Epilogue
A month later
Hartford
The residences of the Park Lane International were beginning to feel like home.
But I wasn’t about to admit that to Joshua or we’d never move out.
I tucked my feet up on the bench as Joshua lay in his bubble bath.
The man certainly knew how to relax and enjoy life.
These moments with him when we shared some wine and discussed our days were some of my favorite times together.
I swiped the iPad, bringing up pictures from a house that had just come on the market. “I really like this one.” I turned the tablet to face him.
“That bath is tiny. If you won’t get in this one with me, there’s no way you’ll get in that one.”
“You can’t base every real estate decision on the size of the bath.”
“Is that a rule I’m not aware of?”
I sighed. He was being so picky about where we were going to live. I wanted to get on with it. I couldn’t bear the thought of all the money he was spending on this place.
“Actually, I have a surprise for you.”
I narrowed my eyes. Surprises from Joshua were usually extravagant and unnecessary, but before I could ask him more, the buzzer on the door went. By the grin on Joshua’s face, he’d been expecting the interruption.
“It better be nothing more than cupcakes.”
“That as well.”
He grabbed the sides of the bath and stood, the water cascading off him like he was Helios rising from the ocean. “You want me to tell Beck to get lost for half an hour?” he asked as he caught me ogling him.
I jumped up off the bench. “Beck is here? With Stella? This is my surprise?”
“Part of it, I suppose.” He wrapped a towel around himself.
“I’ll go and let them in.” I grabbed my wine and the iPad and went to the door. When I had finished my hugs, Joshua wandered in. I set about making drinks for everyone.
“I’m going to put this into the TV,” Beck said, holding something in the air.
I glanced at Joshua, who nodded his approval to Beck. At least one of us knew what was going on. I poured the wine and handed around glasses.
“Come sit down,” Joshua said, reaching for me from where he was on the sofa.
Stella plonked herself down next to me and we all looked up at Beck, who looked like he was about to tell us if it was a film, a book, or a play.
Beck grabbed the remote control and pointed at the TV. “Welcome to Number Six Alford Street.”
A film showed the exterior of a red and cream brick house. The camera swept up the stone steps and went through the large double doors.
I’d been ambushed.
I stood. “Hold it right there. Press pause.” When the video stopped, I turned to face Joshua. “This is why you haven’t liked any of the places I’ve shown you? You had this up your sleeve all along?”
He grimaced. “Not all along.”
“Why didn’t you say?”
“I want you to see what it’s going to look like,” he replied.
“It’s not finished yet,” Beck said. “But it will be by Christmas.”
“And it’s just around the corner from our place,” Stella said, beaming at me. “It’s going to be gorgeous. Trust me. And we can work together to get it exactly how you want it.”
Joshua groaned. “No, that’s not going to work. If we leave it to Harford, the place will be kitted out with IKEA furniture.”
“There’s nothing wrong with IKEA,” I replied, sinking back down into the sofa.
“No, there isn’t,” replied Stella. “But this is going to be a sanctuary for you two. And Joshua likes the finer things in life so—”
“I’ll do you a deal,” I said.
“Name it,” Joshua replied.
“I’ll pick from options that Stella presents me with, no questions asked, if you agree to match whatever we spend on Alford Street and donate it to the Luca Foundation or Medicine Sans Frontiers.”
Joshua frowned, which I’d learned was a sign he was going to try to negotiate. But I was going to hang firm on this. “I’ll donate an amount equal to what we spend on the fixtures and furniture to the Luca-Kent Foundation.”
“The Luca-Kent Foundation?” I asked.
“I renamed it,” he said, handing me his phone. He’d pulled up an email from his lawyer confirming the name change. He was the sweetest, most romantic man. Far better than any fantasy I might have had at seventeen.
“I don’t need to have my name on the notepaper. I just want the foundation to get the money.”
“Well, you’re the person who inspired the foundation, so it’s only fitting that it bears the Kent name. And anyway, I hope Luca-Kent will be our name before too long.”
I tried to ignore the warm swirl in my belly.
We talked about the future all the time, about having children and growing old together.
But I knew the topic of marriage was a sensitive issue for Joshua.
He’d been burned so very badly by Diana.
“You know that a piece of paper saying we’re together forever isn’t something I need. ”
“Maybe not. But it’s something I want. And I hope you do too.”
I glanced over at Beck and Stella, who were both grinning at us like absolute loons.
I turned back to Joshua and pressed my hand on his chest. “I would love to be a Luca-Kent.”
“And no, this isn’t a proposal because I’m working on something”
“Maybe I’ll save you the bother and take matters into my own hands.”
“That would be so much fun,” Stella said.
“I’m warning you, though,” Joshua said. “I want a big, lavish wedding. I’m the luckiest guy on the planet and I want the entire world to know about it. I want to watch you walk down the aisle toward me.”
I wrapped my arms around him. There was so much unsaid beneath his words. He trusted me. He knew that I would never leave him, never humiliate him—and it felt good, because I loved him just as much as he loved me.
“I can live with that.” If it was important to him, it was important to me.
Another three months later
Joshua
I’d been planning this moment for months. I couldn’t wait to see Hartford’s face when she saw what I’d done to our bathrooms.
“Have you put in a barbeque or something?” Hartford stopped walking and stood with her hands on her hips, blindfolded.
“Maybe I built one in your bathroom.” I tugged on her hands, encouraging her into our bedroom. “Keep walking.”
She started to move again. Just a few more steps and she’d be in our bedroom. “You know I think it’s completely insane that we have our own bathrooms.”
Tonight would be the first night we slept in our new house. Over the past week, we’d moved all our things in and were all finally set up to spend the night. “It’s not insane. It’s good for resale value and it’s practical.”
There was only one part of our new home that Hartford hadn’t seen—the en suite bathrooms to our bedroom. She’d given me free reign and I’d made the most of it.
“The fact that I have to take so many steps just to get into our bedroom means this place is way too big.” She sighed. “But I do love it. Okay, we hit carpet, can I take this blindfold off yet?”
“Nope. Not yet.” I coaxed her forward until she crossed the threshold into her bathroom. The music I’d chosen was playing at the perfect volume and I pivoted her so the shutters wouldn’t be the first thing she saw. I just had a couple more things to do. “Right. Stay right there.”
Quickly I undressed and wrapped a towel around my waist.
“Is that Natasha Bedingfield playing?”
I grinned. I wasn’t sure if she’d remember. “Yeah.”
“It’s the track that played all summer the year you left for university.” She smiled and I could tell she was remembering those long summers of our childhood full of endless days of sunshine, tennis, and first crushes that became lifetime loves.
Nothing passed this woman by. Thank God I was lucky enough to be the man who got to try to keep up with her.
I liked the idea that when I got to the end of my life, I would have known my wife since the beginning. That we’d have lived so long in each other’s lives. No one would ever know me better.
“I need to get you naked,” I said.
“With the blindfold on?”
“Yeah, but it’s not as kinky as it sounds.
” She was wearing a shirt and jeans, so I set about undressing her.
When she was fully naked, reluctantly, I helped her on with a brand new fluffy white robe I’d ordered, Luca-Kent embroidered on the chest. I wondered how long it would take her to notice that.
I took a deep breath and slipped off the mask. “Your bathroom, m’lady.”
She broke into a smile but she wasn’t looking at the bathroom. Her gaze was fixed firmly on me. “I love it.”
I chuckled. “You haven’t even glanced at the room.”
“I love it already,” she said, looping her arms around my neck. “You did this for us, so I love it. But show me everything.”
I pulled her toward me and gave her a whistle-stop tour.
“I still love it!” she said as she looked around. “And the bath is incredible. So deep. I guess I knew you weren’t going to get that bit wrong. Is yours very different?”
“My bathroom is exactly the same but the marble is Portoro. I’ll show you.” I pulled back the shutters on the wall of her bathroom that was shared with mine, ready to reveal the cherry on the cake.
“Is this a pool?” she asked, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at the huge bath that sat between our two bathrooms. I’d made sure it was exactly thirty-eight degrees.
A complement of the best bath oils money could buy had pride of place in a dedicated cabinet.
During the last few months living together, I’d been able to encourage Hartford’s Genius Time, and a mixture of lavender and frankincense were her favorites.
We were perfectly suited in so many ways.
“No, it’s just a very big bath.” The bath was two meters by two meters—plenty of room for both of us. “And through there”—I pointed through to the other side of the shared bath—“is my bathroom. The bath sits between, so we can have joint Genius Time when the urge arises.”
“Three baths between two bathrooms?”
“It’s important.”
She just chuckled. “Are we getting in?”
I dropped my towel. She grinned and shrugged off her robe. I held her hand as she stepped into the water.
She sighed as she sank in to her neck. “I think I could get used to life with you.”
I chuckled and stepped in beside her. “Yeah? Well, I was hoping that would be the case.”
Despite all the space in the tub, we wove our legs together and I handed her a drink. And a cupcake.
“A cookies and cream cupcake. In a bath opposite my favorite person in the world. In the most beautiful house I’ve ever laid eyes on. Does life get any better than this?”
“I hope so,” I said.
“Joshua.” She gave me a castigating glare. “We can’t wish for more than this.”
“Just one more thing.” I took a breath. “Will you marry me?”
Her glare was replaced with a look of complete adoration. She put her uneaten cupcake down carefully on the side of the bath and kneeled over me, her slick thighs sliding either side of my hips. “A thousand times yes, Joshua Luca. My life is everything with you by my side.”
And just like that, without another pound exchanged, I had everything I could ever want.
Keep reading for Andrew’s story in Mr. Bloomsbury.