“Where? Do you want to show me?” Grant’s attention was immediately caught.
That delayed their fast food and milkshake treat by another half an hour as the three of them had requests for different rooms, something they hadn’t shown any interest in with the other houses.
One floor had four decent sized bedrooms and a large room that could be used as a playroom for now and a lounge when they became teenagers. One room had an ensuite which could be Claire’s and the boys could share the bathroom. They were all over that floor with their enthusiasm, Max and Jackson having a tussle over bedrooms because both of them wanted the same one.
“Right, hooligans, let’s get burgers and milkshakes. Give me Callum. He can spend some quality time with his Auntie Bernie.” She held her arms out to take Callum off Grant. “His trolley’s downstairs, isn’t it?”
“You don’t have to take all of them, Bernie,” Grant looked concerned and I wondered if he felt he was taking advantage.
“We’ll be fine. I’ll see you back at the hotel after. Go and have a meal out or something fun. I’ll keep them alive.” She ruffled Max’s hair which he didn’t like, glaring up at her.
“I thought aunts were mean,” Claire said, climbing off the windowsill where she’d been perched. “You’re not mean so how can you be our aunt?”
“Because some aunts are fun and spoil you and then hand you back to your parents, so really I’m mean to your dad and Marie. Let’s go – last out of the door doesn’t get any fries.” She started to walk out of the room, carrying Callum carefully in her arms and was quickly overtaken by the other three.
I then wondered if I’d gone deaf.
Quietness lay like a fresh carpet between us, our focus only on each other. Grant leaned back against a wall, one foot crossed over the other, hands holding the opposite elbow. “Do you like this house? Do you see yourself living here?”
I nodded, regarding him carefully. “I do. It feels like home even though there’s nothing in it.”
“It was a developer’s project. They’ve run out of money to finish it off before selling it, so it’s a good price and they want a quick sale.” He kept his eyes on me. “If this is the one for you, then we go for it.”
“It’s the one the children like best too. The school down the road has a really good reputation.” I’d done a little research myself.
“It isn’t a private school.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t go to private school. It’ll help them with their social skills if they’re with different children and you don’t want them to grow up spoilt. Try them at the school down the road – if it doesn’t work there’s a decent private prep school a bit further.”
“We can talk more about it later. Or tomorrow. I’d rather talk about a wedding.” He beckoned me over.
I hesitated. “Don’t let Bernadette blackmail you into anything. If it’s too soon - ”
“It’s not too soon. Come here.” He beckoned me over again.
This time I didn’t hesitate.
I walked into his arms, my heart beating in a rhythm that made the rest of my body happy. This felt like coming home, every single time.
“It’s not too soon. I’d have married you in New York if we’d have had time. But if you want a big wedding, then that’s what we’ll have, I don’t care. I just want to be stuck with you.” He ran his fingers through my hair so very gently.
“Registry office it is then. We’ll probably end up with a reception at some point.” There was no way we’d get out of that.
“Our parents can organise that. We can just turn up and drink champagne. Bernadette can baby-sit.”
“She’ll love you forever for that. My sister is a big champagne drinker.” I nuzzled the top of his chest, looking up at him.
Somewhere, the kiss started, soft for the first few seconds then quickening, deepening, like wading into the Pacific Ocean knowing that you could dive forever and never run out of water.
Hands furiously searched for skin, clothes undone, material pulled away. Grant’s mouth fell to my neck, kissing down towards the softer skin above my breasts.
“Where’s the estate agent?” I was aware of how exposed we were. The front door wasn’t locked and I had no idea what the arrangements were with the woman who had shown us round initially.
“She was in the house next door. She said to shout for her when we were done. I’m not done yet, Marie. I need to see how it feels to fuck my future wife in our future house.” He swung me round so my back was against the wall and I decided not to care about being interrupted.
He undid a couple of buttons at the top of my dress, enough to be able to loosen it, exposing my breast. It wasn’t a dress I needed a bra with, which was fortunate, given the current situation.
“This has been driving me mad all day, knowing you didn’t have anything on underneath.” He pulled his lips away from my nipple. “You have no idea how much I want you.”
