After the Scrum (22 page)
Authors: Dahlia Donovan
Tags: #British fiction, #English, #Cornwall, #comedy, #sport, #rugby, #gau and lesbian, #m/m, #sweet, #Gay, #romance
The hug Arthur dragged him into was
all
Caddock. Crushingly hard embraces apparently ran in the family. Having had his say, the man disappeared into the crowd, likely to find a drink and gain some semblance of his usually austere self.
"Everything all right?"
Francis smiled at his fiancé. "Coming to rescue me?"
"Did you need it?"
"Not even close. He welcomed me to the family." Francis thought it had been rather sweet of the man actually. "He wanted to know if I love you."
"Oh? Did he?" Caddock sounded as if he couldn't imagine his father actually asking. "What did you say?"
He smiled at the overly casual question. "Told him to bugger off with his nosy, priggish attitude."
"
Francis.
"
He laughed so hard he had to grab Caddock to keep from falling to the floor. "If you could see your face! I said I love you, silly prat."
Caddock leaned in close, letting his rough lips graze against Francis's ear. "I love you. So much so, I'm going to punish you later for teasing me."
His heart sped up at the thought. The two usually had a lot of fun with supposed punishments. It was a silly game, but it kept life interesting.
Caddock's large hands came up to frame his face. His thumb caressed Francis's stubble-covered cheek. "I do love you so incredibly much. I've had the ring for months."
"Had to find the nerve?"
"No, no, I wanted it all to be perfect." Caddock bent down to capture his lips in a kiss that had their friends whistling encouragement. "You'll be pleased to know Devlin helped me pick out the ring."
"Smart lad."
"Takes after his uncle."
Francis found himself yanked out of Caddock's embrace before he could respond. "
Oi.
"
"What? Were you busy?" Rupert gave him a bone-crushing hug of his own. "So, who's your best man going to be?"
"Sherlock."
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Rupert steadily led him across the bar. "I'm hurt."
"You're more like chopped toad." Francis glanced over his shoulder, but Caddock was lost in a sea of villagers. "Where are we going?"
"Do people eat chopped toad?" He grimaced in disgust then brightened again. "I have a surprise for you."
The surprise turned out to be Graham, home from yet another overseas assignment. The three of them escaped up into the upstairs office with Caddock following a few minutes later. They sat on the floor in a circle, trading stories and enjoying a bottle of non-alcoholic cider between them.
"My wife has joined in the wedding-planning madness," Rupert warned them after they'd finished the cider. "It's going to be the Looe event of the century."
"How long would it take to get to Gretna Green?" Francis wondered absently.
"Do people still do that? Can't you just go to the registrar's office?" Graham opened the second bottle he'd hidden by the door. "Or better yet, Father Williams adores you. He'd marry you in a trice."
While the others argued about the best way to get married without a circus, Francis leaned his head against Caddock's broad shoulder. He blushed when he caught sight of a ripped bow tie in the corner of the room. It had been missing for weeks. Must've been left over from one of their "christening the office" nights out.
"We could get married tonight." Caddock plucked a licence out of his pocket, waving it in front of Francis's face. "Everyone's here, even the priest."
"Brilliant." He turned towards Rupert. "You get to tell everyone."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the one who told everyone in the village I got Caddock's name tattooed on my arse." Francis waved the cider bottle at him threateningly. He
hadn't
gotten anything tattooed on his arse or anywhere else. He hated needles. "Do you know how many times Gran whacked me on the head with a spoon?"
Rupert grinned unrepentantly at him. "How do you know I won't embellish things while I'm telling them the wedding is happening tonight?"
"Because I'll tell your wife it was your idea, and you were the one who robbed her of the pleasure of planning our ceremony." He threatened the man with the only thing known to cow him into behaving—Joanne. "Good luck. We'll be down momentarily."
"No shagging on the desk again or I'll send your gran up to find you." Rupert caught his brother by the arm to pull him from the room with him. "You've got five minutes."
Francis wandered over to snag the torn tie from the floor. He shoved it into his pocket. It wouldn't do for one of the pub workers to find it and wonder where it came from. He found his soon-to-be husband watching him seriously. "Are you really ready?"
Caddock reached into his jacket to retrieve a second jewellery box. "I brought these with me, just in case."
"Was this a surprise proposal or a surprise wedding?" He wouldn't put it past the man to plan out the easiest, least stressful way to get married possible. "Am I becoming Mr Stanford-Keen? Or Mr Stanford?"
"Either, neither? I'm not all wound up on you changing your name. I only want you to be mine." Caddock looped his arm around his fiancé's waist to pull him over. "I think I fell in love with you when you nattered on to Sherlock about which biscuit was his and which was mine."
"
Caddock
." Francis could feel the flush growing on his neck. "You fell in love when you realized I was absolutely nutty?"
Caddock kissed him roughly, deep voice gruffer than normal. "I love you—couldn't love you more if I tried. Marry me? Here in the pub where it all started?"
"You thought I was a woman." Francis remembered their first meeting with a fond smile. He'd never imagined how one new client could alter his entire world. "I never dreamed I would be able to marry."
"So?"
"Yes, I will marry you."
The End.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my brilliant betas who keep me from losing my mind, Becky and all the brilliant people at Hot Tree, and my beloved hubby who didn’t complain too much about all the rugby I was watching—for research purposes of course.
And lastly, a massive thank you to anyone who reads this story. I hope you enjoy my precious boys as much as I did in writing them.
About the Author
Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters.
An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.
Stay connected with Dahlia:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/dahliadonovan
Website:
http://dahliadonovan.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/DahliaDonovan
About the Publisher
Hot Tree Publishing opened its doors in 2015 with an aspiration to bring quality fiction to the world of readers. With the initial focus on romance and a wide spread of romance sub-genres, we envision opening up to alternative genres in the near future.
Firmly seated in the industry as a leading editing provider to independent authors and small publishing houses, Hot Tree Publishing is the sister company to
Hot Tree Editing
, founded in 2012. Having established in-house editing and promotions, plus having a well-respected market presence, Hot Tree Publishing endeavours to be a leader in bringing quality stories to the world of readers.
Interested in discover more amazing reads brought to you by Hot Tree Publishing or perhaps you're interesting in submitting a manuscript and joining the HTPubs family? Either way, head over to the website for information:
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