‘Alistair, I love you too. I’ll always want you, through the good times and the bad...’
‘You...do?’ Loving him was all he’d dared hope for. He’d thought that it would take time before Raina could allow herself to rely on him again.
‘Yes, I do. We can deal with whatever life throws at us together.’
He was helpless now. Bound by magic, silken ropes that were worthy of any self-respecting magic castle. Alistair kissed her cheek, gently disentangling himself from her embrace. There was one more thing that he had to do.
Falling to one knee, he reached for her hands, holding them in his.
‘Marry me, Raina. This is the second time I’ve asked and this time it’s for keeps. I won’t let anything break us apart.’
* * *
Raina felt a tear roll down her cheek. This sudden realisation of all the dreams she’d tried to deny had brought her to a stumbling point. ‘I want to say yes more than anything, Alistair. But it would be selfish of me. You want a family, and I might not be able to give you—’
He reached up, laying his finger against her lips. ‘You and Anya are the only family I need. We’ll have enough love to meet anything that the future holds.’
‘But—’
‘Trust me, Raina.’
She did trust him. And she loved him. Raina fell to her knees, kissing him.
‘Yes, Alistair. Yes...’
She felt his chest heave, as if he’d been holding his breath. Then he took hold of her hand. ‘I have a ring.’ He said the words almost shyly.
‘A ring? You mean you had this all planned?’
‘I planned the party. Everything else was a hope that I was determined to make into a reality one day.’ He raised her hand to his lips, kissing her finger and then slipping the ring onto it. Three stones flashed brightly in the sunlight.
‘The two diamonds on either side are from your old engagement ring.’
Raina felt her breath catch. ‘You kept it?’
‘I never stopped loving you, Raina. Even when I didn’t know it. This one is new...’ He brushed his thumb against larger stone in the centre. ‘That’s for the future. Because I never will stop loving you.’
‘It’s lovely, Alistair. And I love the thought behind it even more.’ She felt tears in her eyes again, and when he brushed them away with his finger, she knew that this was how it was going to be f
rom now on. Alistair would be there for her, always. He got to his feet, lifting her with him, and then wound his arms around her.
She could hear the sound of Anya’s excited chatter outside, and reckoned that the unicorn had made it round to the garden. But she still had time to kiss Alistair again.
‘Our own magic castle. I love you so much, Alistair.’
* * *
The afternoon passed in a daze of happiness. Raina had shown Clara her ring, and she’d screamed and flung her arms around her. The guests started to arrive and Gabriel turned his attention to organising the unicorn rides. Alistair had momentarily left Raina’s side to watch as Anya opened her presents.
Raina could see the tension on his face as Anya opened the package that he’d brought for her, but Anya knew what it was straight away. The pink, sparkly princess arm that she’d said she wanted. Alistair was all smiles as he helped Anya take off the flesh-coloured prosthetic and put the new one on.
‘Can you do that?’ Sam Ross had been unable to take up a place in the pilot project because he was recovering from an operation, but he was a regular visitor at The Watchlight Trust’s offices, and due to take a place with the next group. When he’d seen Anya’s new arm, he’d dragged his mother over to where Raina was standing.
‘Yes, we can do it.’ Raina bent down to the child. ‘Sam, what are you thinking? Would you like a superhero arm?’
‘Yes, please.’ Sam’s reluctance to accept a prosthetic seemed to have been quashed.
‘A superhero arm...?’ Alistair had joined her again, his eyes still following Anya as she showed everyone her new arm, flexing the fingers to show them how it worked. ‘That’s a great idea.’