Chapter Forty-Three
Edward tipped his head towards her and Aster looked up at him, a mix of fear and excitement in her eyes. For once in her life, she stopped thinking and started feeling. She stepped forwards, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
As their lips met, Aster felt an explosion flood through her. Like a thousand champagne bottles all exploding at once. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before – a perfect melding of emotion and logic, passion and reason. In that moment, everything fell into place. The confusion, the fear, the denial – it all melted away, replaced by a certainty Aster had never known before.
When they finally parted, Aster panted softly. ‘Ah,’ she said, wonder in her voice. ‘So that's what all the fuss is about. When physical desire hits emotional desire. Wow.’
Edward chuckled, pulling her close. ‘Welcome to the world of emotions, Lady Aster.’
Aster swatted his arm. ‘Don't get cocky. I'm still processing all of this.’
‘Take all the time you need,’ Edward said, his voice warm with affection. ‘We have the rest of our lives to figure it out together.’
Aster looked up at him, her eyes wide and vulnerable. ‘I’m still not convinced I love you, though.’
‘Take your time,’ Edward replied, smiling down at her.
Aster tried to create some space between them whilst she tried to get a grip on her emotions. ‘So, are you going to invite me in, or are we going to stand out here all day?’
Edward's eyes lit up. ‘I thought you'd never ask,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her towards the door. ‘Come on, I can't wait to show you my IT setup. I think you'll be quite impressed.’
As they stepped into the grand entrance hall, Aster looked at her hand enclosed in his and marvelled. Was he right? Was her sister right? Did she love him? She was still reeling from how overwhelming his kiss was just now and now she was just following him willingly into his enormous home. Looking around, she found herself pleasantly surprised. Despite the building's imposing exterior, the interior was warm and welcoming, a perfect blend of modern technology and classic elegance. Edward led her through a series of rooms, each more impressive than the last, before finally arriving at what could only be described as a tech lover's paradise.
Banks of monitors lined the walls, displaying real-time data from what looked like a dozen different systems. A sleek, custom-built computer setup dominated one corner of the room, its processing power almost palpable in the air.
‘This,’ Edward said, gesturing to the room with a flourish, ‘is where the magic happens.’
Aster's eyes widened as she took in the sophisticated setup. ‘This is… impressive,’ she admitted, running her fingers along the edge of one of the desks.
Edward laughed, pulling her close. ‘I'll take that as a compliment, coming from you,’ he said. Then, his voice growing softer, he added, ‘You know, I think you could be quite at home here.’
Aster raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh, really?’
Edward nodded, his expression growing more serious. ‘Really. Aster, I… I don't want to spend another day without you in my life. I know it might seem sudden, but I've never been more certain of anything.’
Aster felt her heart skip a beat. ‘What are you saying?’
‘Aster Byrne,’ he said, his voice filled with emotion, ‘I have a proposal.’
She flinched and took a step back. This was too fast. She needed to think. It hadn’t even occurred to her that this was an option. The silence lengthened and then Edward laughed.
‘Relax. I’m not going to ask you to marry me. At least not today. I happen to think you’d make a fine duchess, but that’s for another day.’
As he chatted on, Aster continued to stare at him in shock. Why did he want to marry her? And if he had made his mind up, why was he waiting? He made no sense. If she knew what she wanted to do, she would just get on and do it. He was decidedly odd.
‘Are you listening?’ he said. ‘Whilst I don’t need a wife right now, I do need a partner.’
‘A partner?’
‘In crime!’ Edward gave her a wolfish grin. ‘I think you’ll like this.’ He delved into the box and handed Aster a small packet. ‘This is an anti-spike kit. Each kit contains a pill that you drop into your drink which will change the colour of your drink if certain chemicals are introduced. For coloured drinks, we have a coated paper strip that you can dunk into your drink. If that changes colour, you also know your drink has been spiked. Finally, there an elasticated cap and metal straw to slip over your glass.’
Aster turned the packet over in her hand and nodded in approval. Her mind instantly focused on the new topic and leaving his troubling mentions of marriage to one side.
‘And what do these cost?’
‘Free to everyone in the first month.’ He opened another box full of pill containers. ‘It’s a condition of licence that any premises I rent to that serve drinks will give these tests free to every client, male or female, with every drink. They can brand the straw and caps with their logo and sell them if they wish.’
‘And what happens if they find their drink has been spiked?’ asked Aster. She had a few suggestions, but wanted to see what Edward had in mind.
‘Then they take their drink to the bar for a new one and the servers immediately notify management. A public announcement will be made via screens and sound system that someone in the venue is dosing drinks.’
‘Smart. What about CCTV?’
‘That will immediately be accessed and the potential culprit identified if possible.’
‘And then you put his image up on screen.’
Edward laughed. ‘Absolutely not. We are not into vigilante justice. Are we?’
Aster grumbled as Edward continued.
‘We then hand the evidence over to the police for them to determine if it is conclusive.’
‘Fat lot of good they’ll be.’
‘Now, now. With all my venues doing the same thing, other venues will quickly replicate these actions. It will become a selling point for the venues that show they care about their patrons. Plus, following your impressive campaign, the police are not likely to make the same mistake twice.’
‘And if they do?’
‘Well then, I’m sure we can think of ways of getting certain faces out into social media. Plus anyone my tenants suspect will be instantly banned.’
Aster looked at all the boxes and then back at Edward.
‘It’s going to cost a lot to you.’
‘Initially, yes, but after the first month the venues will pick up the bill.’
‘So, why not make them pay straightaway?’
‘Because I want this to work and I can afford it. I never want another person to go through what you did.’
He pulled her back towards him and stared down at her intently.
‘This is the right thing to do.’
Aster's mind raced with possibilities. ‘You know,’ she said thoughtfully, ‘we could do a lot of good from here.’
Edward nodded encouragingly. ‘I'm listening.’
‘Well, with your connections and my… let's call them “skills”,’ she said with a wry smile, ‘we could really make a difference. Root out corruption, protect the vulnerable, maybe even change some laws that need changing.’
Edward's eyes sparkled with excitement. ‘I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.’
Aster nodded enthusiastically. ‘Exactly! And with the resources at our disposal, there's no limit to what we could achieve.’
Edward pressed a kiss to her temple. ‘I can't think of anyone I'd rather save the world with.’
She looked at him suspiciously again.
‘You know your own mind, don’t you?’
‘I think that’s a given.’
‘And when you want to do something, you act on it?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘So why do you want to marry me in the future but not now? Do you need to run background checks on me or something?’
He laughed loudly and shook his head.
‘If I ran a background check on you, I suspect you would come up squeaky clean.’
‘I would.’ She grinned slightly and then laughed as well. ‘But just to let you know, I do have skeletons.’
‘I assumed as much. Incidentally, I love your laugh. You should do that more often.’
‘Wally. I laugh all the time.’
‘I’ve only seen you laugh around your sisters.’
‘Well, yes. I’m not a hyena. I laugh when I’m happy, relaxed and in good company.’
‘Hmm.’ He tilted his head. ‘I think there’s another factor.’
‘Really, oh wise one. What’s that then?’
‘I think you laugh when you feel safe, when you can really let your guard down.’
Aster raised her eyebrows and scoffed. ‘Oh, and you think I feel safe around you, do you?’
‘I do.’
She paused, deciding to file that one away and process later on.
‘You’re avoiding my question. Why not ask me to marry you today?’
‘My turn to call you Wally. I’m not going to ask you to marry me because it hasn’t occurred to you and I don’t want you to say no before thinking things through.’
‘I might say yes.’
‘But you might say no. And whilst this is what I want, I won’t ask again until I feel comfortable that this is also what you want.’
Aster tilted her head.
‘Even though you think this is the right thing?’
‘Indeed. The law frowns on forcing people into wedlock. So, I’m going to wait.’
‘Very well. I need to think this through.’
‘There’s no hurry, Aster. I’m not going anywhere and we have lots of projects to be getting on with.’
As the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon, Aster felt a sense of anticipation building within her. The kiss had been wonderful and the laugh had been better. He was right, she was guarded, but since knowing him she had felt that sense of reserve melting. This was the start of something new, something exciting. Why wait? She had processed all the variables, everything equated.
‘Yes,’ she said, a grin twisting around her lips.
Edward looked at her, his face creased in confusion.
‘Yes, what?’
‘Yes, you’ll do.’
Edward stared at her, his blue eyes open wide as he tried not to hold his breath. As she looked up into his face, she watched his pupils dilate, she was aware of every eyelash and knew she would spend a lifetime studying his face, and engaging with the razor-sharp mind behind those eyes.
‘I’ll do? Aster Byrne, is that your way of saying you love me? That you’ll marry me?’
She laughed, grinning up at him and shrugged.
‘I guess.’
Swinging her up into his arms, he showered her in kisses, laughing as he held her aloft. She looked down at him, smiling so hard that she thought her face would crack as she returned his kisses before he gently lowered her back to the ground, but not letting go of her.
‘We should probably call my sisters,’ she said reluctantly, not wanting to break the spell of the moment but knowing it was necessary. ‘They'll want to know what's happened.’
Edward nodded, a mischievous glint in his eye. ‘Shall we give them a video call? I'd love to see their faces when we tell them the news.’
Aster laughed, already imagining the range of reactions they were likely to get. ‘Ari will be smug, of course. Nick will probably want to run a background check on you… again. Paddy will cry, and Clem… well, Clem will likely start planning the wedding before we've even finished telling her.’
Edward chuckled, leading her back inside. ‘I always wanted siblings, but I think this might be more than I can handle.’
‘They're a handful,’ Aster admitted. ‘But they're my handful. And now, I suppose, they're your handful too.’
As they settled into the plush sofa in Edward's study, Aster pulled out her phone and began setting up the video call. Just before she hit the connect button, she paused, looking up at Edward with a mixture of love and mischief in her eyes.
‘Ready to face the family? But no telling them off this time.’
Edward took her hand, bringing it to his lips for a gentle kiss. ‘With you by my side? I'm ready for anything.’
Aster smiled, feeling a rush of affection for this man who had so thoroughly upended her life and her heart.
The screen lit up, revealing the faces of her sisters, and Aster took a deep breath. ‘Hello, everyone,’ she said, unable to keep the smile from her voice. ‘We have some news.’