Epilogue Carli
Seven months later
Kinshore’s secret garden shimmered in full spring bloom. Birds chattered in the cherry blossom trees, tulips burst open under the warm spring sun, and golden daffodils were radiant in their April splendour.
Carli and Niall lay side by side on a picnic blanket on the grass next to her mum’s memorial bench, an empty hamper nearby. Glen and Massimo were curled up, sleeping at the bottom of the blanket.
‘I can’t believe we’re leaving this weather behind,’ Carli said. ‘Just as it’s getting nice.’
‘Ach, don’t let it trick you, Cass,’ Niall said languidly. ‘Today is lovely but tomorrow could be rain and clouds. You should know that by now. Melbourne weather is much more consistent.’
‘Have you been to Melbourne?’ Carli laughed. ‘It’s four seasons in one day.’
‘Okay, just as well I’ve packed for all four seasons, then.’
‘You’ve packed? Last I saw, there were three pairs of boardies in the bottom of the suitcase. For a non-surfing holiday.’
‘Well, I might get lucky. I’ll chuck in a few tops and my toothbrush, but that’s me done.’ Niall swung his leg over Carli’s. ‘Speaking of getting lucky, I need to ask you an important question.’
‘What’s that then?’ Unless he was about to stand up and usher in a marching band, this wasn’t a proposal. Niall was in far too laid back a mood for something that big to be on the cards today.
‘Would you like to join the Niall high club?’ he asked. ‘On the plane to Melbourne.’
Carli’s laughter rebounded off the garden walls. ‘As honoured as I am by the invitation, I genuinely don’t know if my limbs could take it in that tiny toilet. But since we’re flying business class, I might offer you a bedtime story. Carli’s cabin club, if you know what I mean.’
‘Oh, I think I know exactly what you mean.’ Niall nuzzled into her neck. ‘Sounds perfect to me. I do have trouble sleeping on flights.’
‘Well, consider that a thing of the past with your own in-seat cabin crew.’
‘Can’t wait.’ Niall rolled onto his back, took Carli’s hand and they soaked in the rare sunshine, letting it warm their bones, Carli’s in particular.
Spring was so welcome after the ravages of Scottish winter.
Thankfully, the oxygen sessions in Oban helped immensely with her symptoms, and the cottage she and Niall shared was always cosy and toasty.
A minute or two of silence passed before Niall spoke again. The man found it hard to sit still or quietly for long.
‘You know, I have my reservations about letting Glen run things while we’re away.
’ Niall sat up and rubbed Glen’s belly with his foot.
‘I suspect he’ll default to lazy as soon as we’re on that flight.
Eh, Glen? If you’d rather just take the time off, you only have to say.
You worked hard to get that therapy dog certification. ’
‘He did,’ Carli rose and scratched Glen’s neck.
As well as having him support some of Niall’s surf students, she took him into a few local schools to help calm anxious students when reading.
It was fulfilling work that she loved. And Glen seemed to enjoy it too.
Leaving him for a month so they could meet Carli’s new niece, Autumn, and finalise Niall’s citizenship, was going to be hard.
But Sean had promised to take the dog for countless walks on the beach, one of Glen’s favourite pursuits.
Niall would miss Glen too. Sometimes he credited the two dogs with helping him heal, which Carli could well believe.
There were also the therapy sessions that he had continued, managing increasingly to talk about them, even using the term ‘mental health’ without putting air quotes around it.
He had also mooted the possibility of getting a counselling qualification himself and using it to help support his surfing students.
And getting Massimo trained as a therapy dog, too.
Carli was so damned proud of him.
‘Do you know what’s amazing?’ she said, looking around the garden at one place in particular. ‘That you can lie here – we both can lie here – a stone’s throw from Mr McInally’s bench, and be fine with it.’
‘Aye,’ Niall agreed. ‘There are more important things in life. Like us. And surfing. I’ve achieved enough on my own to know I’m more than my school days. But nobody tells you that at school. I’m unpicking a lot of that stuff with Kieran right now, too.
One of Niall’s favourite topics was talking about how his protégé was coming on. ‘How is Kieran anyway?’ Carli asked. ‘Is he going to be okay without you for a month?’
‘He’s awesome. His surfing’s progressing in leaps and bounds now the weather’s better, and we’re talking through so much stuff out of the water too.
I should also give Glen credit for helping him to open up.
Although, with all their coffees and pup cups, I’m nearly through a tree’s worth of loyalty cards at the cupcake cafe. ’
‘Such a hardship eating cupcakes for work. You’re lucky they’re not showing on your hips.’ Carli placed her hand over Niall’s abs, as she had done in their beach yoga session all those months ago. It might not be as illicit as that day, but it never stopped being a thrill.
‘That’s not my hips.’ Niall glanced at her hand, then up at her with a cheeky smile. ‘But maybe the yoga you’re making me do is helping keep the pounds off.’
‘Which yoga would that be?’ Carli stroked her palm back and forth over his firm belly. ‘The beach or the bedroom variety.’
‘I’m going to say both, but if I had to pick one, then I’m choosing bedroom. Just ‘cause I really feel connected to my teacher in that environment. And it’s important to connect with your teacher. Right?’ Niall raised his eyebrows in that way that made Carli melt.
‘It’s vital,’ she said. ‘And I think you’re doing an awesome job connecting.’
‘I shouldn’t tell you this,’ – Niall smoothed her hair – ‘but I’m in love with my yoga teacher. She’s a total fox. When I get her in a nude backwards bend… I mean… God, I love her!’
‘Is that all you love her for? Her naked backwards bend?’
‘Oh no. I love her naked happy-baby pose, naked downward dog, even naked pigeon pose is sexy when she’s doing it. Niall leaned in and kissed Carli, trailing his fingers down her neck. ‘Show me the hero pose,’ he said.
Carli eyed him with scepticism. There was a proviso coming. She knew it. No way did he just want her to sit on her knees.
‘And I have a modification,’ he added.
‘Of course you do.’
‘Aye, I need you to do it wide legged. On top of me.’ Niall reclined on the blanket, a devilish smile on his face. One of many of his expressions that she was powerless to resist.
‘I’m in my asana,’ he said. ‘Sit on my banana.’
Carli laughed. What else could she do? She straddled him, her floral maxi skirt fanning out over her thighs.
With one hand on her hip, Niall steadied her, over the spot where his surname was tattooed. Something he did often, the location never an accident. He slid his other hand under the hem of her skirt, rubbing the wide pad of his thumb to the gossamer sheerness of her panties.
‘Mmm,’ Carli whimpered. ‘Oh, God, we shouldn’t do this here.’ But her protest came out with all the force of a kitten’s meow.
‘But we are doing this here,’ Niall rumbled lowly. ‘Don’t worry, as long as you keep a straight face, no one who comes in will know.’ He pulled her panties to the side, slicked his thumb over her most sensitive spot.
‘Oh, fuck.’ Carli bucked a little. ‘Oh, Niall, it feels so good when you touch me.’ The words tumbled from her lips as she watched him revelling in the effect he was having on her.
‘Tell me what you want me to do,’ he said, doing exactly what she wanted already. And knowing it.
‘I want you to do this?’
‘What is this? What am I doing? Say it.’
‘I want you to keep playing with my pussy. Make me wet.’
‘You’re pretty damned wet already, Cass. We were only having a picnic.’
‘I know, but you started talking about naked yoga and… Oh God.’ Niall was working his own brand of magic on her body. Their sex life had only got better since they’d been back together. She should have known he wouldn’t be able to hold back from finger fucking her with everything he had.
‘God, I love your pussy.’ He lifted her skirt for a quick look. ‘I can’t wait to fuck it later.’
‘What about now? Here.’ Carli pulled her skirt back down, but she was half serious about doing it in the secret garden, only part teasing.
‘No. The things I want to do to you are not for Kinshore eyes.’ Niall continued doing things that were definitely not for Kinshore eyes either, and talking about things not for Kinshore ears.
‘It’s lovely in this garden but I can’t spread your legs wide open and devour you here.
I can’t drive so far into you that it feels like we’ll never be apart again.
I can’t fuck you just how you need to be fucked, which is with every inch of my hard cock and every ounce of love I have in my body.
So just enjoy the sun on your face, your boyfriend under you, and let yourself get as drenched as you need to before you come like the fucking goddess that you are, all over my hand. ’
‘Oh, God, Niall. I love you.’ Carli gave in, surrendered, completely.
She was riding the wave of him. He was the ocean to her earth, raising her up onto the crest of a wave and crashing into her with all the force of his love.
A thunderous rush of abandon surged through her, devastating her to her core.
Nearly breaking her. Oh, God, she would never stop loving this man.
And later, they would fall through the door of the home they shared, tear each other’s clothes off and do all this again. And again. Properly. Reaching their peak together.
Because that was how Niall and Carli had always worked best.
Together.