The Upper Crush - Extended Epilogue
Poland - the following year
Come on, you can do this!
Lifting her bow, Estelle gave Duke a nudge and let out a war cry.
He took off, and she braced her thighs around him as he galloped down the sandy track.
The first target was already in range. Letting the arrow fly, she quickly grabbed another, not allowing herself the luxury of seeing if she’d hit the first mark or not.
She kept firing until Duke reached the end of the run and came to a walk, breathing heavily. Leaning down, she patted his neck. ‘Top job, partner.’
Glancing back up the track she tried to work out how well she’d done, then turned Duke and trotted back to where the spectators were.
James came forward to meet her. ‘Fantastic run. That’s definitely put you in the top ten.’
She leapt off Duke’s back. ‘I’m so glad we brought him with us instead of hiring a horse here.’
James pulled her into his arms and kissed her. ‘Definitely. And I’ve enjoyed the road trip. Now I can tell everyone I’ve been to hell and back.’
She giggled. ‘It’s called Piek?o .’
‘Which translates as hell. Can we visit Koniec ?wiata on our way home?’
‘Which one’s that? “Bad Meat” or “Monsterville”?’
‘It translates as “the end of the world”.’
‘Would that make you happy?’
‘Extremely. I bloody love Poland.’
‘Then we’ll do it.’
‘How long have you got until your next run?’
‘Half an hour?’
‘Okay, can you meet me in the practice field afterwards, fully tooled up?’
Huh? ‘Is there something you want me to hit?’
‘Maybe.’
‘For the love of god, will you stop asking me to shoot an apple on the top of your head? It’s so fucking dangerous and I’m never going to do it.’
He grinned. ‘But I trust you.’
‘Jesus Christ, James, I don’t trust me.’
He dropped a kiss on her forehead. ‘Don’t worry. It’s not that.’
‘Then what is it then?’
‘You’ll see…’
Exhilarated after her second run, Estelle cantered up to the practice field where James was waiting. Huge balloons had been tied to the front of each target.
‘What’s this?’
‘You start at that end,’ James said, ‘and I’ll meet you at the other. I want to see if you can burst all of them.’
‘O-kay… That’s pretty easy.’
He shrugged, a strange expression on his face. He looked… nervous ?
Wheeling Duke around, she trotted to the end of the run and checked her quiver. As long as she didn’t miss, she had enough arrows left to hit all of them.
She urged Duke into a canter. ‘Let’s do this.’
Letting the first arrow fly, she followed its progress as it burst the balloon. The word ‘Will’ was taped to the target behind.
Huh?
Firing the second arrow, she revealed the word ‘you’.
Oh, my god.
Heart racing, she burst the third balloon to see the word ‘marry’ behind it.
Her hands were trembling, but she managed to clip the edge of the fourth balloon and it burst, revealing the word ‘me?’
She slowed Duke as they approached the end of the run. James was waiting next to the last two targets left. One had a green balloon stuck to it, the other a red one.
‘What’s it to be, Star? Will you marry me?’
Lifting her bow, she shot the green balloon, showing the word ‘YES’ behind it. As the balloon burst, something dropped out of it.
James strode forward, picked a small box from the ground and brought it back to her.
‘Estelle Gloria Elizabeth Foxbrooke,’ he began, flipping the lid to reveal an enormous diamond ring inside. ‘I believe this belongs to you.’
Her mind was spinning. Even though she knew they’d get married at some point, this gesture had side-swiped her.
‘What’s behind the red balloon?’ she asked, her throat dry.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you really going to go there?’
Lifting her bow, she let the last arrow fly.
The balloon popped, revealing the words ‘ALSO YES’.
Throwing back her head, she laughed.
‘Well? Are you going to put me out of my misery?’
Dismounting, Estelle fell into his arms. ‘Yes, yes, and also yes,’ she said, peppering his face with kisses. ‘It was never going to be any other answer.’
‘Thank fuck for that,’ he rumbled. ‘Now, please, can you try the ring on? Your mom said it was the right size.’
‘My mom knows you were going to do this?’
‘I think everyone knows by now. I told your dad and Henry that I was going to propose, and ran the ring past your mom and mammy for their approval.’
She gazed at it. The diamonds had been cut to create a star. ‘It’s so beautiful.’
‘For the most beautiful woman in the universe.’ He eased the ring onto her finger.
‘It’s a perfect fit.’
‘Just like us,’ he replied, lowering his lips to hers.
Estelle opened to him, pouring her soul into their kiss, her body flooded with love. In James, she’d found her perfect match. He challenged, excited and loved her like no other, and she was looking forward to spending the rest of her life challenging, exciting, and loving him right back.