“Each other, Rainbow. Each other.” He took a deep breath, and she noticed the waver in it. He was nervous. For some reason, knowing he felt that way too calmed her. “Here’s the plan. I’m going to move in here because this is where you feel you need to be and I’m okay with that.”
“You hate the city, Alastair. You said you wanted to live in Invertary forever.”
“I do. But I can postpone forever for as long as you need to be here.”
Her heart turned to a puddle in her chest.
“As for the rest. According to Mitch, my inner child needs to believe you won’t run away again.” He rolled his eyes. “I realise it’s unreasonable to want you to promise something you can’t guarantee. So I’ve come up with a compromise.” He paused, looking quite pleased with himself. “I want you to promise me tomorrow. Just tomorrow. One day. That’s all. Promise that you’ll be here, with me, tomorrow. Can you do that?”
She noticed a little twitch at the edge of his eye, telling her how anxious he was about her answer.
“Yes,” she said. “I will be here, with you, tomorrow.”
“Good. Then tomorrow night you can promise me the next day. We’ll take it one day at a time. No guarantees on a future neither of us can predict. Just tomorrow.” He bent forward and kissed her lips oh so softly. “Then one day, you’ll look up and realise you’ve promised me all of your tomorrows and I’ll realise that there was never any chance of you leaving me.”
Her heart soared. He was doing it. He was trusting her to stay. Giving her a second chance not to hurt him. It was something she’d never thought he’d be able to do. Brave man. Her brave man.
“All of my tomorrows,” she whispered against his lips. “Is that what you want, Alastair?”
“Only if you give them to me. I won’t force you and I won’t judge you if you can’t.”
She leaned in to kiss him, overwhelmed by his courage and trust. He groaned and kissed her hotly. Deeply. Enclosing her in his embrace. Keeping her safe and secure. Letting her be who she was meant to be. They were both breathing hard when they parted.
Rainne snuggled down into his arms. “I’m still too old for you.” She placed her cheek against his chest where she could listen to his heartbeat. It beat for her. She believed that now.
“It’s terrible.” He trailed his fingers up and down her back. “I can see it now. We’re in an old folks’ home; you’re eighty-six and I’m a mere eighty. And will those other old folks let us forget it? They will not. The amount of teasing you’ll have to endure for being married to a toy-boy. It will drive you insane.”
Rainne stilled against him. “Married?”
He went tense under her cheek. She heard his heart race and knew he hadn’t meant to say that. He was trying so hard not to push her to commit. Trying hard not to make the same mistakes he’d made last time. But she wasn’t the same scared girl she’d been three years earlier. She knew what she wanted now. And she’d learned to trust that Alastair knew what he wanted too.
“You expect us to live in sin for the rest of our lives?” he joked, in an attempt to ease them away from the tension.
But Rainne didn’t need it. She wanted forever. She wanted to give him all her days. Whether that was one at a time, or in a huge upfront lump sum, it didn’t matter to her. They all belonged to him anyway. They always had.
“I want to get married in Invertary. In the summer, so there’s no chance of snow. And I don’t want to get married at the castle. I think on the side of the loch. That would be pretty. I’ll wear a rainbow-coloured dress and you’ll wear a dark suit, to match your dark eyes.”
Alastair pushed her onto her back and leaned over her. “Rainbow, you don’t need to say that. I’m fine with tomorrow.”
“I know. And I’ll give you tomorrow too. Every day, I’ll give you tomorrow. And when we get married, I’ll promise you all of my tomorrows. They belong to you anyway. They always have.” She bit her lip, stealing Alastair’s gaze to her mouth. “I need to stay in Glasgow for the next year or two. Then we can go back to Invertary.”
“We don’t need to. I’m happy being wherever you are.”
Rainne didn’t think it was possible to love him more. The man who wanted to sacrifice his dreams for her.
“Two years, maximum, and then we go home. Forever,” she promised. “I miss the green hills too. And how will you teach the children to fish if we live here?”
“Children?” The hope in his eyes undid her.
“We’ll have two.” A tear slid down her cheek. He sucked in a breath. “We’ll give them normal names, like George and Susan. None of this Rainbow and Lake nonsense. They’ll learn to fish. But no hunting; it’s too dangerous.”
“Rainbow.” He said her name with such reverence it made the tears flow faster. He buried his face in her neck and held her tight enough to make her believe he’d never let her go.
“I want a dog.” Her voice was husky with emotion. “We moved around so much growing up, I never got to have a pet.”
“You can have whatever you want.” He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her throat.
“I want a house near Lake and Kirsty.”