Twenty-three
TosaythatMarcuswas euphoric after Adele broke her wonderful news, would be an understatement. I was surprised an announcement wasn’t in the morning papers, splashed over the front pages, or that it wasn’t being shouted out each hour on the dot, by the Fairlight Bay Town Crier. Apparently, there was such a man and he made his presence known on all high days and holidays and at any other time it was considered appropriate.
Which gave me an idea.
‘Are you serious?’ Lucy said when I told her.
‘I think it’s an excellent notion,’ both Tilly and Willy agreed.
When Billy barked his approval, the matter was sealed as far as I was concerned.
Even Marcus loved it. He said so when we all met up for lunch.
The lunch party consisted of Adele and Marcus, obviously, and also Lucy, Sam, Noelle and Alec, plus me, of course, and thankfully, Jasper, who looked really hot and even more handsome since his recent brush with death as I was still calling it. Even his black eyes seemed a little less black and more like the gorgeous eyes I’d seen when I’d spilt his tea over him that very first day we met.
Tilly, Willy, and even Billy were also in the party, and this wasn’t any old lunch. This was a lunch to sample the wares of a catering company Tilly had recommended.
The sailing club didn’t have a restaurant, just a small kitchenette, although it did have a fully stocked and rather large and lovely bar. I wanted Marcus and Adele to see the function room to decide if it might meet with their approval as the venue for the reception, at the very least, and Tilly had pulled some strings to get the caterers to do a taster menu at extremely short notice. They wouldn’t normally agree, they said, but as Tilly and Willy Trotton had asked, of course they would make an exception.
‘Don’t make any plans to leave town any time soon,’ I said to Tilly and Willy, once we were all seated. ‘You seem to have magic powers and I may need them again.’
‘Are we under arrest, officer?’ Willy joked.
‘No. But I do have handcuffs, and I’m prepared to use them.’
Jasper almost choked on the mouthful of drink he’d just taken.
‘Handcuffs?’ he said, his eyes opening as wide as his poor nose would let them without too much pain. Painkillers were now completely out of bounds for twenty-four hours, the doctor had informed him. ‘You have handcuffs?’
‘Police officer, remember?’
‘Yes. I remember. Do you wear a uniform?’ he whispered, leaning closer so that no one else could hear.
My head touched his as I leant closer still. ‘I don’t need to now on a daily basis, but I do have one. And I also have one that Lucy sent me from her ‘Naughty Nights for Boisterous Bachelors’, collection.’
His eyes lit up even more, and he gulped down his chilled orange juice and emptied his glass.
‘I’d like to make a quick toast before we start,’ Marcus said, standing up and raising his glass. The efficient staff had already refilled Jasper’s glass with orange juice, and also Adele’s, but the rest of us had champagne. ‘You’ve all heard the wonderful news, and Adele and I couldn’t be happier. I’d like you all to join me in a toast to my beautiful, incredible, soon to be wife, and also the mother to be of our child. I can honestly say that I have never, ever in my entire life, been as happy as I am today. When you moved in with me at Christmas, Adele, I was overjoyed. When you kindly agreed to marry me when I proposed, I thought I was the luckiest man in the world. And I was certain that when you say I do, on our wedding day, all my dreams would come true. But nothing, and I do mean nothing, could have prepared me for what I feel today. Adele, my darling, my one true love, the only woman who has ever, and will ever be able to make me feel completely happy and contented, you are my world. You are my everything. You’re my best friend, my best ever lover, the only person who genuinely understands, loves, and cares for me. The only woman I will ever want in my life, and, if there is such a thing as eternity, yes, also in eternity. I adore you, Adele. Every single inch of you, from the tips of your toes, to the ends of your beautiful hair and to the top of your head. I raise my glass to you today because I want everyone to know how I feel and that there is, and never will be anyone else for me, even if we live for fifty thousand years or more. Thank you with all my heart for making all my dreams into realities. Thank you for being you. And most of all, thank you for choosing me. I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to make your own dreams come true and I’ll do everything I can to make each and every minute of each and every day as happy as it can possibly be for you. I’d move mountains for you. Cross oceans for you. Slay monsters for you. And, as someone far better equipped than me to do so, says in his song, which I know is one of your favourites, ‘I’d die for you.’ He raised his glass higher. ‘To Adele.’
And, as we all repeated the words, ‘To Adele’, Bryan Adams’ fabulous song, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”serenaded her from the speakers.
Naturally, Adele was crying. But these were happy tears. And I must admit, she wasn’t the only one. Several of us were moved to tears by Marcus’ words. Especially as we all knew he meant every one of them.
Adele stood up, pulled Marcus to her and gave him a passionate kiss in front of us all, and then she said. ‘I feel the same, my darling. I adore you too. I was a fool to have any doubts.’ A huge smile spread across her mouth. ‘But,’ she added laughing as she did so, ‘if that was a quick toast, I think we’ll need to sit for the next one.’
Everyone laughed and cheered and clapped.
‘Erm. I have a few more words to say,’ Marcus said, laughing, and his eyes filled with love. ‘Erin suggested we get the Town Crier to walk around the town on our wedding day announcing the fact to all and sundry that we are now husband and wife. We thought it was a brilliant, and rather fun, idea, and I’m pleased to say, so did the Town Crier. So thank you, Erin. And thank you for everything you, and Jasper, and all our friends here have done so far to ensure our wedding is the happiest day of our lives – so far. That’s it. I’ll shut up now.’
‘I’m still surprised Adele agreed to the Town Crier,’ Jasper said, his voice little more than a whisper. ‘I think it’s a great thing to do, but I assumed, given the fact that she’s now pregnant, and by their reckoning, she may be around twenty weeks in, she would think it’d add fuel to the fire and make people say that Marcus is only marrying her because of the baby.’
I kept my voice low too. ‘I know. I did wonder if she would think that, but to my surprise, discovering she’s a mum to be has given her some sort of super power. I’m serious. Less than an hour after the test had turned blue, it was as if she had a complete transformation. She told me that I had been right when I’d said that she shouldn’t let anyone control her life, and that now this wasn’t just about her, this was also about her child. There was no way she would let that child feel inadequate, or less than perfect, in any way, and if that meant she needed to change, then she would. She said a lot more than that, but basically it was as if her protective instinct had immediately kicked in and like Marcus said just now, she’d decided she’d do anything to make herself, Marcus and their child, happy and content. She made almost instant decisions about what flowers she wants, the cake, and who’ll make it, the dress, the bridesmaids. Oh, one of which is me, by the way.’
‘Yes. So I heard. I’ll make sure I maintain a safe distance from you at all times on the day.’
I laughed. ‘In case I cause you another injury?’
‘Yes. But also because, I’m already finding it difficult to keep my hands to myself when I’m within reach of you. I have a feeling that by the time the wedding day comes around, I’ll be tearing my hair out, and knocking people out of the way, just to be beside you.’
