I laughed again, I couldn’t seem to stop, and leaned down to embrace both of my nieces. “Of course you will be flower girls, my darlings, I wouldn't have it any other way.”
When I stood up, Heath stepped forward.
“Congratulations, sis,” he said gruffly. Despite his tone of voice I could tell he was genuinely moved by what had just happened. “You’ve got yourself a good guy.”
I fell into his arms and gave him a tight hug. “I know. I do, don’t I?”
“There’s another good guy available if anyone is interested?” I heard Bear say, and I saw Lauren shake her head.
Heath released me and I was engulfed in another more feminine hug, full of roses and the scent of jasmine.
“Congratulations, Cate. I couldn’t be happier, my dear, and I want you to know you’re very welcome in my house and in our family.”
I gave Mrs. Worthington a genuine smile. While I knew the reality would probably be different, the sentiment meant a great deal to me. It didn’t escape my notice that Michael Worthington wasn’t among the group, not that I would have wanted him here anyway.
“No.” She grabbed my wrist when I went to ease away. “I meant exactly what I said, Cate. We’re family and it’s time we started acting like it.”
I smiled, more awkwardly this time, and nodded at her.
Dave leaned closer to me. “Mum and Dad are getting a divorce. Mum’s moved in with Uncle Keith.”
I turned back to Dave’s mum in shock. “Oh, Mrs. Worthington, I didn’t know.”
She waved a hand at me. “I told you, it’s Angela. And now isn’t the time to talk about it, but I do want to say thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“Yes, it took almost losing my son to realize life was too short. And you, my dear, appear to be the only one able to talk sense into him. You’ve got your work cut out for you, I’ll say that much, but you’re perfect for each other. Congratulations, darling.” She kissed me one last time and disappeared into the group.
I turned back to Dave. “Wow.”
“About time.”
“Wow,” I said again.
Scarlett parted the crowd and arrived by my side. “So, I need to steal her for a bit so she can get dressed,” she told Dave.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Dave and I shared a long glance as Scarlett tugged me away.
“You two are sickening, you know that?” she said. “Surely you can bear to be apart for half an hour, can’t you?”
“Make it quick,” Dave called out.
“Ugh,” Scarlett complained.
I poked my tongue out at Scarlett and waved to Dave.
He mouthed, “I love you.”
“I know,” I mouthed back. I held up my hand and the diamond sparkled in the sun.
“So you still haven’t told me,” I said to Scarlett as she continued pulling me away from Dave. “What did you bet?”
Scarlett looked heavenwards. “Seriously? Do you even have to ask?”
“Yes!”
Scarlett stopped and I bumped into her. “You think I’d bet you’d be upset?” she asked incredulously.
“Well, maybe. I mean, I don’t know! You do kind of lean toward the more pessimistic side of things.”
Scarlett gave me an unimpressed look, then shook her head when Christa and Maddy joined us. “She thought I’d bet she’d hate the idea.”
“Well, you can kind of understand—” began Christa.
“Give me some credit!” Scarlett shot back.
“Really?” I asked.
“For God’s sake, yes! This is you we’re talking about, Cate. Miss Romantic.”
“You’ve got to admit I haven’t been quite as romantic lately,” I said.
“Ha! Not romantic! That’s a lie you tell yourself when you’re getting carried away by your romantic thoughts because you think you shouldn’t be so romantic.”
I turned to Christa and Maddy. “What about you two?”
“I knew you’d love it,” Christa said, grinning at me.
“Me too,” said Maddy.
“Well, who on earth thought it wasn’t a good idea then?” I wondered out loud.
“Wally and Bones, but they’ve got no idea,” Scarlett told us. “I think your brother was worried too, seeing as he had to travel from Queensland to be here, but your sister-in-law talked some sense into him. The guys basically. Except for Bear, that guy’s a sucker and nearly as romantic as you are.”
“He is?” I asked, secretly delighted.
“And Dave, of course,” Christa added. “I’ve got to say, he’s a brave man. He took a chance for the sake of romance.”
I grinned to myself. My man of action, I thought happily. My romantic man of action. And he was all mine.
“Come on, Cate,” Scarlett said. “Hurry up and get ready. Maddy’s organized a caterer.”
“Of course she has,” I said, still grinning from ear to ear.
Scarlett shook her head at me again but it was with fondness. “Come on, Miss Romantic.”
“That’s Mrs. Romantic to you,” I corrected.
“Not yet, but soon. Let’s go.”
I walked arm in arm with Maddy and Christa and we followed Scarlett into the house to get ready for my engagement party.
Acknowledgments
When I set out to write The Boyfriend Sessions I didn’t necessarily have a series in mind. Then Christa’s girlfriends hit the page and I fell in love with each of them (all for different reasons) and I knew they had to have their own stories. Cate’s is the final instalment and it’s certainly been a wild ride, so I need to mention a few people who joined me along the way:
To Haylee and Joel at Momentum – thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to bring the City Love girls to readers. Your professionalism and expertise means they couldn’t have found a better home. And to Tara, my editor, for loving the City Love girls as much as I do and giving me feedback that would enhance their stories while staying true to their voices. Also, Shelly and Patrick, you’ve done a great job of promoting the series and helping me to find an audience, so thank you.
To my husband and son. It’s not easy living with a writer, I know. Thank you for supporting me and giving me the time and space I needed to write, to make this series a reality, and for never wavering in your belief of me.
To my close friends and beta-readers, Sarah, Donna and Joanna. Thank you for taking the time out of your lives to give me invaluable feedback and help me on this journey.
To my other wonderful author friends, particularly Nicki Edwards who adored Cate right from the beginning and couldn’t wait to read her story! So much so that she beta-read Wish List for me at the last minute and gave me helpful feedback.
When I started writing I had no idea I’d also develop such a great community of writer friends who’d encourage, collaborate on book releases and promotion, and support each other in this unpredictable writing life. It’s been an unexpected joy.
And lastly, to the readers and bloggers who’ve read this series and written reviews and blogged about my books: thank you!
About Belinda Williams
Belinda is a marketing communications specialist and copywriter who allowed an addiction to romance and chick-lit to get the better of her. She was named a top ten finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award in both 2013 and 2014.
Her other addictions include music and cars. Belinda’s eclectic music taste forms the foundation of many of her writing ideas and her healthy appreciation for fast cars means she would not so secretly love a Lamborghini. For now she’ll have to settle with her son’s Hot Wheels collection and writing hot male leads with sports cars.
Belinda lives in Sydney and blogs regularly about writing and reading here: www.belindawilliamsbooks.com
Also by Belinda Williams
The Boyfriend Sessions: City Love 1
The Pitch: City Love 2
Modern Heart: City Love 3
First publis
hed by Momentum in 2016
This edition published in 2016 by Momentum
Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney 2000
Copyright © Belinda Williams 2016
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
A CIP record for this book is available at the National Library of Australia
Wish List: City Love 4
EPUB format: 9781760302016
Mobi format: 9781760302023
Cover design by Danielle Hurps
Edited by Tara Goedjen
Proofreading by Lauren Choplin
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Wish List: City Love 4 Page 31
