‘I didn’t know if you’d come,’ she whispered, as his lips found her forehead in the same comforting way they had that morning a few days ago.
Hope looked up at Gus, his fingers linked with hers as he smiled down at her. The wind whipped at her hair, cool against her skin, but all she cared about was the man standing in front of her.
He came for me.
There had been a moment, as she’d stood in the fading light and closed her eyes, face tipped to the sky, that she’d truly worried he might not. But she’d been wrong.
‘I choose you, Hope,’ he whispered. ‘A thousand times over, I choose you.’
He pulled her closer, holding her so that her head was pressed to his chest. His arms encircled her, fingers splayed across her skin, lips brushing against her hair as he spoke, as she listened to the steady beat of his heart. She’d forgotten just how much she missed that reassuring sound.
‘What will we do about your family?’ she asked, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. ‘What did they say?’
‘We forget about my family, and we leave here and never look back,’ he said, stroking her hair as she raised her head to look up at him. He’d told her all she needed to know. That they’d rejected her, and him by the sounds of it.
‘But—’
He pressed a warm kiss to her lips. ‘There is nobut,’ he murmured. ‘There is only me and you. It’s all that matters now.’
His smile sent a shiver through her, and she laughed when his eyes fell to her stomach, watching the way his hand followed protectively.
‘We’re a family now, Hope. You, me and our baby. There is nothing in this world that matters to me more.’
Hope blinked away tears. She should never have doubted him; he’d certainly never given her any reason to, but ever since she’d found out she was expecting, she’d been terrified of being left to fend for herself. Of having to face the world alone.
‘Where will we go?’ she asked, reaching up and stroking his cheek with her thumb, tracing the curves of the face she knew as well as her own.
‘London,’ he said, taking her hand and gently kissing her palm as his eyes caught hers. ‘We’re going to start a new life in London, Hope. We only need each other. There’s nothing to be afraid of.’
She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as his lips whispered against her forehead.
London. She’d never thought about moving away before, but as long as she was with Gus, there was nowhere she wouldn’t go.
‘You’re certain you’re ready to give all this up? That you can walk away from everything here?’
He took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. ‘This isn’t about what I’m giving up, it’s about what we have. We’re each other’s family now, Hope, and we have our whole lives ahead of us. I just need to get everything in order, and then we can be on our way.’
She let his words wash over her, knowing that he was right.
‘When do we leave?’ she asked.
‘As soon as we can,’ Gus said, still holding her hand as he smiled down at her. ‘My family has taken everything from us—there’s nothing left to save, so as soon as I have the paperwork we need, we can go.’
Hope could hardly believe it. She didn’t want to leave France, it was her home after all, but nothing was more important to her than the family they were creating.
‘All my mother and father wanted was for me to get married and have a family,’ she said. ‘I fought them every step of the way, refusing to conform, and yet here I am, pregnant and ready to run away for love.’
‘But that’s the difference, Hope,’ Gus said. ‘You wanted the freedom to have your own voice, to choose love over obligation. And in the end, that’s all I wanted, too.’
She nodded, letting go of his hand so she could cup his face and kiss his lips. He was right; all she’d ever wanted was control over her own life.
‘We’re going to be happy together, Hope. I knew from the moment I first set eyes on you that you were the woman I was going to marry.’
She laughed and he grabbed hold of her and kissed her until she was breathless, his arms the warmest, safest place in the world to her.
‘I love you, Hope.’
She tucked her body tight to his, her cheek to his chest.I love you, too.
