‘I want there to be a you and me.’
His words resurrected that tendril of hope—the very one she thought she’d uprooted and composted. Careful, Olivia. He’d cracked her barriers and her heart on a Thai beach two months ago. Don’t let him hurt you more.
‘You were pretty damn clear two months ago that that wasn’t a possibility. Sure enough that you convinced me.’
He rubbed a hand over his face and back up and through his hair—such a familiar gesture that her heart ached.
‘Two months ago I was an idiot.’
‘And now?’
‘Now I know that whilst I may still be an idiot I’m not my father. I don’t want to walk away from the baby. And I don’t want to walk away from you.’
Another step and he was behind the sofa with her. Her only method of escape was to scramble over the back. The problem was flight was the very last thing on her mind.
Wait, Olivia. Don’t just fall into his arms.
Adhering her feet to the floor, she turned to face him. ‘But you will. You walked away from Charlotte.’
‘Yes, I did. But I’ve done a lot of thinking these past weeks.’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘After Zeb and I parted ways years ago I was adrift.’
Against her will she felt her heart smite her as she imagined the incredible hurt of that rejection. So much worse than being rejected as an unknown baby.
‘I thought a home would ground me,’ he continued. ‘Then I met Charlotte. She was an army child; she’d never had real roots. She was desperate for a home, as well. We were so caught up in the idea of having a home we thought that was what marriage was all about. We were in love with an idea, not each other.’ His forehead creased into a frown of confusion. ‘Does that make sense? Because it makes perfect sense to me now that I’ve met you and I’ve understood what love really is.’
‘What is love?’
‘It’s wanting be with the person you love all the time. It’s feeling able to share anything and not be judged. It’s loving the sound of their voice and the smell of their hair.’ His huge body was rigid with tension as he closed the gap further. ‘I love you, Olivia. I know I messed up, but please believe this: I love you. And I will spend the rest of my life proving it to you and winning your love.’
Joy exploded in a firework of happiness, sending her giddy as she took the final steps so that she was standing close enough to touch him.
‘You don’t have to win my love, Adam.’ She placed her hand on his heart. ‘You already have it.’
‘I do?’ His smile was blinding in its radiance as he spanned her waist and tugged her closer.
‘You do. I love you, Adam. I love how you make me feel beautiful and how you make me want to feel beautiful. For you. I love how I trust you to protect me and care for me. I love how you make me smoothies. I love the way you give and I love the way you take. I just love you. With all my heart. And all my other vital organs, too.’
She grinned at him.
‘And I mean all! Turns out love isn’t an illusion after all. It’s wanting to be with someone and not caring where you are. If you don’t want to live in a house then we’ll live in a hotel suite. We can live in a tent, if you like.’
Adam shook his head. ‘Liv, that week in Ko Lanta with you in that house was magical. I get that it was only a week, but not once did the walls so much as move. I want more of that. I want to go shopping and fill a house with clutter, with souvenirs of our life together. Which reminds me...’ He dug into his jeans pocket and handed over a small tissue-wrapped packet before looping his arms back round her.
Olivia opened it up and gave a small gasp. Nestled in the folds were three silver charms.
Pushing her sleeve up, she unclasped the bracelet he’d given her. ‘I’ll put them on now.’
‘A beer bottle to remind you of our first night together, a frangipani flower, and a ring.’
‘A ring?’ Olivia stilled.
Adam nodded and dug into his pocket again. He hauled in a breath and pulled out a velvet jewellery box. He popped it open and sank to one knee.
‘Will you marry me, Liv?’
Tears of sheer joy dewed her eyelashes and thrills of bliss trembled though her as she nodded. ‘Yes, Adam, I will. With all my heart.’
Her fingers quivered as he slid the exquisite diamond band on. Then she tugged him to his feet and a bubble of laughter escaped her lips. In her wildest dreams she’d never imagined that she, Olivia Evans, would be proposed to looking like this!
The grubby scarf still encased her hair, dust and grime smeared her face, and she was wearing a flowered apron that had seen better days. And she didn’t give a stuff.