Changing Roles

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Again, Liam?”

I smirked at him. “What can I say? My lass loves me in a kilt.”

He groaned. “Because of your girl’s fetish, I now have to listen to wardrobe screaming about another missing kilt?”

“Nope. I had Abby order me my own. I even had her find the McKinnon family tartan. Nan would love it.” I grinned widely. “Shelby will love it.”

“No Wright?”

“Sadly, no, but Mum will love I found her family’s tartan.”

He snorted. “Yep. Aunty Liz will be stoked to know her family tartan is adding to your sex life.”

I winked at him. “She’ll do anything for some wee bairns,” I drawled in my best Scottish accent.

“Jesus, Liam. You only married Shelby two weeks ago.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “No time like the present. Shelby isn’t getting any younger—her words, not mine.”

He stopped me as I went past him. “Really, Liam?”

I nodded. “Really, Douglas. Me, a dad. Can you imagine?”

He chuckled. “Heaven help that child.”

I turned around. “They’ll have you to steer them straight.”

“Too right. Now get home to your wife.”

I grinned as I looked down at the heavy band I now wore on my left hand. Given to me by Shelby.

My wife.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever stop smiling when I heard those words. Sitting in the car, I thought about our time here and the day I married my Shelby.Sitting on the warm grass at the back of the house, we looked out over the water. I nuzzled Shelby’s neck. “Happy?” I asked quietly.

“Yes,” she hummed. “It’s lovely here. Peaceful.”

By peaceful, I knew she meant private. Since we had arrived in England a couple of months ago, life had been different. Filming was going well, and for the most part, we were ignored by the locals. People let us come and go, smiling at us when we would appear in one of the pubs for dinner or drinks, offering a warm greeting, and then letting us be. We made this our base, staying at hotels when needed to shoot other scenes, but coming back here in between. We both loved it. We took full advantage of the privacy, strolling the sights, visiting with friends and family, and simply enjoying being us. Liam and Shelby. Oscar and Beaker. We avoided London and other big cities, but the couple of times we had been there, we had managed to slip in and out under the radar. But we both preferred the quiet of the small towns.

Shelby had healed well. The scar that ran just under her hairline would forever be a reminder of how close I came to losing her. Her arm was back to a hundred percent, and away from the pressures and scrutiny of LA, she blossomed. Some days, she visited the set, sitting and watching as I worked. Other days, she spent with Mum, who was a permanent fixture, it seemed, and Caroline who had arrived and decided there was so much beauty here, she could happily stay and work to be close to Douglas and Shelby. So, she did. Dad came to join us when he could, and I loved having my family around. Everett and Cassidy had both been over and were coming back in a couple of weeks. I knew Shelby missed her brother and was looking forward to his visit.

An idea that had been taking hold surfaced as I held her close. I knew this was a good time to ask her.

“Shelby,” I murmured, suddenly nervous again.

She twisted in my arms. “What is it?”

“I want to get married.”

She smiled at me. “I think we already established that, Oscar.” Holding up her left hand, she winked. “I have proof.”

“I meant now. Actually do it. Here.”

Her eyes widened. “Here?”

I nodded. “My family is here. So is Caroline. Ev is coming over with Cassidy. I’m sure I could convince Lily to make a trip as well. Mum and Caroline would help, and we both want it simple. We could arrange it.”

“What about the press? What if word leaked out?”

I shook my head. “I already talked about it with Mum. It won’t be big since neither of us wants that.” I grinned. “In fact, we won’t tell anyone. We’ll just invite them for dinner and surprise them all.”

“Where?”

“Right here.” I indicated the large piece of land we were sitting on by the water. “We can rent a marquee, have the pub cater a dinner after, and say our vows in front of the people who mean the most to us. Exactly what you said you wanted. A quiet, happy day. No fuss.”

I stopped talking, letting her think it over.

“You’d be okay with something simple?”

I brushed back the hair blowing across her face. “I’d take you into town and marry you right now if you’d let me.” Then I smiled. “But me mum would kick me arse if I did.”