Chapter Thirty-One
Genevieve adjusted the blind in her dad’s office. Weird wasn’t the word for how she felt getting to use this place. It always seemed somewhere out of bounds or for people doing real business. Working on new cookware and homeware ideas for both Duchan Fayre and Flora at this time in the evening wasn’t necessary but it was the nice side of choosing her own hours.
Writing a recipe book was a skill she was learning. It was fun pulling together all her favourites. She’d get to cook them again in the show kitchen at Duchan, where the finished results would be photographed for the book. Outside, the sky was darkening and even though this house was out in the sticks, she still preferred to have the blind shut.
Her phone vibrated with a message and she had a bizarre feeling it was Finlay, which she knew was silly as it was the same vibe sound for everyone. She lifted it and frowned when she saw his name.
‘I knew it was you,’ she murmured. Mitzi glanced up from the basket at her feet. ‘Not you. It’s Finlay.’
Mitzi’s head raised fully like she recognised the name.
Genevieve opened the message. Maybe this was him finally explaining why he’d declined her offer on the flat. She flipped up the message.
FINLAY: hey. I wonder if you could do me an absolutely massive favour? Hayley told me you were back with your parents. If you’re there now, would you be able to nip outside and take a photo of the fountain in the rose garden? I’d like to show it to someone. Hope you can help! Xx
She stared at it and shook her head. What the hell? Had he lost his mind? Or maybe he’d had too much prosecco again. Did she want to imagine him in a swanky bar in Dubai getting sloshed with glamorous colleagues? Probably not. And Dubai was four hours ahead. It must be going on eleven o’clock. And he was still out on a school night?
Laying the phone down, she returned to the screen. Nope. She wouldn’t do it. Moments ticked by and she ignored her phone. It was completely black but still seemed to be jumping up and down, screaming at her.
Mitzi pulled herself out of her basket, lowered her front legs, and stretched.
‘No way,’ Genevieve muttered. ‘You don’t need a walk just now.’ Honestly, why did it seem like Mitzi knew what was in that message and was trying to make Genevieve comply? Or maybe she genuinely needed out for a wee. ‘Fine.’ Genevieve got to her feet and went along the back corridor to the cupboard for her jacket. Her parents were in the living room watching TV and didn’t mind if she came and went without saying anything. In fact, they probably didn’t want her to disturb them as they were deep in the buildup for the first episode of the new series of The Great British Bake Off. Genevieve had considered watching it with them but she didn’t like to disturb their together time too much.
She nipped out the French doors into the garden and Mitzi ran to a hedge. Perfect. If that was all she needed, they could go back in straight away. Genevieve had just turned to go in when Mitzi trotted off in the direction of the rose garden.
Seriously.
Raising her collar against the slightly chilly wind, Genevieve followed her. May as well take the damn photo, even though the light was fading and it might not come out very clearly. Ah, so what? He was lucky she was doing it at all. Mitzi skipped ahead like this was her first walk of the day. She sniffed around the rose hedges and bounded ahead as if she knew where she was going… Of course she knew her way around this garden but the way she was making a beeline towards the path to the fountain was highly suspicious. Sometimes Genevieve could swear that dog could talk or at least understand. But Genevieve hadn’t even read the message aloud, so Mitzi must be a psychic.
Hurrying after her, Genevieve tried to catch the scent of the roses. It was still there, but nowhere near as strong as it had been in the height of the summer. Up ahead, Mitzi let out a little bark.
‘Mitzi! Where are you?’ Genevieve turned the corner into the clearing with the fountain and her heart stopped. She froze. A man was bending over, patting Mitzi. Who was out here and why? How could she get away? Before terror had a chance to set in, the man straightened up and his face became crystal clear, even in the fading light.
‘Finlay.’ Genevieve gaped at him, unable to form words that even touched on all the questions she had. ‘What are you doing here?’
He stood still for a moment, just looking at her, then he moved slowly forward, closing the gap between them, but still out of reach.
‘Why aren’t you in Dubai? That message about the fountain.’
He lifted his left shoulder slightly. ‘A ruse. I just wanted you to come out here so I could talk to you.’
‘I don’t get it.’
‘I left. I realised there was something I needed to do.’
She raised her hand to her mouth and shook her head. ‘What?’
She couldn’t bear to move her hand from her lips. Her whole body was shaky and weak as she tried to process why he’d given up his job.
‘I want to tell you something I wish I’d told you weeks ago, but it’s taken me a trip halfway around the world to realise.’
‘Realise what?’
‘That I love you.’
‘You do?’ Her voice was as tremulous as her limbs.
He nodded. ‘I think I did right from the start. It just seemed impossible. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised how much I missed you. Neither of my other failed engagements made me feel like that. When they ended, I was angry and humiliated but with you, I just felt sad and lonely. All I could think about was getting you back. That’s why I wanted to meet you here. I want to ask you, for real, if we can be engaged, if you’ll marry me, if we can spend the rest of our lives together.’
Tears had crept into her eyes and began to spill from the corner. ‘You mean it? You really want that?’
‘I do. I’ve never wanted anything else more. I can only hope you feel the same.’
‘Yes. I do. I always liked you. But I taught myself not to and to look the other way.’ She swallowed back her tears. ‘Maybe it was stupid, but I made myself numb to other relationships, without really meaning to. When I met you again, I’d long given up hope of thinking you’d notice me. I thought we were just pretending and I didn’t dare think it was real.’
He took two steps forward and wrapped his strong arms around her. She was instantly hit by his warmth and she closed her eyes, sinking into an embrace that felt like home, kindness, and love.
‘It might have taken me longer to see you for who you really are, but once I did, I couldn’t look anywhere else and I never will again. You’re all I want.’ He pulled back a little and glanced at his feet. ‘Well, you too, Mitzi. We’re a whole package. And maybe one day we can add to that with little baby Harrington-McBrides.’
Hot tears pricked the corners of her eyes again but she wiped them away and smiled. ‘It sounds perfect.’
‘That’s why I took the flat off the market. I needed somewhere to stay. Sorry I didn’t tell you. My head’s been all over the place trying to get a flight back. I realised there was so much I wanted to say to you but not over the phone or in a message.’
‘Emelie didn’t tell me it was off the market. She just said my offer hadn’t been accepted.’
‘Did she? Oh. I suppose she wasn’t allowed to say. Well, I accept your offer. You are now the official co-owner of the flat.’
‘Don’t I need to pay some kind of deposit?’
‘I accept payment in kind. After all, I know you to be a guru in many things. I’m sure we can come to some arrangement. Keep your money. We might need it in the future for a down payment on somewhere bigger.’
She ran her hand over his cheek, savouring the feel of his neatly trimmed beard against her palm. ‘Good thinking. Shall we go in and surprise my parents with the news?’
‘Assuming you haven’t been secretly filming this and broadcasting it all around the world.’
‘No.’ She laughed. ‘I’ve rebranded my accounts and I’m working on the contracts with Duchan Fayre and Flora.’
‘Wow, that’s brilliant. I’m so proud of you.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘I think my mum was right. This was all fate. Everything we did happened for a reason.’
She smiled. ‘I love you so much, Finlay.’
‘And I love you too, beautiful Genevieve.’ He kissed her on the forehead. ‘You’re my everything.’
‘Can we not wait too long to get married?’ she said. ‘I don’t want an engagement that lasts years.’
‘Sounds perfect. Six months then? Is that enough time for wedding prep?’
‘Should be… Though we’ll need to check venues before we set a date.’
‘I think we should do it here… Where it all began.’
‘That’s not a bad idea. Oh, and can I choose Hayley as a bridesmaid?’
‘I’m sure you can, though it’s not up to me. You better ask her.’
‘I will, but will you be choosing Oliver as a best man?’
‘Hmm. I’d like to, though I know he hates weddings, so maybe I shouldn’t.’
‘He also hates Hayley and she doesn’t like him either.’
Finlay frowned. ‘Does that matter? They don’t have to marry each other. They just have to get through one dance and smile for the photographs.’
Genevieve could see Hayley taking the role a lot more seriously than that, but time would tell and it definitely wasn’t something they had to worry about right now.
This was a moment to forget everything else. She took Finlay’s hand and they strolled along the dusky path through the roses.
‘I definitely want a bouquet of roses,’ Genevieve said.
‘Very fitting, though I’m not sure we should serve prosecco.’
‘Why not? Without it, we might not have got this far.’
‘True. Let’s make a monument to it, a prosecco fountain in tribute to the drink that brought us together.’
Genevieve laughed and squeezed his hand. ‘Maybe we should thank Elise for bringing me to you that afternoon.’
‘Yeah, who’d have thought after everything she did to me this year it would be her actions that brought about the proposal?’
‘Bizarre really, but I’m not complaining.’
‘Whatever happened, our stars aligned that night.’
‘They really did…’ Genevieve looked up to where one or two stars were twinkling. ‘Do you believe it was always written up there?’
He stopped to look at her, gently took her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. ‘I believe in roses and prosecco. I believe in you, I believe in us and I believe in love.’
‘I believe in it too. For a long time, I gave up on it, but I believe in it now. With you.’
Together they stood among the roses, gazing at each other for a long time, until Mitzi broke the moment with a little bark.
‘Let’s head in and get warm.’ Genevieve took Finlay’s hand and Mitzi led the way through the garden towards the house.
Everything was perfect at last.
The End