“But purple’s my favourite colour!”
“I give up. What mural do you want?”
I touched his arm, drawing his attention to me. “Crap, we haven’t put the wall right in her room. It was stated in the contract – if we changed anything to the décor, then it had to made right when I left.”
Seph gave me the dazzling grin I knew I’d never tire of. It made me both excited and slightly wary at the same time.
“The landlord says it’s fine.”
I frowned. “How would you know? I don’t want to get stuck with paying an overinflated bill.”
“I asked him.”
“You know the landlord?”
“Of course I do. Very well, in fact.” His smile dropped a little. “This is probably something I should’ve told you earlier on.”
“Joseph?”
He moved his mouth from side to side, still holding Rose. “You remember when I said there’d be times I messed things up?”
“Joseph…”
“Let me phrase this a different way. Ready, Rose?” He put her down and stayed close to the floor himself.
Rose ran off into the kitchen and came back with a smile so big it was about to snap her face in two, and a bag.
I stared at my daughter, trying to ignore the fact that my boyfriend was on one knee in the middle of a load of boxes.
“I have a solution to your mural problem.”
Rose passed him the bag and he rummaged in it for a second, producing a small box. It was ring sized, but this was Seph, so that didn’t mean there was a ring in it.
“Go ahead. Are you comfortable down there?”
“I’m fine, just don’t think too much about your answer. Anyway, the solution. If you say yes to the question I’m about to ask, you will be joint landlord of this property, so the mural won’t be questioned.”
“Joseph…”
There was a squeal from Rose and she clung to my leg, staring at Seph who was still on one knee.
“Georgia Marston, will you marry me? I think we make the best partnership, because you’re my best friend, the only person I want to wake up with and, well, ears and all.” He looked at Rose. “I have her permission.”
My head spun. “Seph, what do you mean… shit, you’re proposing? Oh, holy… fudge.” I looked at Rose and realised I couldn’t swear right now. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He popped open the box and a simple but rather large diamond solitaire on a gold band sat there.
I saw his fingers fumble as he took it out of the box.
“Can I stand up now? I haven’t proposed before and I have no idea how long you’re meant to stay down there.”
I grabbed hold of one of his arms and tugged at him to come up. He stood, catching my left hand, the ring box now on the floor and the ring held between his fingers.
“You said ‘yes.’” He put the ring on me, smiling as if he’d just won gold at the Olympics. “Congratulations, you now have a fiancé.”
“Mummy, you’re getting married!” Rose clapped her hands together.
Before I could look at her, I was tipped backwards, rather dramatically, Seph’s mouth on mine in a kiss that was very Disney romance and I knew was making my daughter – and me – swoon.
