Nate beckoned me towards him, his face now more relaxed but there were some nerves still there.
I walked to him, still feeling shock, when he dropped to one knee, a ring in his fingers.
“This was meant to be a surprise,” he said, looking up at me, somehow managing to make eye contact even over my bump. “It’s probably a good thing that it’s not a total surprise.”
I managed to nod, unable to get any words out and aware I was crying.
“I didn’t expect this. You. Him.” He gestured to my belly. “Us. A family of three, becoming four and very soon, five. But I want you to know that when I ask this question, it’s not on behalf of the girls – I know they love you anyway, and if you’d been like Cinderella’s step-mother this wouldn’t be happening – but this question’s for me, because it’s intended to last forever, way after those tearaways and that one have grown up and left us two for some peace. So, Amber Ward, will you marryme?”
I heard girlish giggling and a squeal, and I felt more saltwater wash down from my eyes. I held out my left hand and nodded, knowing that I somehow had to find the power to speak.
“Yes, Nate Morris, I’ll marry you.”
He stood up, then pushed the ring on my finger, clutching my hand at the same time, and pulling me as close as he could with my bump between us. We managed a kiss that was just about acceptable in front of two girls who were far too quiet.
When it stopped and I looked at them, they were mesmerised, as if they’d just been watching a Disney romance.
I pulled a hand away from Nate and opened us up. “Come here for a hug.”
They did, running in, Libbie asking if she could be a bridesmaid, and then Zara repeating it ten times.
“When? When do we get to be bridesmaids?” Libbie tugged at my dress.
I looked at Nate, then saw Jez who was walking towards us with Jesse, Rowan and Dee, Genny following with more champagne glasses. “Next summer?” I asked. “In the garden?”
He nodded. “Next summer. With everyone here.”
Everyone would include our son, making our family full.
Epilogue
NATE
SIX-MONTHS OLD
Didyou ever feel like you were being watched?
Oliver – we could come up with no better name – was sitting in his cot watching me get ready to take his mother out for a very adult meal, in an adult restaurant, and then to an adult hotel, which was for adults only.
This was our first night away from him since he’d been born, or Amber’s first night. I’d spent too much time away with England for the World Cup, and then for away games, but I had made it in time for his birth.
That had been sudden. A week before his due date, Amber had felt sharp pains that had Neva driving her straight to the hospital. He was in distress and Amber didn’t look too great, so Oliver was born by emergency caesarean, weight ten pounds and not fitting any of the new-born clothes that people had bought us.
The first two days after his birth had been worrying. Amber had lost a lot of blood and the toll of her pregnancy had left her feeling weak. I’d spent one hour praying to a god I wasn’t sure existed to spare me the mother of my son, because I wasn’t sure how any of us would’ve managed if we’d lost her.
We didn’t. The doctors hadn’t actually thought her not making it was a possibility, which they’d said, but my head had travelled to those dark places. She pulled through and was home a week after, Oliver with us, the girls thrilled with their new brother and me thrilled with life.
Now, six months later, all was well. He slept like a dream, was a placid baby, as long as he had space to move, which at the moment was rolling over and grabbing at everything, especially Libbie.
“We’re leaving you for the night, little man.” I went to the cot and pressed a kiss to his head. He grabbed my shirt. “Be good for Auntie Jez.” And probably Uncle Jesse, but I wasn’t ready to go there yet.
I wrestled myself free enough to be able to pick him up to take downstairs. He weighed a ton, mainly because he was tall and stocky, taking after me in every way apart from that, unlike his sisters, he didn’t actually look facially anything like me at all. He was all Amber. Dark hair, dark eyes, full lips, but the rest of him was me. I had every suspicion he was going to end up being sporty too, which I wasn’t going to complain about.
The rest of my family were in the kitchen, along with Jesse. The girls were colouring at the table, allowed to stay up half an hour later as bribery to be good.
“I’ll take him.” Jesse held his arms out, Oliver going straight to him happily. It had been Jesse who’d sat with me in the car as I drove back to the hospital, desperate to get there before Oliver was born. He offered to drive, but he was still banned and I knew my sister would kill both of us with her stilettos if he had.
Jesse was more scared of Jez than I was.
