Epilogue
‘Are you ready?’
‘Just coming,’ I called out, pausing for a moment to dab the tiny beads of perspiration from my upper lip. It was so hot. The heat didn’t usually bother me, but today I was struggling.
I picked up the silver hoop earrings from the dressing table and slipped them on and stood back to survey my reflection. The blue sleeveless dress fell in soft filmy folds around my calves and went perfectly with my strappy sandals.
Rhys was waiting beside the floor-length picture window, silhouetted against the ocean. I didn’t think either view was one I would ever tire of looking at.
‘Sorry. Have I made us late?’
Rhys checked his watch. ‘No. There’s still plenty of time. It’s not like they can start without me.’
I crossed the room to slide my arms around his waist.
‘How are you feeling? Are you nervous?’
‘Maybe a little.’
‘Don’t be. You’ve wanted this for so long and you’ve worked so hard for it. You deserve this. It’s time everyone got to see just how incredibly talented you are.’
‘You don’t think you might be just a tad biased?’
I laughed. ‘Trust me. It’s going to be a fantastic night.’
Rhys lowered his head and pressed a kiss on my lips. ‘I just hope you and I aren’t the only ones who’ll show up.’
I smiled into his shirt front. ‘That’s not going to happen. Louise told me they’d had more acceptances for your show than any other they’ve held this year.’
‘Good to know, but as long as you and Tasha are there, that’s all I care about.’
The small art gallery in a coastal town about a twenty-minute drive from our beachside home was owned by an elderly couple who were passionate about supporting local artists. Which, after living here for two years, Rhys was.
I was still a relative newbie to life down under.
It had taken me almost six months to tie up the loose ends of my UK life and stitch the threads into a new tapestry.
I had no Aussie twang, although I teased Rhys mercilessly at how easily he was picking one up.
And Tasha sounded like she’d lived here her entire life.
Seeing her sun-bronzed and healthy, playing soccer for the school’s first eleven and joining the water polo team, felt like validation that we were all exactly where we were meant to be.
And despite Mel’s fears – which I’d secretly shared – Annalise had actually been far more amenable and reasonable since returning to her home country.
Co-parenting always comes with glitches, but ours had all been minor, and the most important thing was that Tasha was happy and knew how much she was loved by all three of us.
‘Your car or the ute?’ asked Rhys, slowing his pace to mine as we descended the wooden steps that led from our deck to the parking area.
‘Take the utility,’ I said, my eyes twinkling, because I knew he’d tease me for refusing to shorten the word. Some of my mother’s habits I’d carried with me to the other side of the world, and I rather liked that.
‘Still so British.’
I gave a shrug. ‘I think speaking to Jackson every other day has a lot to do with it. He wishes you luck for tonight, by the way.’
‘That’s nice of him,’ Rhys said, manoeuvring the vehicle off the unmade road from our property and onto the highway. ‘Are he and Lars still hoping to come out later this year?’
‘They are,’ I said with a smile. ‘Although he said he’d have to clear it with his business partner.’
‘I hear she’s a real tyrant,’ Rhys joked.
‘Nah. Not anymore,’ I said, turning my eyes to the passenger window to watch the sun slowly descend towards the horizon, painting the waves in molten gold hues.
Taking up Jackson’s offer to become my business partner had been one of the easiest decisions I’d ever made. He’d taken over the day-to-day running of Ellie Harker Properties and loved dividing his time between my business and his own.
As much as I enjoyed my regular ‘work’ trips back to the UK, I think we all knew they were more to see the family and friends I’d left behind. It was six months since my last visit – the longest gap since I’d moved – and I was desperate to see everyone again.
In that uncanny way that always took me by surprise, Rhys had followed the direction of my thoughts. He reached across the centre console and took my hand. ‘Did you speak to Mel today?’
I bit my lip, hiding a spasm of pain and not turning my face back from the window for a moment or two.
‘We had a brief video chat earlier. Ava has grown so much since my last visit.’
‘Babies do that,’ Rhys said, and there was a look on his face that melted my heart.
‘She’ll be out here soon.’
I nodded happily. Mel, Steve and baby Ava – toddler Ava, I silently corrected – were coming out at the same time as Henry in about three months’ time.
‘I thought it might be best if I travel with them to give them a hand with the little one,’ Henry had told me.
Whereas Mel’s take had been‘I think Henry should travel with us, so I can keep an eye on him.’
I loved how my UK ‘family’ all looked out for each other, even when they weren’t actually related.
The show was a resounding success. I was bursting with pride as I watched from the sidelines while Rhys spoke to customers, loving the enthusiasm that shone out as he discussed the pieces on display and loving even more the way his eyes kept coming back to me where I sat at a table near the counter.
I watched as sold stickers were pressed onto frames and gradually the crowds began to thin.
‘Champagne?’ asked one of the teenagers Louise had hired as a waitress for the evening.
I shook my head with a smile. ‘Just a glass of water, if you have one.’
Despite the air con in the gallery, I was uncomfortably warm and the chair I was sitting on was clearly built for someone with an entirely different body shape than mine.
Finally, the gallery emptied of customers and Rhys strode across the room towards me, his eyes alight with excitement.
‘It went well, didn’t it?’
He nodded happily. ‘So much better than I could have hoped for. What a night.’
‘It’s not over yet,’ I said, as he pulled me out of the chair and into his arms.
‘Is that a promise, Mrs Davies?’ he whispered into my ear.
‘It is,’ I said, wondering if this was the moment.
But then Louise came over and I had to leave it a further ten minutes before letting Rhys in on the secret that I’d been quietly keeping to myself for the last twelve hours.
I waited until we were both in the car before turning towards him in the amber glow of a nearby streetlight.
‘When we pull out of the car park, you’ll need to turn left and not right.’
A puzzled frown creased his brow.
‘Why’s that?’
‘Because that’s where the birthing centre is.’
His eyes widened and then dropped down to my swollen belly. My hands went to my bump which felt drum-tight, uncomfortable, and totally wonderful. It was like touching a miracle and I couldn’t resist the pull it had on me.
‘Now? Tonight?’
I nodded with a serene smile that the next contraction tried to steal away.
‘Why didn’t you say anything? I thought we still had a couple of weeks to go. We should have postponed this evening.’
‘Absolutely not. This was a big night for you . . . and now it’s going to be an even bigger one.’
He leant across and kissed me tenderly.
‘What were the chances of this happening tonight of all nights?’
‘You know us . . . we like to beat the odds.’
‘We do,’ Rhys agreed, starting the car and giving me one last look filled with love. ‘Now let’s go and meet our daughter.’
The End