She took a large bite of slow-cooked beef massaman with red chillies. The flavours burst across her tongue, leaving a tingling of spices behind. The coconut rice was perfectly cooked, and the Pad Thai light and tasty.
“Have you ever considered living somewhere else? Other than Coral Island?” Aidan asked.
She swallowed. “I didn’t think I’d ever end up here, so yes. I really had no plans other than to raise my children. After that, I thought Preston and I might travel while I built up my catering company, but the divorce disrupted all my ideas about how my life would go. Now, my plans have changed and I’m embracing the uncertainty. What about you?”
He shrugged. “I was somewhat the same as you. My goal was to grow old with my wife, but then she got sick and all I could think about was helping her get well—surviving, really. Then she died, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. That’s why I came back to the island. It was my grounding point. The one place I felt at home in the midst of all the turmoil.”
“And now?”
“I was beginning to get back to that place where I could do something … adventurous, I suppose. But then you came home.”
“Then I came home.” She smiled. “What kind of adventures?”
“I’d love to travel as well. I never did much of that. When I was playing football, I was stuck in the training schedule, taking care of my physical health, dealing with media interviews and all of that. Then I was looking after my wife.”
“Travelling sounds good,” Bea said.
“Maybe we should do that together.” A smile lit up his face. There was nothing she wanted more than to see the world with Aidan by her side.
“I’d love that.”
He shifted closer to her and rested a hand on her knee. “I want to do everything together.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “I do too. I can’t imagine us being apart.”
“There’s no reason we should be. Not any longer. Grace is settled back with her mother now, and she’ll visit during the school holidays. But other than her and my work, I have no commitments to anyone. Just you.”
“I have the café, but it’s doing really well now even when I’m not there. I could find someone to manage it if we wanted to take a trip somewhere.”
“Could you?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Because that would probably be all we’d need.”
“Definitely,” she replied. “I can’t wait to see the world with you.”
“Where would we go first?”
She bit down on her lower lip. There were so many places she wanted to go, things she longed to see. “Maybe we should go to Italy. It’s supposed to be romantic, with so much history and art.”
“That would be a great start,” he replied. “Let’s book a trip.”
“That simple?” She laughed. “Surely you should argue with me or something. It’s all too easy.”
“Why argue? You’re absolutely right — Italy is the perfect country for us to start our adventure together. In fact, we could get married there.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “What?”
“We should get married while we’re in Italy.” He raised himself up onto one knee and took her left hand in his. “I want us to get married. I’ve wanted it for as long as I can remember. We were perfect together when we were younger, but life pulled us apart. Now there’s no reason for us to put it off any longer. You’re the one, the woman who stole my heart before I even knew what love was. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes blurred with tears, and her heart thudded against her rib cage. “Yes, I will.”
He pulled her up onto her knees and against his chest. His arms wrapped around her, then one hand cupped her jaw as he leaned down to kiss her. His lips were soft against hers as he explored her mouth, gently at first, then growing with passion as the realisation of what they’d just agreed to hit them both. Tears wet her cheeks as they kissed, then she laughed against his mouth and pulled away to gaze into his eyes.
“We’re getting married?”
He pulled a small box out of the pocket of his shorts and opened it. A large diamond-encrusted blue jewel sparkled under the soft glow of the lamplight. He slipped the ring out of the box and onto her ring finger.
She gaped. “You already bought a ring?”
He grinned. “I’ve been planning to ask you for a while, but wanted to wait for the perfect moment.”
