19. Thora #2
Finn took hold of Titus’ hand and led him to the sign on the front of the café that had a bunch of mistletoe hanging from it. He pointed at a silver bow on the underside of the mistletoe and Titus reached up and pulled on the ribbon. A gold ring slid down the ribbon and into Titus’ palm.
He looked at the ring, then looked at Finn and his eyes filled with tears.
‘What does this mean?’ he asked Finn.
‘If we can just interrupt you a moment…’ Rosie said, and she and Reggie stepped forwards.
‘It means,’ Reggie said, ‘that you have made the nice list because you and Dad are such a perfect match. We all think you deserve to spend every Christmas together.’
‘It’s true,’ Rosie said.
Titus looked from them to Finn, and then he wrapped his arms around Finn and hugged him tight. When he pulled back, it was to look into Finn’s eyes. ‘I love you,’ he said.
‘And I love you,’ Finn replied. ‘And now for the most important question, just in case it’s not clear enough.’ He knelt down and held Titus’ left hand in his. ‘Titus Pinnock, will you please spend all your Christmases with me as my husband?’
Titus gasped and dropped to his knees, too. ‘Of course I will, my gorgeous boy! Of course I will.’
Finn took the ring and slid it onto Titus’ ring finger, and then they hugged and kissed.
Thora and everyone else cheered and clapped and then they all went to join in with the hug.
‘Just in time!’ Pearl laughed. ‘Now let's get inside before we all freeze then we can open some champagne!’
Two hours later, they’d celebrated with some bubbly and a festive buffet, and Finn and Titus had left with the twins.
Thora was going to stay to help Ellie and Pearl tidy up and Lucas insisted on staying too.
They packed everything Finn had brought to the café into boxes except for what they could use to add to the café’s Christmas cheer.
By the time they’d finished, Thora was exhausted and couldn’t stop yawning.
‘You two head home now,’ Pearl said. ‘You’re opening up tomorrow, so Ellie and I will lock up this evening.’
‘Are you sure?’ Thora asked.
‘Positive. Head on home.’
They wrapped up in their coats and hats and left the café and walked down to the village.
Thora was glad that Lucas offered her his arm because of the frost and because she wanted to be close to him again.
Beneath their coats, they still wore their costumes.
‘I never thought I’d be walking home from work dressed as an elf after seeing my ex-husband propose to his boyfriend,’ Thora said, musing at the situation.
‘And me dressed as Santa. It’s not an everyday occurrence, is it?’ Lucas laughed. ‘Is Barry with your parents?’
‘Yes. I thought he’d get too excited with the costumes. He’s a rescue, and he has a thing about clowns, so I doubt he’d like elves or Santa. He’d probably start growling and barking and it would unsettle him.’
‘Is he staying there tonight, then?’ Lucas asked.
‘Yes, and the twins are staying at their dad’s then going straight to London tomorrow to do some Christmas shopping. Finn said he wanted to take them with him and Titus so they could have a celebratory lunch.’
‘It’s a good job Titus said yes, then.’ Lucas laughed.
‘I don’t think there was any doubt about that,’ she said. ‘Titus has been dropping hints for a while about getting married. I think he’d even like to consider adopting.’
‘Really?’ Lucas asked. ‘I always admire people who are so certain of what they want. I mean, how can you just know that you want to get married and have children? Adopting is a big deal too.’
‘It is, but I think that when you’re sure you’ve found your person, then you can be sure about your direction in life. Titus is thirty-eight now, and he knows what he wants and so does Finn.’
‘Good for them.’ Lucas inhaled deeply. ‘I guess it takes some of us longer to realise what’s important.
Pride, jealousy, and insecurity all become less important when you get older.
I don’t like to think of it as a clock ticking, but I’m more aware of the fact that I’ve probably lived at least half of my life. And that’s if I’m lucky.’
‘Oh gosh, it’s hard to think that way,’ Thora said.
To their left, the sea stretched out from the beach, its surface rippling like liquid silver in the moonlight while the sand glowed like crushed opals.
The cliffs that hugged the cove were silver too and Thora thought everything looked magical, like she was seeing it through fresh eyes.
She had always loved Porthpenny, but now it felt even more important to her because it was here that she had first fallen in love with Lucas and now she knew she was falling for him all over again.
When they reached her home, they stood on her doorstep, and he took her hands.
‘That was a fun evening.’
‘It was brilliant.’
‘Is it OK if I…’ He released her right hand and stroked her cheek. ‘If I kiss you.’
She nodded, and he leant forwards and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
‘Lucas … Do you have to go?’
‘I will have to go back because my father is … Well, he’s probably asleep now. He turns in early so I could go back later.’
‘If you text him, will he reply?’
‘Unlikely, as he’s probably snoring by now.’ Lucas smiled.
‘Would you like to come inside?’ Her heart thudded like a drum and she held her breath as she waited for his reply.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked before kissing her again.
‘I’m sure.’ She took a shaky breath. She had so many fears about doing this, but she knew that if she didn’t act soon, she’d lose her nerve, and she wasn’t prepared to lose this chance to be with Lucas again.
If he saw her naked and found her repulsive, then she’d know he wasn’t the man for her, but if things went well, then … Perhaps they were meant to be together.
She unlocked the door and they went inside, then Lucas kissed her in the way she’d hoped he would. And all her fears and worries slipped away as she lost herself in the arms of the man she had always loved.