The Rebel (The Millionaire Malones Book 3) (22 page)

‘You really think
you can make it?’

Cooper, Maggie and Evan looked to the end of the San Clemente Pier, stretching out into the blue ocean, and Cooper nodded. ‘I’ll be fine. Let’s go.’

Cooper had insisted they bring Evan here to tell him the news. They’d parked in the nearby car park but now Maggie was concerned that her stubborn surfer would push his knee too hard by trying to walk to the very end of the pier. The after-school
crowds were descending on the beach below. It was a sea of tanned skin, bikinis, board shorts and surfboards, and the aromas from the nearby restaurants were making Maggie’s stomach rumble.

‘C’mon, Cooper.’ Evan tugged at her hand while balancing an ice-cream cone in the other.

‘I’ll be okay,’ the big man said with a smile, as he rested his right arm around Maggie’s shoulders.

The worn wooden
planks creaked softly underneath them as they strolled further along the historic pier, the waves gently rolling on the sand beneath.

When Evan ran ahead to a couple of teenagers with fishing rods, Maggie slipped an arm around Cooper’s waist and kissed his shoulder. She looked up at him. ‘How’re you doing?’ There was such a look of love in his eyes that Maggie wanted to bottle it.

‘What are
you talking about? I’m here with you and my little mate. Life doesn’t get better than this. Except if this was Sydney.’

‘There’s a long history of cooperative relations between our two countries, you know.’

‘It’s not those kind of relations I’m interested in, sweetheart.’

Maggie laughed and took the chance to enjoy this moment. Her arm around Cooper. Her son happy. The Southern Californian
sun on her face and the Pacific breeze in her hair. All around her, the beach she loved was filled, surfers and little kids and moms and dads and teenagers.

‘You remember your lines? What you’re going to say to Evan?’

‘Of course I do,’ Cooper replied. ‘I’m not buggering this up.’

When they reached Evan, he was peering into a bucket.

‘Cooper Cooper Cooper, look at the fish!’

Maggie and Cooper
looked into the bucket. There was a silvery white fish floating inside it.

‘Would you like to go fishing sometime, mate?’

Evan stared wide-eyed at Cooper. ‘That would be cool. Can we catch a shark?’ He ran to Cooper’s side and slipped his little hand into Cooper’s big paw. Maggie felt his shift, saw the change in his face. Something welled inside her and came out as tears. The happiest of tears.
A smile tugged at the corner of Cooper’s mouth as he looked at her and the look on his face confirmed what they both knew: they would be all right. That one small gesture was enough to remind them that Evan already loved Cooper.

They made it to the very end of the pier, stopping every now and then for Cooper to have a rest on one of the wooden benches on either side. They took in the magnificent
views up and down the Southern Californian coastline; white beach and blue sky and palm trees reaching into the sky.

Cooper took his arm from Maggie’s shoulders and reached for her hand. And there he was, her big Australian surfer, bookended by the two McLeans who loved him. He tugged at Evan’s hand and the little man jumped up on the bench seat.

Cooper lifted his sunglasses and propped them
on top of his head. He lowered his shoulders and peered into Evan’s face.

‘I need to ask you that favour now, mate.’

Evan giggled and held up a hand to whisper behind it but he was so excited it came out in a little boy shout. ‘Do you want it now?’

Cooper glanced at Maggie. ‘I reckon so.’

Maggie watched Evan pull a leather string from around his neck until it was fully revealed from its hiding
place inside his T-shirt. He looped it over his head and handed it to Cooper. Attached to the end of it was a small, brown leather pouch. Cooper loosened its ties and pulled out a ring.

Maggie forgot to breathe. Or maybe she was having a heart attack.

It was a ring.

A real ring.

‘What the …?’ Maggie clasped a hand to her chest so hard she almost knocked herself backwards.

‘Look Mommy!’ Evan
giggled again and slapped his hands over his cheeks.

‘What have you two been up to?’ she gasped, looking at the faces of the conspirators.

Cooper turned to face her, swivelling his body in her direction. ‘I was hoping to do this right, but kneeling is a little out of the question right now.’

‘You’re not going to …’ There was a thumping in her head and everything got very bright and glary real
fast. Maggie squeezed her eyes shut and breathed deep, trying to get air into her lungs, but it wasn’t working.

‘You okay, Mommy?’ Evan whispered in her ear, his soft little hand on her shoulder.

‘Just a little dizzy, that’s all.’

Cooper’s hand was on the back of her head in a flash and he urged her head down between her knees. There was a whooshing sound in her head and she realised this time
it was the water underneath the pier. Cooper was rubbing her back with his palm, making soothing, gentle circles. She took deep breaths, in and out, the salty air that was so familiar to her finally filling her lungs. Evan’s face appeared, upside down. His mouth was set in a determined little line.

‘Mommy,’ he whispered urgently, ‘Cooper wants to ask you something.’

Oh God.

A ring and a question.
She knew what that meant. At least she thought she did. If this was about to happen, it was something that had never happened to her before. She’d never been proposed to.
Ever
. How was one supposed to act?

Maggie was pretty sure that hyperventilating wasn’t the most gracious of responses.

As she sat with her two guys, her head dangling upside down, she gave herself a minute to think and digest
this news. Why was she freaking out? This was Cooper. Her friend and now her lover. There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of. This was not a bad choice. This was a good choice. She’d never been surer of anything in her life.

And her little man seemed to be in on the secret.

How she loved her little man.

How she loved her big man.

Maggie sat up, straightened her back, and breathed freely
and deeply.

‘Sorry about that,’ she said to Cooper.

The sexy grin on his face revealed he’d been stifling a laugh. ‘Not quite the reaction I was hoping for,’ he said.

‘You took me by surprise,’ she said and tried to control her trembling mouth.

Evan squeezed himself between his mom and Cooper and the surfer ruffled his messy hair. ‘Good job, wingman.’ Evan dug his elbows into Cooper’s thigh
and rested his chin in his hands.

‘As I was saying, if I could kneel, I would, so this will have to do.’ Cooper reached for Maggie’s left hand, held it between his. ‘Maggie MacLean. I don’t want to waste another day not being married to you.’ He slowly slipped the ring on her finger, a gold band with a solitaire cut diamond on top. It caught the setting sun and sparkled and glinted. ‘Will you
marry me?’

Maggie laughed through fresh tears and she looked down at her son. ‘What do you think, Evan? Should I marry Cooper?’

Evan nodded vigorously. ‘You definitely should, Mommy. He’s my best friend, too.’

She couldn’t have said yes if Evan didn’t love Cooper so much.

‘Yes, Cooper Malone, I will marry you.’

‘I promise to take you by surprise every single day,’ he said as he leaned in
and gently kissed her. They had an audience, after all, and she knew they would make up for it later.

‘Now, mate.’

‘Yeah?’ Evan looked up at Cooper adoringly.

‘I’ve got a question to ask you.’ He glanced at Maggie and she nodded. ‘You know how I’m not your dad.’

Evan nodded. ‘Yeah, I know.’

Maggie’s heart crushed a little at his words.

Cooper took a deep breath. ‘I was thinking I could be
like your second dad.’

Evan’s face split in a happy smile. ‘Does that mean I can call you Dad?’

Cooper reached for Maggie’s hand and held on tight. She could see his chest rise and expand on a big intake of breath. Or maybe that was his heart swelling with love. She couldn’t be sure.

‘Abso-bloody-lutely you can.’

Maggie elbowed him in the side. Evan giggled. ‘Mommy doesn’t like swears.’

‘Shit,’ Cooper said, quirking an eyebrow in Maggie’s direction.

‘You did it again, Dad!’

‘Golly gosh.’ Cooper glanced at Maggie with a sexy grin. ‘Happy, Maggie?’

She gazed at her men, one so wonderful her heart was bursting, the other the best man she had ever known.

‘Abso-bloody-lutely,’ she declared. ‘Very, very happy indeed.’

Evan laughed as he climbed up into Cooper’s lap and threw his
arms around the big man’s neck. Maggie watched in astonishment as her son planted a big kiss on Cooper’s cheek.

‘Whoa, thanks mate.’

‘No worries, Dad,’ Evan said.

Maggie opened her arms wide and held both her men tight.

‡

M
aggie wheeled her
purple suitcase down the hallway. She looked down at it with a smile. The last time she’d travelled overseas she’d carried a lightweight rucksack. Now, she was a full-on sensible adult traveller. The idea of that made her laugh. She checked again
that Evan’s bedroom light was off. Of course it was because she’d checked three times already. The floor of his room was still a mess of plastic dinosaurs, building blocks and trucks but she hadn’t had the time or energy to think about any of that in the week since they’d taken that beautiful stroll on the pier and she’d agreed to be Cooper’s wife.

So much had happened since that day that Maggie
could scarcely believe she was living the same life. There had been so much crazy spontaneity in it that she’d had to pinch herself. For a start, she and Evan were going to be moving into Cooper’s home. It was three times the size of Maggie’s, with a large backyard and a pool, which Evan had always loved, and enough bedrooms for her to convert one to her office. Evan would still go to the same
school and it wasn’t far away from Serena, so it seemed a perfect arrangement. But that’s not the reason she was negotiating a suitcase out her front door.

The day after they’d got engaged, Cooper had sprung another surprise on her. Over a breakfast of delicious pancakes, cooked by Cooper of course, he’d handed her an invitation to his brother Callum’s wedding.

In Sydney.

‘What’s this?’ she’d
asked. She’d opened the crisp white envelope and pulled out a thick card. Glitter and small red hearts fell onto her pancakes and Evan laughed at the sight of it.

‘You and Evan are invited to the wedding.’

‘Your brother’s wedding? In Australia?’

Cooper had smiled at her. ‘How long since you were there?’

‘About six-and-a-half years,’ she said, throwing him a knowing smile.

‘I want my brothers
and their wives to meet the beautiful Yank who’s keeping me here in California.’ There was such pride in Cooper’s voice as he’d slipped an arm around her and pulled her close, that damn it she felt like crying.

And she still felt like crying every time she thought of the life that awaited her with Evan and Cooper.

‘Dad!’ Evan stood on the sidewalk and yelled. ‘Are you coming?’

‘Right here,
mate.’ Cooper’s gait was stronger now. Sure, he still limped but he had increased movement and was more confident about walking on his left leg. He came down the hall and sidled up next to Maggie before kissing her softly on the lips.

Cooper chuckled and whispered to her. ‘I’m never gonna get sick of Evan calling me that.’

‘I’ll never get sick of hearing it.’ He took her hand and they watched
as Evan ran up the path and landed with a leap up the front step to the porch.

‘C’mon!’ We don’t want to be late for Australia.’ Evan wriggled in between his mother and the man who loved him like a father and took their hands. ‘My friend Nick says you get to watch movies in the plane. Will there be movies, Dad?’

‘There will be movies and special snacks and even champagne for Mommy. That’s what
happens when you fly first class.’

Maggie stilled. ‘Shut up!’

Cooper shrugged. ‘You think I’m going to let my bride-to-be travel coach when we fly all the way across the ocean for our surprise wedding?’

‘Our
what
?’

‘You heard me. Our surprise wedding. Callum and Ava have agreed to everything. You and me, babe. We’re getting married this Saturday. At the family home where I grew up. You’re
gonna love it.’

‘But … but …’ Maggie couldn’t contain her joy. Cooper knew her; he knew that most of her life had been filled with adventure and that she’d missed it so much. He was not only marrying her but he was giving her the gift of a brand-new set of adventures. The three of them.

Cooper gripped her arm. ‘You’re not gonna faint on me now, are you?’

‘No, no … I’m so thrilled I can’t speak,’
Maggie murmured. Cooper slipped an arm around her shoulders. ‘Take a deep breath. I’m going to walk you to the car where your mother is waiting to fly with us to Sydney.’

Maggie’s feet didn’t seem to work. ‘Did you say fly
with
us to Sydney?’