Last Chance Proposal (5 page)

Slowly, he turned to face her more and nodded. “Okay, just Fleur.” He was quiet for a second. “Does this mean you’ll do it?”

She took a deep breath and her heart began to drum deep in her chest. There wasn’t a choice here. A little boy needed his dad and she owed a good friend more than she could ever pay back. As long as she kept her heart safe, as long as he understood that she couldn’t give him more than a year, then there was only one answer.

“I’ll do it. For a year I’ll be your wife. We’ll live as if we’re a happily married couple, and then we go our separate ways.”

Chapter Four

Cy locked his hands tight on the tabletop to stop himself reaching across and hugging Ellie. In the past he would’ve done it without thinking, but now he wasn’t sure how she’d react. She was so different from how she’d been in the past, so strong and confident—and beautiful—and he couldn’t trust that his body wouldn’t respond to that.

He didn’t deny for a second that the next few months were going to be a crazy roller coaster, but this was his last chance to be with his son and he wasn’t going to blow it.

She pushed a ringlet from her face and smiled. “So, what’s the first thing we need to do?”

His shoulders relaxed. “We’ll need to start making wedding plans. I was thinking we could go to Auckland on the twenty-ninth to get the license and put everything in place, and then we could get married on the fourth or fifth before flying out.”

She blew out a breath. “Wow, I guess we do need to get things moving then.”

“We have to make this as real as possible. The immigration and court authorities are going to be suspicious, so we need to make sure we have plenty of people who can vouch for our story.”

She gave him an ironic smile. “I guess we’ve had some practice at telling lies.” She played with a splinter on the table. “We established that I’m not in a relationship right now and I’m guessing there are no women in your life if you want me to come live with you.”

She lifted her eyes and he was pulled in by their softness.

“No, and there won’t be either. Jonty’s my priority from now on. After everything my father put me through…Jonty deserves better. I’d like us to throw an engagement party. As soon as possible.”

Something shifted on her face and her eyes widened. “Here? Now? But the authorities won’t interview any of the people in the cove.”

“We can’t take the chance. If we say we’ve spent most of our relationship apart, that we’ve grown together through phoning and e-mailing, then there’s going to be no one in the States who knows you. The sooner you and I start acting like a couple here, the better.”

“But everyone at the hall yesterday saw you arrive. They didn’t see us hug or kiss. And we’re not staying in the same house. They wouldn’t buy it.”

He nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. We can say that our relationship has grown via Skype over the last few months, that I decided to come back here so we could take it to the next level. We can explain away the meeting yesterday as me not wanting you to be involved in the project because it would keep us apart longer and then coming round when I saw everyone in the hall. We can say we’ve decided to bring the wedding forward so we can be together sooner. And it’s not weird we’re in different houses when they’re both so small and you’re with Fleur and Louis.”

Ellie sighed and rubbed her hands down her cheeks.

“What is it?”

“That all just sounds so complicated. I’ve lied enough in my life. I didn’t want to have to do it again, especially not when it involved you. What if I forget the story?”

“You won’t forget, and we don’t have a choice. The only part of it that we’re really lying about is that we’re in love. In every other way, isn’t this something friends would do for each other?”

She put her fingers to her lips and hooked him with her stare. Her eyes were filled with honesty, such trusting honesty that his gut clenched. He’d never forget what she was doing for him, never forget her open heart and her sunny smile.

“Okay then, even though we’ve got so many details to work out, our stories to get straight, and plans to put in place, I’m willing to get on with showing the world we’re a couple.”

Unable to stop himself from touching her this time, he reached out for her hands. “I knew you’d say yes, Ellie. Your generosity, your kindness…when I walked back into that hall again yesterday I could see you were still the caring, giving person you’ve always been. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The next afternoon Cy walked out of Starfish Cottage carrying two cold beers in one hand, Jonty’s hand tucked in the other. Along with the beer, they’d bought the last six bottles of sparkling wine at the tiny local store and had told Tom, the owner, they were celebrating their engagement.

It wasn’t long before word got out and now people were arriving with drinks and plates of party food. The smell of barbecue and the tang of seaside air filled his lungs and he breathed it deep.

Three days ago he couldn’t have imagined feeling this positive, this pumped, about facing the custody battle back home, and the thought of sharing the next year with Ellie was the icing on the cake. She calmed him, centered him, and seeing the strength she’d gained in her life fired him on to find it for himself, too. He was grateful to have her back in his life. Maybe it could be permanent if things went well. A second chance had always been on his mind. Running from her was his single greatest regret.

He crouched down and pulled his son to him. Jonty’s warm body molded to his. “Shall we go say hi to Louis?”

Ellie’s nephew was sitting under a tree playing on his iPod. It had taken Cy all afternoon to get Jonty to come and meet Fleur and Louis. Gradually, he’d begun to help set up for the party, taking quick glances at the older boy out the corner of his eye. He’d watched Fleur string fairy lights in the trees and then sat playing with paper napkins while Louis laid the two long tables and Cy prepared the barbecue.

They arrived at Louis’s tree. “Hi, Jonty,” the other boy said as he held out his iPod. “Wanna come look at what I’ve built on Minecraft?” Louis, patient and kind just like his aunt, chatted to Jonty nonstop, as if there was nothing unusual about not receiving an answer.

“Hey, boys, there’s some soda in the chiller if you want some,” he said. “And potato chips in the kitchen. I’ll get them if you like.”

“We can,” Louis said as he stood and put his hand on Jonty’s shoulder. “Let’s go, J.” Jonty looked up at his father and Cy nodded. He pulled in a breath. Louis waved his hand for Jonty to follow and to Cy’s amazement, he did.

He watched his son trot into the house after Ellie’s nephew and his chest constricted tight. What must this all be like for him? A whole new country, new people, and now a whole new set of circumstances to deal with. Jonty making a friend in Louis was more than he’d hoped for.

Jonty knew the party was to celebrate the fact Ellie would be coming back to the States with them but nothing more. There would be time to tell him about the marriage after he got to know her better.

Cy crossed to where Ellie was laughing with a couple of neighbors. The sun threw sparkles on her hair and her face glowed. “Here you are, sweetheart.” He handed her a beer, and when he moved in to kiss her on the cheek, she jerked back in reflex.

“Oh!” Her eyes were round, lips parted, and then her face suddenly changed. “Thanks, honey.” She put the bottle on the table.

She leaned in, her lips cool as she pressed them into his cheek, but it was the scent of her that made his blood flow faster. A heady mixture of flowers and sunshine danced around him and he breathed her deep. She wore a tank top that hugged her breasts and a flowery skirt to her knees. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and she wore gold hoops in her ears.

He hooked his hand around her waist and drew her close as the neighbors kept talking. And then his stomach muscles contracted as her hand moved to his back, the warmth of her touch penetrating through his T-shirt.

“Cy?”

“Sorry, I missed that.” He tried to concentrate on what the guy in front of him was saying, while every cell seemed focused on where their bodies were connected.

“I was asking about your work.”

He launched into a reply about what he loved about surfing and being in the retail side of it, but all the while his body was firing to life with the feel of Ellie under his hand. His fingers relaxed on the curve of her hip, fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle.

“So, you had one of those online romances?”

Ellie turned to Cy and he put his beer on the table and pulled her closer still. The thin strap on her shoulder slipped a little and he hooked his fingers under it and drew it back up. Her skin was kissed golden and smooth and he couldn’t help running his palm over it.

“You know what it’s like, Ben.” She laughed as her fingers circled her throat. “It’s pretty easy to connect again these days.”

“Facebook?” Ben’s eyebrows rose.

“Was it Facebook, honey?” She dug her fingers into his side and he had to suppress a laugh. They’d have to do this over and over again, the story of how they’d met and fallen in love.

“Twitter or Tumblr or one of those things, I think.” He touched her cheek and light danced in her eyes. “All I know is that when we were back in touch it was like we’d never been apart.”

The laughter in her eyes suddenly changed and a rose glow swept across her cheeks as she looked away. Her hand dropped from his waist and she reached for the beer. She lifted the bottle to her lips. Was she feeling this connection as much as he was, or was she just embarrassed by all the playacting?

“As long as you’ll still let Ellie do the renovation here, we won’t stop you,” someone said.

“I love this place. Always have,” he said. “And when I realized how much it meant to Ellie, how long she’d been working on it, there wasn’t an option. She’ll be seeing the project through, won’t you, honey?”

Ellie rubbed a hand across her lips. “Cy wasn’t sure he wanted us to be involved, but when he saw so much interest in the hall yesterday and the fact people were so concerned, he knew it was the right thing to do.” She dropped her hand and he held her closer.

“Congratulations, you two!” Betty Browning joined the group and pushed a plate of club sandwiches into the middle of them. “I always knew you had something going for you. Everyone still remembers how sweet Ellie was on you, Cy, but the way you looked at her when you walked into the hall the other day, anyone could see you’d finally come to your senses.”

Ellie’s palm was warm against his and he squeezed her fingers as Betty passed the plate to the woman on her left and reached into her bag.

Betty continued. “A man doesn’t look at a woman like that without there being some heavy-duty lusting going on.”

Ellie squeezed his fingers back and he saw the edges of her mouth tip up.

A few of the group chuckled and Ellie turned to Cy again and looked into his face. She raised an eyebrow. “Lusting, is it?” She let go of his hand and trailed her fingers up his back until they rested on his shoulder.

He hadn’t been aware of lusting after her in the hall, but his body was doing a pretty good impression of feeling that way about her right now.

Betty nodded. “I’ve always said you can tell a man’s intentions by the way his voice changes when he talks to his sweetheart, and that’s exactly what happens with you, Cy.”

He held Ellie’s gaze. “Ellie would make any guy speechless, don’t you think, Betty?” The tiny grin at the corner of Ellie’s mouth slipped as she blinked and looked away. She
was
feeling something, too.

“And we haven’t seen the ring!” Betty took her arm and Ellie dropped her hand from his hair.

A ring. He hadn’t thought of that. They’d pick one out when they went to Auckland for the marriage license.

“We’re getting married in Auckland after New Year’s. In fact, we’re going there on the twenty-ninth to make wedding arrangements, so maybe we’ll get one then,” Ellie said. “Cy needs to be back in the States for a few months and we’d prefer to get married here before we go. I’ll be keeping a sharp eye on the council and the renovations from there, though.”

Betty drew a camera out of the navy-blue handbag on her wrist. “Now, I want a photo of you for my album. I have one of you both when you came to help me clear my front yard after a storm one year. It’d tickle my fancy to be able to put a snap of you newly engaged beside it.” She shooed the group to the side and took a step back.

Cy put his arm around Ellie’s shoulder and she shuffled closer and turned, her soft breasts pressing into his side.

Betty beamed. “A kiss, please.”

Ellie whispered under her breath, “Oh, no!”

He looked down into her face and whispered back. “I can make an excuse.” He winked. “Or we could make the best of it.”

“I’ve just put fresh lipstick on,” she said to Betty in a helpless voice and the older lady scoffed.

“What else is lipstick for than to be kissed off by a man as handsome as Cy?” She waved them together and lifted the camera to her eyes. “Hurry up before the light changes.”

He reached out and put his palms on Ellie’s shoulders, his hands molding to the shape of her body.

She tilted her head to the side and the only sound was the screeching song of a cicada in the branch above them. For some inexplicable reason he didn’t want to get this wrong. His heart was beating stronger, his blood moving more quickly.

Gently, he cupped her face in his hands. Her lips were plump and dusky, and a little moist from the remnants of beer. He leaned closer and her pupils dilated. He hoped she wanted to kiss him in that second, just as much as he wanted to lose himself in her.

Betty’s shriek stopped them dead. “Oh, for the love of Michael! The batteries are dead! Do you have some I could borrow, Ellie?”

They both turned to her and Ellie stepped away, the warmth of her cheeks still imprinted on his fingertips. Ellie rearranged her tank top as a blush trailed across her face. “I’m sure there must be some in the house, Betty. I’ll take a look for you later. Why don’t I pass some nibbles around?”

“Thanks, but you’ll still owe me that shot.”

Betty turned to talk to the guy next to her and Cy tried to catch Ellie’s eye. She wouldn’t look at him. What had happened just then was so much more than make believe, and it threw a whole new complication into their plan. He held back a groan. He’d have to keep a lid on it for now—no way would he give in to a rogue attraction and risk scaring Ellie off before he’d gained custody of his son.