“Not wistful. Just happy. I was thinking back to last year when I was pregnant and we first met.”
“We’ve come a long way,” he said. “Any regrets?”
The idea of it made her laugh. “None.”
“And you’re sure about the house?”
Courtney glanced across the garden at the house and smiled. “Completely sure.”
“Me too.”
In a few short weeks, they’d become the proud owners of the Foxglove Street house where Travis had lived since his return to Hamblehurst. The owners of the house had never lost their wanderlust, and the six-month trip they’d set off on last year turned into far longer. After travelling all over Europe, they’d returned for an extended tour around the British isles where, a few months earlier, they’d fallen in love with a beautiful village on the Yorkshire coast and decided to call it home. As Travis had been renting their Foxglove Street house for so long, they’d given him the chance to buy the property before they put it on the open market.
It hadn’t taken Courtney and Travis more than a few minutes to decide that they wanted to buy the place for themselves. They’d been house-hunting for several months by that point, and hadn’t found anything that was exactly what they were looking for in the area while still being close enough to Hamblehurst so that Courtney could enjoy seeing the Austin family regularly. After living with her aunt and uncle for several months before taking the big step to move in with Travis in his rented house, she hated the idea of moving too far away from Hamblehurst and cutting off connections that had come to mean so much to her and to Hope, too.
Courtney knew what family meant, only too well, and wasn’t prepared to let go of the new family who’d quite literally saved her.
And so when the chance came to buy the Foxglove Street house where she was already living with Travis, it made perfect sense. Travis loved the house, Courtney loved the house, and there was more than enough space for a family.
A growing family.
“We can renovate anything you want once it’s ours,” Travis said. “Kitchen, bathroom, whatever. Your wish is my command.”
“I like everything just as it is.”
“Me too, actually. You’re sure you don’t mind if I keep the front living room as my office?”
“That’s where you love writing. The other room at the back is better for a living room, anyway. It gets more sunshine and will be perfect for keeping an eye on Hope once she starts walking and running around in the garden.”
Travis smiled and reached across the bench to take Courtney’s hand and kiss it. The gesture always reminded her of when he’d turned up out of the blue a year ago and stunned her with his declaration of love. It was a memory that she’d cherish forever.
“There’s something I want to ask you,” Travis said, his tone suddenly serious.
“What is it?”
But before he could answer, Hope began fussing on the picnic mat as she tried to get to her feet. She still needed something to hold on to in order to move around by herself, and with everything out of reach, she was venting her frustration.
Travis leaned down and scooped her up into his arms, then settled her on his lap. Instantly happy, Hope beamed a smile at Courtney and clapped her hands.
“Actually, maybe Hope can help me here,” Travis said.
Steadying Hope with one hand, he reached into his pocket with the other. When Courtney saw the small black velvet box he was holding and glimpsed the excited look in his eyes, she let out a gasp.
Travis handed the box to Hope, who clutched it into her chubby little fists and turned it over in her hands, inspecting it with a serious look on her face and making them both laugh.
“Hope?” Travis said, smiling at the baby. “Give the box to your mum.”
Hope blinked back excited tears and looked at the box. When Travis repeated the instruction and pointed to Courtney, Hope grinned and thrust the box towards her.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Courtney said, a little breathlessly, taking the box and earning another beaming smile from her child.
For a long moment, she stared at the box, her heart thundering inside her chest.
“Open it,” Travis said softly.
Sucking in a breath, Courtney opened the box and let out another gasp when she saw the ring inside it. An exquisite diamond shone from a platinum band of channel-set dazzling diamonds. The precious stones caught the evening sunlight and shone against the black velvet box.
“It’s… it’s so beautiful,” Courtney murmured, bewitched by the beautiful ring.
