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.
Epilogue
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Maggie 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?’
‘That’s right. All you have to do is go shopping for a dress when we get to Sydney and everything else is done.’
‘You’ve done everything?’ she said incredulously.
‘Well, me and Serena.’ Cooper raised his eyebrows and laughed.
‘Shit,’ she chuckled. ‘Talk about blindsided.’
Evan tugged at her shirt. ‘Can I say “shit” now too, Mommy, since you just said it?’
‘No,’ Maggie said.
‘No,’ Cooper said.
Cooper went back inside to get the other bags and Maggie slid into the back seat and fastened her seat belt. When E
van clambered in, she checked he was buckled up, too. She was in a daze. She’d settled down during the past five years into a life that was ordered, neat, exposed to as few risks as possible. Her life had been as meticulously organised as her spreadsheets. Today, it felt as if everything she knew had been thrown into the air and had landed where it shouldn’t. And it felt wonderful.
Serena gripped the steering wheel of her old sedan and looked back at her daughter. ‘Happy, darling?’
‘You were in on this, too?’
‘Yes,’ and there were tears in her mother’s eyes. ‘I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.’
Cooper loaded the rest of the suitcases and slipped into the front passenger seat.
Cooper raised an eyebrow. ‘I think your mom officially likes me now, Maggie Mac.’
Serena started the car. ‘Just a little.’ She smiled in the rear-view mirror and Maggie suddenly didn’t feel dizzy anymore. This was her family: Evan, her mom and Cooper. Cooper Malone. The one she thought had got away. Her friend. Her fiancé. Soon to be her husband. And together, they were heading down under for a wedding. Their wedding!
Cooper turned in his seat. ‘Everyone ready?’ He looked back at Maggie with a loving smile.
‘FIZZY!’ Evan shrieked. Serena put the car back into park.
‘Where is he?’ Maggie said, reaching for her son.
‘He’s under my bed. He was hiding there because he was scared of the plane.’ Evan’s bottom lip began to quiver.
‘Hey, mate,’ Cooper reached over the back seat and patted his knee. ‘Quickly, let’s go get him.’
Evan nodded solemnly, unclipped his seat belt, opened his door and scampered up the path. Cooper hobbled after him.
‘I can’t believe this is all happening, Mom.’
‘You deserve it all, Maggie.’
‘I’m so glad you’re coming with us. I can’t believe Cooper thought to ask you.’
‘He’s a keeper, that Australian,’ Serena said as she wiped her tears.
Cooper and Evan slipped back into their seats. Fizzy the beloved koala was tucked tightly under Evan’s arm.
‘Okay, family,’ Maggie announced with a little drum roll on the back of the driver’s seat. ‘Can we go now?’
‘Back-seat driver,’ Cooper grinned.
‘When will we get there?’ Evan asked.
Maggie couldn’t wait for their new adventure to begin.
The End
The Malone Millionaires Series
If you enjoyed The Rebel, you’ll love the other Malone Millionaire stories!
Book 1: The Millionaire
Buy Now!
Book 2: The CEO
Buy Now!
Book 3: The Rebel
About the Author
Award-nominated and multi-published Australian contemporary romance author Victoria Purman loves books, wine, chocolate, sad country music, hard rock songs and stories with happy ever afters. Writing romance means she regularly gets to indulge in all those things – as well as being forced into online pictorial research for her emotional, funny and smart love stories. In 2014, Victoria was a finalist in the RuBY Awards (the Romance Writers of Australia’s “Romantic Book of the Year” Awards) for the first book on her Boys of Summer series for Harlequin MIRA, Nobody But Him. That same year, she was named a finalist in the category “Favourite New Author 2013” by the Australian Romance Readers Association. Most days, she considers herself the luckiest woman in the world.
Visit her website at VictoriaPurman.com
Join her mailing list
Follow her on Facebook and Twitter@VictoriaPurman
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The Rebel (The Millionaire Malones Book 3) Page 15
