Chapter 39
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
Edith
“ I s that all of it?” Joel shouts from inside the house.
“Just this one. I promise.” I close my car boot and pick up my last suitcase, ready to take it inside, the summer sun beating down on me.
It’s been so hot these last few days, but there is nothing better than seeing all the brightly-coloured flowers in the gardens and the horses galloping around the fields.
It’s been six weeks since we stood out here in the rain and laid everything out on the table. From then on—just like always—we’ve hardly left each other’s side. It had only seemed right that I move in with him permanently since I spend the majority of my week here anyway.
Daisy is happy for us, and I’d made a promise not to leave her with the rent until she found herself a housemate. One of the nurses from the hospital had jumped at the chance, and it has been all systems go from there.
“Wait. Stop,” Joel says, coming out to take the suitcase off me. “I’ve got this. You stay there.”
“Why?”
“Just do as I say.” He goes to walk off but turns back and pecks a kiss on my lips. “Trust me.”
“I don’t know if I do trust you. I still remember that time you promised me you wouldn’t hit me with a conker and then you shot one at me with the catapult.”
He returns, giving me a knowing look. “That was Daniel.”
“It was not. It was you.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m telling you, I’m not” I grin.
He folds his arms in front of me and raises a brow. “And you know this how? ”
“Because Daniel was out with your mum buying food for his eighteenth birthday party.”
He studies me for a moment before a grin slowly forms on his lips, causing my smile to beam because he knows sure as shit it was him.
“Okay. You may be right.”
“I am right. You were forever hurting me. Don’t forget that time we were down by the river and you were swinging that bit of wood around and it hit me right in the head. Or that time we were outside the Craven and—”
He grips my face and pulls me towards him. “Do you know how much I love you? And have I told you that you look sexy today?”
“Stop creeping.”
He wriggles his brows before pressing his lips to mine, teasing me with the tip of his tongue.
Just as he pulls away, he quickly bends down and grabs my legs, throwing me over his shoulder so fast that I scream out in surprise as he spins me around.
“What are you doing?” I laugh. “Put me down.”
“Sorry, I can’t do that. I want to carry my girl over the threshold.”
“Why the hell for?”
“Because this is our first place together.”
“I’ve been here nearly every day for the last six weeks. It’s hardly new.”
“It’s new for me because you’re now officially taking the other half of the wardrobe.”
He carries me inside, and I let out a squeal when he throws me down on the sofa, right before another yelp leaves my throat as he playfully throws himself on top of me, propping himself up with his arms at the side of my head.
“What has got into you today?” I ask, grinning at him. He’s been like a big kid all day, but I can’t say I don’t love the playful look in his eyes.
“Can’t a man be happy that his best friend and the love of his life is moving in with him?”
“Yes. But again, I’ve been here for weeks.”
“Well.” He kisses my forehead. “Now,” He kisses my nose. “It’s,” He kisses my cheek. “Very.” He kisses the other. “Official.” He kisses my lips, and the second our tongues meet, he consumes me. Deepening the kiss and making me crave him everywhere.
“Don’t go anywhere,” he says, grinning like a kid once more before he leaps off me and heads out of the living room, leaving me aroused yet laughing at his mischievousness.
So much has happened over the weeks, but everything seems to be finally getting back on track. I’ve not seen Leon again, but word has it that he was prosecuted and has a hefty fine he had to pay.
Things with Dad are better than ever. The extra work he’d taken on after his party was purely because he’d needed to get out of the house—away from Lorna—but he’s finally enjoying his retirement like he’s supposed to.
With Lorna, things haven’t been that straightforward. Which hadn’t surprise me. After a couple of weeks of her going to ground and her silence somewhat unnerving, she reared her head while I was with Dad and caused a scene. After multiple times of telling her to leave, she was soon escorted to a police car, and I took out a restraining order out on her. Things since then have calmed a lot, which has given me time to get things straight in my head.
“Chink, chink,” Joel says as he enters the living room with two glasses and a bottle of fizz.
“Champagne?”
“Of course.”
I sit up, watching as he pours us both a glass, handing me mine. “Thank you. What are we celebrating?”
“Us. You. Being in our forever home. And me having to put up with your shit. ”
“You know my stuff isn’t unpacked yet; I could easily walk back out.”
He grins. “You can try.”
We tap our glasses and I take a sip, the bubbly fizz of the Champagne dancing in my nose. Joel takes a seat on the sofa, and I kick off my sandals, placing my glass on the coffee table before laying back with my head in his lap.
He looks down at me, stroking my hair, devotion in his eyes. Although it was only a week, I regret that time apart. I should have known better than to believe the woman who has always caused trouble for me, but my fear had taken over.
“I love you,” he whispers.
“I love you, too.” I reach up and run my fingertips through the thickness of his beard. “What are our plans for our day off tomorrow?”
“Sex. Lots of sex.”
I laugh. “We have plenty enough of that. We’ve christened every room in this house.”
He pulls a face as if he’s thinking. “I’ve not fucked you in the shed yet.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh, how exciting. I can’t wait for that.”
“You’ll be in for a treat. I can hold you down on the work bench by the vice if you’re up for it.” He laughs, coming down to kiss me again.
“I think I’ll pass on the vice thanks.”
“But not to me fucking you in the shed?” He grins. “Awesome. It’s a date.”
“It most certainly is not.” I correct. “And speaking of the shed, we need to make use of the space you have next to it.”
There are many things I love about this man, but the best thing of all is the way his eyes are always on me. Just like they are now. No matter what I’m doing or where we are. When we talk, I have his full attention, when we banter his eyes never leave mine. He makes me feel wanted, loved and cherished with the simplest of gestures, and I will never take that for granted.
“What are you thinking?”
“Chickens.”
His mouth tugs at the corner. “Chickens? You want chickens?”
“No, you want chickens. But I’m happy to have them. In fact…” I leave my spot on the sofa and dig around in my handbag, curling my legs up underneath when I return and handing Joel an envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Well, over the last couple weeks, I’ve been in touch with a lady who owns a chicken farm near here. She has some available to purchase. She has so many different breeds and said that once we are set up, we can drive out and go from there. All the information is in the letter. As well as that, I’ve also been in touch with someone prepared to come out to design and build you a chicken coop. So if you’re up for it, just say the word.”
He reaches out, taking the tips of my hair and wrapping them around his fingers, but his words are lost on his tongue.
My thoughts go to Milo, and I’m unsure if my suggestion is too soon. The loss of him is very raw for Joel. He still looks for him when he comes home from work or when he gets up in the morning, and it pains me to see the sadness in his eyes. But chickens could take his mind off that.
“Is it too soon?” I fuss, placing my hands on his lap. “We can hold off until you’re ready.”
He smiles. “I don’t want to hold off.”
“You don’t?”
“No. But why?”
“Why what? You wanted chickens.”
“Yes, but why have you done all of this?”
I look at him, unsure what he means. “Because I love you. You said you’ve always wanted chickens, and I wanted to give you that. I know how hard it’s been for you recently losing Milo—and this is not in any means me trying to replace him—so I just wanted to do something I knew would make you happy.”
This time it’s him who studies me but instead of answering, he places the letter on the coffee table and gets up, leaving the room and me feeling confused.
“Joel?”
Returning, he kneels in front of me, pulling me to the edge of the sofa before wrapping his arms around my hips.
“Are you mad with me?”
“No, baby. Not at all. But if we are going to share things, then it’s only fair that I do the same. But I don’t want you to freak out.”
“Okay,” I say curiously.
“Now, you know that I love you, right?”
I nod.
“But I also know that sometimes—even now—you struggle to get your head around it. Which is fine because that’s just who you are, and I love you for being you and I never want you to change. But I don’t think you realise just how much I love you. You are everything to me. There is no me without you, and every day I wake up, I love my life even more. It’s been rocky. It’s been hard, but it’s been worth all of that because I have you by my side. So…”
His arms leave my waist and he presents a small black velvet box to me.
My heart pounds, all the air leaving my lungs at once as my eyes dart from the box to him.
“Now. I know you had your doubts about us getting together so soon after everything that’s happened, but it’s not too soon for me. Because I’ve loved you for a lifetime. So I wanted to get you something that would show you I’m in this forever.”
He opens the box, and a little gasp leaves my throat as I look down at the sparkling diamonds set in a white gold ring with a knot in the centre.
It’s beautiful.
My heart is racing for a different reason altogether. “Joel… Is this a—”
“It’s a promise ring. Edie, I would marry you tomorrow if you wanted, but we both know we aren’t ready for that just yet. I didn't want an engagement ring to freak you out in any way. So, for now, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and I promise to love, cherish and protect you every day from here on until the day I die. You are it for me, and I love you unconditionally. ”
I blink back the tears that have now invaded my eyes and look at him, speechless.
“I take it from the shit-eating grin that you approve.”
“Yes,” I chuckle. “I love it so much.”
He slips it on my finger and I kiss him. “Thank you,” I whisper.
“I love you.”
“I love you more.”
He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me onto him for us to fall to the floor, kissing me again before I rest against his chest, my full body laid against his.
I raise my hand to look at my beautiful ring and absorb the feeling I have in the pit of my stomach—the one he put there many years ago—and think about how over time, those small embers have grown into a raging fire. One filled with passion, hope and love. No one else had been able to keep that burning.
Joel isn’t just a best friend to me: he’s everything I’ve been looking for in a man. He once told me never to change and I’m so grateful he values my friendship, love and loves me for who I am. He truly is my one in a million.
“What are you thinking?” I whisper, looking up at him .
“So about this guy designing my chicken coop… You do remember I’m an architect, right?”
I grin. “Yeah, and I also know how arsey you get when designs don’t go your way. I can’t cope with that, so I hired someone else.”
“You cheeky shit.”
I burst out laughing, right before he rolls me onto my back and kisses me senseless.
I know no matter what, through all the highs and the lows and the bumps in the road that we’ve had to face, it’s all been worth it. Because there is no one else I want to spend my life with. Thirteen years may have been a long time to wait for the man of my dreams, but it’s the lifetime I’ll be spending with him that matters more than anything.