‘You are amazing,’ Ben declared. He buzzed her cheek with a kiss. ‘You make it all sound so simple.’
‘I know it isn’t simple but it’s the only way I can cope.’ She looked into his eyes. ‘We can get through this, Ben, no matter what happens.’
‘You almost make me believe that,’ he said roughly.
‘You have to believe it.’ She kissed him on the lips. ‘What we have is too precious to lose. If the cancer has come back, we have to fight it. Together.’
‘Are you sure? If it has come back, I’ll need months of treatment. I can’t bear to think of you having to watch me go through all that, especially when we have only just got back together.’
‘And I can’t bear to think of you having to suffer,’ she said, her voice catching. ‘But if it’s the only way to get rid of the cancer then we’ll manage, Ben. We have to. I love you and need you. Theo loves and needs you too. You have to be strong for our sakes.’
‘I shall,’ he promised and meant it with every fibre of his being. No matter what it took, he was going to fight this and win.
Emily held out her hand. ‘Come to bed, Ben. It won’t affect the outcome of all those tests but it will help.’
Ben took her hand, feeling his confidence surging back. Even if he had to undergo more treatment, it would work; it really would! They made love in his bed and he wasn’t ashamed when he cried afterwards, wasn’t afraid to admit how much it meant to have Emily there, holding him. He needed her so much, needed her love and support, her strength as well as her beauty. Turning to face her, he told her that and watched the love light up her eyes.
‘I need you too, Ben, just as much. You’re everything to me and I can’t imagine a life without you and don’t want to try. No matter what happens, I’ll always be here for you,’ she whispered and he knew that she meant it, knew that Emily would always be at his side, loving and caring for him.
He fell asleep on that thought, feeling more at peace with himself than he’d felt in years. Maybe there would always be a degree of uncertainty about the future but so long as Emily was with him, he could handle it. No matter how long they had—and please heaven it was years!—their lives would be better, richer, more fulfilled by having each other at its heart.
EPILOGUE
WINTER arrived in Bride’s Bay with a suddenness that caught everyone unawares. People shook their heads as they tried to remember the last time it had snowed. Emily smiled to herself as she stepped in front of the mirror. Her wedding dress may have been designed by one of Paris’s leading couture houses but the white velvet cloak her mother had run up on her old sewing machine was going to be the star of the show!
‘Oh, darling, you look lovely!’ Frances came into the bedroom to check on her progress and stopped dead. Tears welled to her eyes and she hastily blotted them away with a tissue. ‘I mustn’t cry or my mascara will run, but you look gorgeous.’
‘Do you think so?’ Emily did a little twirl, watching the feather-light silk organza swirl around her ankles. She had chosen a simple style, a fitted bodice finished with tiny seed pearls and a full skirt. However the quality of the workmanship had turned the dress into a real fairytale gown. It had been a gift from her future mother-in-law and Emily had accepted it in the spirit it had been meant. Ruth Legrange was as thrilled about welcoming her and Theo into the family as Emily was to join it.
She turned away from the mirror and picked up her phone. ‘I’ll just text Ben to make sure he’s ready.’
‘Isn’t it supposed to be bad luck to communicate with the bridegroom on the wedding day?’ Frances said, only half joking.
Emily laughed. ‘Don’t be so old-fashioned, Mum. Anyway, there’s no way that Ben and I are going to have bad luck today or any day! It’s all positives from now on.’
‘I’m so glad the tests were clear. It must have been so worrying for you,’ Frances said. ‘You’ve been very brave.’
‘Ben’s the brave one,’ Emily said immediately.
Frances shook her head. ‘No. You played your part, darling, as you’ll continue to play it. It’s what marriage is all about, being there for one another through the bad times as well as the good.’
‘Stop it or you’ll have me crying and I don’t want to arrive at church looking like a panda!’ Emily admonished, sniffing.
‘Sorry.’ Frances gave her a hug then headed to the door. ‘I’d better go and see what the boys are up to. Theo looks adorable in his little pageboy outfit, but he was trying to persuade your father to take him to see the chickens!’
Frances’ expression spoke volumes as she hurried out of the room, and Emily laughed. If she was honest, she didn’t care if Theo got into a bit of a mess. It wouldn’t spoil the day. Nothing would.
She smiled as she texted Ben to tell him that she was ready and that she loved him. Although she’d had to return to England, she had insisted on being with him when he’d received the results of the tests. Neither of them had slept the night before and the tension had been unbearable as they had waited to be called into the oncologist’s office. When the consultant had smilingly informed them that all the tests were clear and that the cancer hadn’t returned, they’d been too elated to speak. It was the consultant’s view that a viral infection had been to blame for Ben’s symptoms, nothing more sinister. They had left the doctor’s office and stood in the street and hugged one another. Then Ben had gone down on one knee and asked her to marry him and Emily hadn’t hesitated. The future was all theirs and nothing was going stop them being together.
Emily’s phone rang a few seconds later and she laughed when she saw Ben’s name on the display. He didn’t believe in bad luck any more than she did. ‘Hello. How are you today?’
‘Excited.’
Emily felt all her love for him well up inside her. Ben meant the world to her. He was her heart, her soul, her lover and her friend. ‘Me too. Excited and so happy I could burst! In an hour’s time I’m going to be your wife—what could be better than that?’
‘Nothing,’ Ben replied, his voice reflecting everything she was feeling. ‘Absolutely nothing at all, chérie.’
* * * * *
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin ebook. Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Subscribe to our newsletter: Harlequin.com/newsletters
Visit Harlequin.com
We like you—why not like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Read our blog for all the latest news on our authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN: 9781460307519
Copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Taylor
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, down-loaded, 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 Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
> Jennifer Taylor, The Son That Changed His Life
The Son That Changed His Life Page 15
