She looked back up at him.Her family?
‘You told me that Sam’s family had taken you in as if you were their own, so I thought you’d want them here to celebrate with us.’
Tears filled her eyes as Sam swept her arm out extravagantly to the large table behind her. ‘The little table was in case you said no. I wanted to cover all bases just in case, but this one?—’
‘Was for if you said yes,’ Luca finished, interlinking their fingers, her engagement ring unfamiliar against her skin as she tightened her hold on him.
‘This is all too much, I just?—’
The door to the restaurant opened then and Georgia was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion as she saw Sam’s mum, dad, and grandparents coming towards them, as well as Sam’s beau, Harry, all with big smiles on their faces.
‘Georgia!’ Sam’s mother Marion cried, hurrying towards her, her hands to her face as she half laughed, half cried. ‘Oh Georgia, what a wonderful surprise.’
‘She said yes!’ Sam declared, as her mum hugged Georgia first and then turned to Luca.
‘Well, I can see why you fell for this one just from looking at him. What a gentleman. Can you believe he called Fred and asked for permission?’
Georgia was certain her jaw actually dropped open as she turned back to Luca. ‘You called Fred?’
Luca shrugged. ‘It seemed like the right thing to do. You said he was like your father, and I wanted to go about things the right way.’
‘Thank you,’ she whispered, sliding her arms around his neck and kissing him. ‘Thank you for listening, for seeing who I am and who is important to me. It means the world to me, truly it does.’
Luca kissed her back, touching his forehead to hers when their lips parted. ‘I thought you were going to scold me for asking for permission.’
‘Not at all,’ she said, before whispering: ‘Although I trust you still would have asked me even if he’d said no.’
They both laughed and Luca kissed her, but they’d barely touched lips when Sam parted them, grabbing hold of their hands on either side and marching them to the table.
‘There’s time for smooching later,’ Sam said firmly, as if she were a schoolteacher scolding petulant children. ‘Now it’s time to celebrate with everyone who loves you.’
Georgia tilted her head and touched it to Sam’s.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured. ‘I have no clue how you did all this, how Luca even contacted you, but thank you.’
‘You’re very welcome,’ Sam said, and Georgia couldn’t help but notice the tears shining in her friend’s eyes. ‘Now, let’s drink champagne. It’s not every day your sister gets engaged!’
Georgia gave Sam a quick hug before turning back around, not knowing which way to look, but in the end, she moved from person to person, introducing them to Luca, seeing the smiles and love radiating from the faces of the people there for her. All this time, she’d told herself that she didn’t truly have a family, had always referred to them asSam’sfamily, but in that moment, she realised that they were not just Sam’s family. Theywere her family, too, her ride or dies, the people who loved her most in the world.
I’m not alone. I wasn’t then, and I’m not now.
Georgia took her seat beside Luca as the waiters brought two bottles of champagne to the table and began to pour them, barely hearing anything as everyone seemed to talk and laugh at the same time. But it was Luca she turned to, who smiled only for her, who made her feel for just a second that she was the only person in the room.
‘Should I have made this a dinner for two?’ he whispered, reaching out to stroke her hair. ‘I’m starting to regret not having you all to myself.’
‘No, this is perfect,’ she said. ‘Overwhelming, but also perfect.’
‘Would you mind if I said a few words?’
She shook her head and smiled back at him. ‘Not at all.’
He leaned in, his first words murmured into her ear, for her only. ‘I know there’s so much we need to figure out, where we’ll live and what our lives will look like. But there’s nothing I won’t do for you, Georgia. If I have to commute to London every weekend for the rest of my life, I’ll do it.’
She kissed him before he stood, reaching for her champagne glass as he took his, and taking a quick gulp to calm her nerves. He was right; London and Geneva weren’t that far away. If they had to commute, if they had to take turns going between the two cities for as long as it took for them to decide where to live, then so be it. It was worth the sacrifice to be with him, she just hadn’t been able to see that before.
‘I know I’m a stranger to all of you,’ Luca said, looking at everyone seated around them before glancing down at Georgia, ‘so I would like to thank you for trusting me when I asked you all to come here tonight. Thank goodness she said yes!’
Everyone laughed and sipped their drinks, and Georgia let Luca take her hand as he spoke again.
