Epilogue
‘No, I’m bloody well not going to fill in, just for the sake of the cameras!
’ Thea’s broad smile belied the stridency of her words as she walked away from Nick and Annabelle, who were both behind the shop counter, looking at her with the same beseeching expression.
‘And the two of you looking at me that way isn’t going to make any difference. ’
‘Really?’ Annabelle grinned at her. ‘I mean, do you really want your heavily pregnant nearly-sister-in-law to be on her feet more than necessary for the duration of the Christmas season?’
‘That’s not fair, Annabelle,’ Thea muttered. ‘And you told me yourself that the midwife said everything’s perfectly fine, and doing some light work would be good for you and the baby.’
‘But Tally and the team said you were a real hit with the viewers in last year’s Christmas special,’ Nick chimed in. ‘She seems to think that the viewing figures’ll be through the roof if we’re in shot together this year.’
‘What is this, The Real Housewives of Burnham-on-Sea?’ Thea laughed. ‘I’m not a reality star, and neither are you, Nick Saint. And the last time Tally tried to convince you otherwise, you turned her down flat.’
‘Well, yeah, but that was before I saw how much the camera loves you…’ Nick sidled out from behind the counter and slid an arm around Thea’s waist. ‘It makes you look so sexy, Thea Ashcombe, and you know how gorgeous I think you are already…’ He dipped his lips towards hers, an expression of barely disguised lust in his eyes, and if it hadn’t been for the sound of Annabelle’s grossed-out groaning behind them, Thea probably would have given in and kissed him right back.
‘The answer’s still no,’ Thea murmured, but she knew her resistance was futile: ever since she and Nick had finally got together, she found it hard to refuse him anything.
These past twelve months had objectively been the happiest of her life, and although she’d maintained her independence and was still living in her little house on Orion Close, thanks to the couple of days a week she was now working at Saints’ Farm, she knew that eventually she and Nick would make a home together, when the time was right.
‘Tally’s coming up tonight,’ Annabelle interjected. ‘She wants to run a few things past us all before the cameras start rolling the day after tomorrow. Would you at least be happy to meet with her as a team?’
Thea sighed, but she knew she was going to agree. ‘Of course. Let’s see what she’s got in mind.’ She looked back up at Nick. ‘Just promise me there won’t be any grand gestures on camera. This is meant to be a show about the farm shop, not some trashy fly-on-the-wall docudrama!’
‘Don’t worry,’ Nick grinned. ‘I promise not to drop to one knee and pop the question on camera.’ He brushed his thumb gently against her lips. ‘When that time comes, it’ll be between you, me and the engagement ring, I promise.’
Thea’s knees, accustomed to going weak whenever he looked at her like that, felt their familiar lurch. ‘I’m glad to hear it.’
‘So now we’ve established that, are you up for attending the meeting?’
Thea grinned. ‘For you, anything. But I’m not sure if I have it in me to be so polite to Tally.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Annabelle interjected. ‘Word on the WhatsApp says she’s hooked up with some gorgeous camera operator, so she’ll be keeping her hands off Nick while he’s around.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ Thea laughed. ‘You know, I think I could get to like her if she’s no longer intent on getting Nick into bed!’
‘Ugh!’ Annabelle replied. ‘You might be besotted with my brother, but please don’t make reference to him and sex in the same breath. It’s weird enough for me that you took this bloody long to get together – I don’t need to think about him shagging anyone!’
‘Fair enough!’ Thea was laughing now. ‘That good old shared history is a doozy, sometimes, isn’t it, Annie?’
‘True, but it comes in handy at others.’ Annabelle paused and patted her prominent baby bump before adding, ‘I mean, who else am I going to trust to hold the sprog when Jamie and I fancy a night out?’
‘With pleasure,’ Thea responded. ‘I couldn’t think of anything nicer.’
Still smiling, she wandered out of the shop.
Cora and Dylan were spending the night at Ed’s place, and Nick would be along later to take advantage of the child-free house with her.
The past year had wrought some pretty spectacular changes for her and her family, but as the cusp of another new year was just upon the horizon, Thea’s life felt more complete than it ever had before.