Читать книгу A Forever Family Collection - Коллектив авторов - Страница 33

‘I THINK I need an eternity ring.’ Abby twisted the single diamond on her finger with the plain gold band underneath.

‘What makes you think that?’ Luke turned to face her, hoisting his hand under his head.

Abby stretched out on the blanket, lying on the grass in front of their house. She smiled as she watched Reuben play with his new brother. Austin, or the ‘tiny terror’ as they’d nicknamed him, was more than a match for his older brother. At the age of two, his ambition in life appeared to be to wreak havoc wherever he went. He’d only been with them for three weeks and so far he’d wrecked the sofa, gouged a hole in the dining-room table and trailed a black felt tip-pen along the pale cream wall in the hall.

Reuben was doing well. He’d had another course of treatment and been in remission for over a year. His energy had returned in leaps and bounds and he’d been over the moon at the prospect of a little brother.

She lifted her hand and let the sun’s rays catch the diamond on her finger, glistening against the dark green grass. ‘Some women get an eternity ring after they’ve been married a number of years. Some women get an eternity ring after the birth of their first child.’ She waved her hand across the grass. ‘Well, that’s been over a year now, and I’ve got two kids, so cough up, mister.’

Luke reached his hand up and pulled the parasol a little lower, hiding them from the boys. ‘Is this negotiable?’ A wicked smile danced across his face. ‘I might have bought you an alternative present.’

She sat upright. ‘What do you mean?’

He took her hand in his and pulled her upwards, leading her towards the front door. She watched as he opened the cupboard directly inside the front door and heaved out a huge flat brown box, sliding it carefully across the floor.

Abby was amazed. When had this arrived? And how had she missed it? ‘What is this?’ she asked curiously.

‘Open it and see.’ He pulled a pair of scissors from the drawer of the dresser that sat in the corridor.

She bent down and snipped at the heavy-duty string that was wrapped around it, peeling back the cardboard layers.

‘Wow.’

A perfect round stained-glass window. To match the one at the other end of the upstairs corridor. But this one didn’t have yellow daffodils and bluebells. This was the one she’d always imagined. This had a dazzling display of multicoloured freesias—colours that would send rainbow streams of light down her corridor.

‘Oh, Luke, it’s just perfect. More perfect than any ring could be.’ Abby trailed a finger across his bare chest. The fire hadn’t stilled between them, it just seemed to burn brighter and brighter.

‘Good. Because I’ve been trying to keep that a secret for over a month. Now, what do I get in return?’ he whispered in her ear.

Abby wriggled closer, loving the feel of his body against hers. ‘Why, Dr Storm, you get me and two very noisy little boys—your very own fan club.’ And she planted her lips on his, sealing their love with a kiss.