The Great Escape
Page 28
‘Bertie,’ I cried as he come bouncing over, complete with a little bowtie around his neck. I picked him up and hugged and kissed him and gave Weston a grateful look.
‘Thank Miller. They insisted no dogs, but he paid enough money to make sure that rule was bent so that Bertie and Teddy could be here too, as he knows what Bertie means to you,’ Weston smiled. ‘Come on, dinner will be served in a moment. The rest of the village and our friends will join us after for drinks and dancing and then we’re leaving for our honeymoon.’
‘Where are we going?’ I asked. He’d told me to take two weeks off work and pack for warm weather, with the odd jumper, just in case. I bit my lip nervously as I studied his face, trying to get a clue. While hot air ballooning was something we often did, and I surprisingly loved, it hadn’t helped my fear of flying in a plane. He framed my face in his hands and kissed me.
‘I thought, where could we go where there’s sun, sand, and sea. Endless romantic walks on the beach at sunset, the possibility of swimming with dolphins, no flight to stress you out, and somewhere our boy can join us.’
‘We’re going to Dolphin Bay, to the cottage?’ I asked, my smile almost splitting my face.
‘Thank God you’re happy. I thought you might be disappointed that I’ve not spent money on a luxury honeymoon, not that I’d have begrudged it. While I’ve seen most of the world, I know you haven’t.’
‘I don’t need to, Weston, and I was dreading leaving Bertie for two weeks. Dolphin Bay is perfect. We can make our own rules day to day without having to clock watch like we would in a hotel. I can’t wait.’
‘Neither can I. I’m going to love you better than any man ever could, Georgie Argent,’ he stated earnestly, making my stomach flip and heart flutter to hear my new name and his sincerity.
And I didn’t doubt it for a moment.
Epilogue
Four Years Later – July
‘HOW ARE YOU DOING?’ Abbie asked.
‘Nervous. It’s not every day you have a new baby,’ I reminded her, as I cradled the phone between my neck and ear and wiped some perspiration from my forehead.
‘No, but you have nothing to be nervous about, Georgie. You’re an amazing mother.’
‘Thanks, sweetie,’ I nodded, palming my stomach as it twisted itself in knots.
‘Well, it’s nearly time. Can I do anything?’
‘It’s a bit late to send her back,’ I laughed.
‘What if they don’t get on? You hear this happens all the time. The baby gets all of the attention and the eldest feels left out, it’s a careful balancing act.’
‘I’m sure they’ll get on fine. He has such an easy temperament, I just know he’ll be the best big brother ever.’
‘I wish I was there. I should be there when you welcome a new addition to the family. We’ve always been there for each other, Georgie.’
‘And we always will be, Abbie. I’ll be back home in Dilbury with her before you know it and you can come straight over to see us. Abbie and her babysitting services will always be welcome.’
‘Jackson Davis, you get down off that chair and take your hand out of the cookie jar right now. Don’t make me come in there,’ Abbie yelled, making me jump. ‘God damn it, I’ve got to go. He’s a monkey, he knows he’s not allowed cookies unless Miller or I give him one.’
‘Go, but don’t be too hard on him. They are pretty irresistible.’
‘Good luck, sweetie. Let me know when she arrives, I want all of the details, and pictures too.’
‘Oh, I think this is it, I think she’s here,’ I cried, beyond excited, while a soupçon nervous at the same time.
‘Good luck,’ Abbie called, quickly ending the call.
‘Are you ready, baby boy?’ I asked as I heard Weston’s footsteps on the decking. ‘Your new sister is here.’
Bertie cocked his head and gave me a woof, then threw himself off the sofa. He scuttled over to the front of the cottage where the bi-fold doors were pulled right back, trying to alleviate some of the extreme heatwave we were having by allowing the sea breeze to flow through it. I quickly got up off the sofa and walked over to join him, my heart leaping up into my mouth as Weston appeared, cradling the most beautiful gold and white French bulldog puppy in his arms.
‘Weston, she’s so much prettier in the flesh. I’ve been going stir-crazy waiting for you to bring her back.’ I held my arms out and he grinned and gently passed her over to me. She looked up at me with soulful brown eyes from under the prettiest long, dark lashes and my heart imploded. ‘Hello, Princess, I’m your new mummy and you have no idea how much you’re going to be loved.’
‘She may actually love you to death,’ Weston warned her as he kissed my temple.
‘Well, it hasn’t done Bertie any harm,’ I reminded him.
‘No, it hasn’t,’ he laughed as he scooped up our boy and let him take his first look at his new sister. ‘Though I’m sure our parents would much rather we’d given them an actual grandchild instead of another furry one.’
‘They’ll get over it,’ I murmured as we carefully brought our two babies closer to each other to see what reaction we’d get. I’d never had that maternal urge, and luckily for me, Weston wasn’t desperate to have children either. We completed each other and loved our life with Bertie, but like most parents of an only child, we’d started to wonder if it would be good for him to have a sibling. He loved playing with Teddy so much, but Miller often took him to America with him and Bertie would pine for his friend. So when Weston had started looking for puppies and found a breeder not far from Dolphin Bay, it was a done deal. We’d timed collecting her with our two-week holiday at the cottage for our wedding anniversary. ‘Oh, Bertie,’ I sighed, as he gave his new sister a gentle, loving lick, making her lift her paw to pat at him playfully as she batted her eyelashes.
We set them both down on the floor and watched as they took their time sniffing each other, then began to chase each other around the coffee table, excited woofs coming from both of them as they tumbled.
‘We’ll need to watch her carefully. She’s not learned to be afraid of the water like Bertie has,’ Weston warned.
‘Let’s put their leads on and go for a walk on the beach and into town,’ I suggested. ‘They can play safely in the surf together and I’ll treat you to a fish and chip supper to celebrate, with no salt on your portion. We could go and sit at the beach hut and watch the sun set while they play. How does that sound?’
‘Perfect.’
After laughing like children as we tried to catch the playful dogs, we strolled towards the water hand in hand, each holding on to one dog with their extendable leads.
‘So, what are we going to call her?’ Weston asked. ‘And before you say it, I’m not calling her Princess. I may be soft when it comes to you, but even I have my limits. The guys will rip me a new one for having a dog called Princess.’
‘But it fits her perfectly. Look at how daintily she skips along.’ I pulled my best pleading face at him, but he laughed and looked away.
‘Stop it, you won’t break me with those gorgeous baby blues of yours.’
‘You say that every time and I always win,’ I reminded him.
‘Well, I promised your dad I’d treat you like a princess and I don’t fancy getting my nose broken by him,’ he grinned as he looked back over at me. ‘But there’s only room in the family for one princess.’
‘Fine, then how about Bach? She seems pretty vocal,’ I said, as she let Bertie come near her, then let out a load of yaps as she trotted away, encouraging him to chase after her.
‘Bach was male, you can’t call her Bach.’
‘Why did you pick the name Bertie when you brought him by that first time?’ I asked. Weston shrugged and frowned.
‘Not sure. Seeing you again made my mind go blank and I couldn’t remember his real name. I guess Bertie the bulldog just seemed to roll off the tongue.’
‘Officially he’s Bertie the French bulldog, which doe
sn’t sound quite as good, but he really suits being a Bertie.’
‘Ok, how about Frenchie? Frenchie the French bulldog?’
‘Frenchie,’ I mused, repeating it a few times then nodding. ‘I like it. Bertie and Frenchie. Oh, look at them, Weston, they’re so happy together.’ I couldn’t help my own happiness from radiating out. Life had never been so good.
‘I love your smile,’ Weston murmured, as he ground to a halt and tugged me over to him.
‘Just my smile?’ I teased.
‘You know I love everything. Happy anniversary, gorgeous, and here’s to many more amazing years.’ He clasped my face in his hands and kissed me deeply, and I let him devour me as I stood on my tiptoes and put my arms around his neck to make it last. Those starlings that always fluttered in my stomach hadn’t faded over time. If anything, each year together seemed to make them multiply. We broke our lip lock as we recognised Bertie’s attention-seeking whine and glanced down to see both of them looking up at us. ‘I think they want to be a part of the celebrations,’ Weston laughed, picking up Frenchie as I grabbed our boy, and we linked hands again.
‘Happy anniversary, handsome. Thank you for giving me the best present I could have hoped for, and for the last four wonderful years. I can’t wait for the next four with our new family.’ I blew him a kiss, which he returned.
‘This is it now, Georgie. For someone who never wanted a dog, I think two is enough.’
‘We’ll see,’ I smiled, squeezing his hand.
He laughed with a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, knowing he’d do pretty much anything I asked of him. He was amazing like that, and I was well aware of how lucky I was to have him, but I’d never take advantage of his generosity of heart when it came to me. We had the perfect relationship. We balanced each other, helped each other be the best version of ourselves, and I’d never want to do anything to jeopardise that by taking him for granted or exploiting his kind nature.
I was living the fairy tale with my very own handsome prince. Life couldn’t be better if I tried. I had everything I needed right here. Well, and in our home in Dilbury too. How could I leave Ivy Cottage, my parlour, our amazing village, and my wonderful friends out of the equation? I closed my eyes, lifted my face up towards the sun, and took in a deep breath of contentment. Yes, life was just perfect.
Better than I could ever have dreamed.
The End
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Next Release
I’ll be staying in Dilbury for a while, bringing you more romantic comedy tales from the villagers, including Quinn, Heath, and Lord Kirkland, as well as a newcomer to the quaint English village, Fleur Dubois.
Charlie will be back in February in her own romantic comedy story,
The Best Medicine – Dilbury Village #3.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34389554-the-best-medicine
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