Woodville. As the nights drew in, the village took on a cosier ambience, there was a nip in the air, a crunch underfoot as leaves drifted across your path when you walked, and the stone of the humpback bridge appeared to glow in the lower light of the season.
The eponymous flowers of Forget-Me-Not Cottage were no longer on display given it was autumn, but Morgan’s home didn’t look any less beautiful. She’d redecorated the lounge already in a colour she knew her mother would’ve approved of – white with a very slight hint of lilac – but that was it inside because she’d wanted to work outside while the weather still allowed. And so she’d painted the shed and the garden bench in forget-me-not blue, the paint colour a way of keeping the theme going for the cottage even in winter, along with the artificial forget-me-not plant she’d found for the kitchen windowsill.
Morgan pulled on a chunky cardigan and took Branston for a long walk through Snowdrop Woods. She liked looking after him whenever she could; he was good company and had much better road sense than Marley. They had fun following their familiar route; she kicked through piles of leaves, and they ended up at the Bookshop Café where she made sure he wasn’t going to traipse in mud. Luckily for the both of them, it didn’t look like it – it might be a different matter when winter arrived, though.
She said her hellos to Sebastian and Belle, collected a hot chocolate and headed on up to the flat above the shop to see Nate.
Since Nate had moved back to the village, he’d lived with Trevor, but as well as Morgan and Nate becoming an item, things had developed for Sebastian and Belle too.
A few weeks after Nate and Morgan were seen out and about enough for the entire village to know they were together, they’d been in the Bookshop Café when Sebastian had turned the sign on the door toCloseda little earlier than expected.
‘Whatever are you up to?’ Belle had asked him as he’d headed towards her. She’d already got changed into a little black dress with silver, strappy sandals, delighted to be dressing up for once rather than wearing an apron with spatters of milk, chocolate, coffee and whatever other ingredients she’d used.
‘I’ve got a problem,’ Sebastian had said, causing Nate and Morgan to share a puzzled glance across the table they were sitting at. They were all going out for dinner to the local Italian restaurant this evening but Sebastian had wanted them here for coffees first. A peculiar request but they’d agreed to it.
‘What sort of problem?’ Belle had looked at him. ‘Not the toilet at Snowdrop Cottage again. Honestly, you should probably replace all the plumbing in the cottage; who knows what will go wrong next.’
‘Belle, I’m trying to say something here.’ Sebastian had taken the cloth out of her hand and set it on the table before picking up both of her hands again. ‘You’re right to think it’s a problem with the cottage.’
‘I knew it.’
But he had put a finger on her lips before she could say anything else. ‘The problem isn’t the plumbing. The problem is that it’s empty without you in it. Always has been, ever since you barrelled into my life, all bossy and making claims about it.’ He had gulped; he was nervous, not something he usually was. He had a commanding, secure presence but in that moment, he had been anything but. ‘Move in with me, Belle.’
Her mouth had fallen open but then a smile had crept onto her face before she flung her arms around his neck. ‘Yes! Yes, yes, yes!’
‘There’s just one more thing…’ He had pulled away and there had been no doubt what he was going to do when he had gotten down on one knee.
Belle’s eyes had filled with tears and she had barely seemed to hear him say the rest: the proposal he’d clearly been working up to. She had put her hands to her mouth as he had opened a small, velvet box to reveal a ring that caught the light and gleamed.
He had taken her left hand. ‘When I met you, I knew I’d met my match. You’re the most infuriating, gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I only want to do the future with you. I would’ve asked you to marry me long before today but we decided to wait and I’m done waiting. Will you marry me?’
Belle had been so emotional, she’d barely managed to say the wordyesbut as soon as she had, Sebastian had pushed the ring onto her finger.
Morgan, who’d been watching in amazement, had whispered to Nate, ‘We’re intruding.’
‘We should sneak off,’ he’d agreed as he’d picked up his jacket and her denim jacket. But as they’d stood up, Sebastian had stopped them.
‘Where are you two going? It’s dinner at the Italian, remember?’
‘I think you two might need your own celebration.’ Morgan had gone straight over to throw her arms around Belle. ‘Congratulations, I’m so pleased for you.’ She’d moved on to Sebastian next. ‘Well done you.’
Nate had shaken Sebastian’s hand and was hugging Belle as Sebastian grabbed his own jacket and Belle’s coat. ‘Dinner is still on, you two. You’ve become good friends and I wanted you to be witness to this.’
‘I’m glad we were,’ Morgan had smiled.
‘Nate knew everything,’ Sebastian had said with a grin. ‘He helped me choose the ring. And Morgan, you got the size for me.’
Morgan and Nate had exchanged a look. They’d both kept it quiet from each other after Sebastian had sworn them to secrecy, but if Nate was anything like her, he’d have been itching to tell her. She’d found it hard to keep her mouth shut but hadn’t thought Sebastian was going to pop the question tonight. She’d thought this was a meal between friends but saw now that it was a lot more than that.
‘So this dinner tonight is a thank you,’ Morgan had confirmed as Sebastian began to switch off the lights.
‘Kind of.’ Sebastian had helped Belle on with her coat.
