April's Glow

by Juliet Madison

  ‘Cheaper too.’ He shrugged and nodded. ‘Nice thinking, fiancée!’

  He held out his hand and she high-fived him.

  The tattoo guy came over and shook both their hands. ‘Congrats to the lucky couple. So, tattoo rings you say?’

  And the next photo Zac took on his phone not long after, was of his left hand and April’s side by side, a simple, thin, relaxed line tattooed around their ring fingers, curving around into a figure-eight infinity symbol.

  Bonded by ink, and bonded by love, they walked hand in hand together down the urban street in the small city of Welston, Zac breathing normally for the first time as crowds of people walked past.

  ‘I’m so proud of you,’ she said. ‘Step by step, you did it. Faced your fears.’

  ‘I had some help from a certain woman,’ he replied. ‘And I still like hanging at home, as you know. But this,’ he glanced around the busy street, ‘this feels okay … I can manage it. It’s all good.’ He smiled and slid on his sunglasses.

  ‘So,’ said April, excitement bubbling in her belly. ‘It appears we have a wedding to plan.’ The idea of choosing the perfect candles to decorate the reception may have made her slightly more excited than the fact that she was getting married. Just for one brief moment.

  ‘It appears we do,’ he said. ‘So, I’m thinking … backyard wedding, yours, mine, or both.’ They had not moved in together, but stayed at each other’s houses as the mood arose. ‘Maybe the celebrant could stand in my yard with me, and you stand in yours, and when he or she pronounces us husband and wife I have to leap over the fence—’

  ‘In your undies!’

  ‘In my undies, yes, and then kiss my bride.’

  April laughed, then recalled their first dance when she’d felt the strength of their attraction and they’d almost kissed. ‘And I know the perfect song for our wedding.’

  Zac looked at her, and they both said it at the same time with a knowing smile:

  ‘“All of Me”.’

  They walked closely together in blissful silence, and April heard the meaningful lyrics in her mind as memories surfaced.

  She thought about the first time they’d met. ‘And what about Romeo and Juliet? Perhaps a double wedding?’

  ‘Not a bad idea. I think they’re already going steady.’

  ‘Oh!’ April blurted. ‘And the celebrant can say to them, “you may now hiss at the bride”!’

  Zac chuckled, then said, ‘Don’t give up your day job for stand-up comedy.’

  ‘Not a chance,’ she replied. ‘I love my day job too much.’ She removed her hand from his and slid her arm around his waist. ‘And I love you.’

  ‘I love you too.’ He slid his arm around her back.

  ‘Ouch! My tattoo!’

  ‘Oops!’ Zac lowered his arm to her waist, then leaned in and kissed her temple.

  They walked along the street, and Zac stopped when they came to a pub.

  ‘You okay?’ she asked.

  He stayed silent for a moment, looking through the window of the establishment. ‘You know, I just don’t feel any desire to go in. None at all. It feels foreign to me now, it’s weird.’

  ‘Good weird,’ she said.

  ‘Very good weird.’

  After a moment, they continued walking, and April knew that she would continue loving him, supporting him, and standing by him no matter what.

  And though nothing in life was one hundred per cent certain, she had a feeling, an inkling, that Zac would be able to stay sober for good.

  Some things were stronger than addiction, and he had found that strength within himself. Not only that, he had found love, and helped her find love. And April knew that love, their love, was stronger than anything.

  Thanks for reading April’s Glow. I hope you enjoyed it.

  If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage www.julietmadison.com, follow me on twitter @Juliet_Madison, or like my Facebook page.

  You can also follow me through my publisher’s page here www.escapepublishing.com.au

  Reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you’ve read, and what you thought.

  You’ve just read a book in my Tarrin’s Bay series. The other books in this series are The January Wish, February or Forever and Miracle in March.

  This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.

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  ISBN: 9781760370312

  Title: April’s Glow

  Copyright © 2016 by Juliet Madison

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Limited, Level 13/201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and are used under license to the Publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in Australia, New Zealand, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

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