31 Days of Summer (31 Days #2) (52 page)

‘Wow, you look amazing, Ellie.’

‘Thanks, Jenny. So, what do you think of your new
home?’

‘It’s gorgeous,’ she grinned. ‘I love it. I should
have come up yesterday really. I like to do a full tour and sweep of a new area,
to get my bearings and pick out any weak points, security wise, but Mr.
Davenport wants me to come tonight to meet everyone and look after Oliver, so
you can have some fun. Tomorrow’s the wedding, so it will have to be Sunday.’

‘Please call him Dan, you’re one of the family
now. Do you need time to get changed and ready?’ I asked, seeing she was
dressed in one of her trouser suits again.

‘Only if that’s no trouble?’

‘None at all, Oliver’s overdue a nap before all
the excitement starts. I don’t know what Dan’s suggested, but I don’t think you
wearing suits each day is required. Plus if you’re out with us it just draws unnecessary
attention. Do you have any casual clothes?’

‘I didn’t really bring any with me, other than an
outfit for tonight and the wedding, then lounging around when I’m off duty in
the boathouse, but Dan’s told me that once I’ve had a chance to settle in and
get everything set up, I can go back to London for a while, so I can pack more
then.’

‘O right,’ I nodded, wondering why he was sending
her home so early into her first stint. ‘Go on then, I hope you can get ready
quickly, we’re leaving in under an hour.’

‘Forces girl, Ellie,’ she reminded me with a grin.
‘Speed is a given.’

‘We’ll call for you on our way down.’

‘Great.’

I picked Oliver up and got him freshened up and
changed into a pair of black corduroy trousers and a cute white shirt with
black paisley turn back cuffs, then put him in his cot and sang him to sleep. It
was going to be cuddle central for him and the excitement would probably make
him sleep like a log later, so a power nap now should do him fine. I jumped,
when I realised Dan was leaning against the doorframe watching me. I nearly
drooled down my chin at the sight of him. He had on a pair of his indigo jeans,
with a white shirt and black waist coat and blazer and smelled of his
irresistible smell of Dan, combined with fresh laundry and spice. I was totally
under his spell.

‘Well I don’t need to ask for approval on my
outfit,’ he smirked.

‘You know you look good in anything, but a
waistcoat just does me in.’

‘You look stunning, as ever.’

‘Thank you,’ I smiled as I walked over, put my
arms around his neck and kissed him.

‘How’s our little man?’

‘Having a quick sleep. Why are you sending Jenny
home so soon?’

‘It’s a big job settling in somewhere new,
especially when she’s getting the lay of the land and drawing up plans. She’ll
be ordering a load of kit as well, I thought she might need a break before
starting in earnest on the nanny and protection side. It’s not like we’ll be
going anywhere risky without her.’

‘I’d have thought you’d have wanted her here for a
good long stint, before she had a trip home.’

‘As a boss I’m a fair and reasonable man. A happy
employee is a productive employee.’

‘You’re a fair and reasonable man anytime,’ I
reminded him, as we kissed properly before he broke away.

‘Don’t wind me up, I’ll want to fuck you and it
will mess up your hair, as well as other parts.’

Oliver slept the whole boat ride to the hotel and
I moaned when Dan refused to allow me to go down and check on the preparations
in the cabin for tomorrow. He insisted that Tina, his manageress, would have it
all in hand. How Oliver slept through the screams and noisy greetings, as we
entered the private dining suite in the tower to find everyone waiting for us,
was beyond me. I set him down on a sofa in the corner furthest from the bar and
went to mingle. Jenny was having a good chat with Mr. and Mrs. McAdams, Brooke
and Molly’s parents looked deep in discussion, Dan was talking to his parents
and John, Edward, Logan and the happy couple were laughing hysterically in the
corner. I stood watching them all for a moment, it was so lovely to have
everyone together, especially up here, at home. I never imagined I’d think of
anywhere other than London as home, but Dan was right, the tranquillity and
fresh air up here just got to you and made you not want to leave. I counted
heads, fourteen of us, that wasn’t a bad number for an intimate wedding
service, it would give them a chance to talk to everyone, unlike those weddings
I’d been to where there were hundreds of guests, relatives of relatives that
you’d never met.

‘Babe, what’s going on? Are you having a seizure?’
called Brooke. ‘You have stroke face.’

‘How lovely, on form as ever,’ I smiled as I went
to join her.

‘You were just standing there with a dreamy look
on your face. Danland again?’

‘Danland?’ laughed Logan.

‘I wasn’t in Danland, for once,’ I added as I
blushed. ‘I was actually thinking about your big day tomorrow and how lovely it
is that it’s so intimate and cosy. Anyway Logan, what’s with the outfit? Have
you and Dan been texting and agreeing to come dressed the same?’ I asked, as I
looked him up and down. They could almost be twins.

‘He stole my look and don’t let him tell you
otherwise,’ he objected.

‘Logan, why don’t you have a girlfriend? Are you
gay too?’ asked Molly as she sipped on some champagne. John and Edward laughed
harder than I did.

‘Darling, along with Dan, Logan’s the least un-gay
man I’ve ever met,’ Edward replied shaking his head. I looked up at Logan
feeling sorry for him. I hadn’t even told Brooke or Molly about his main money
spinning career, he liked his anonymity.

‘Well I’m glad to know I don’t give off the gay
vibe to men, though women thinking it is probably the reason I’m single,’ he
smiled.

‘She’s no ordinary woman,’ replied Brooke with a flick
of her head to Molly.

‘No, she’s a Marks and Spencer woman,’ I laughed.
‘I think she’s trying to say that Molly’s opinion, as a lover of the same sex,
doesn’t count.’

‘So, why are you single?’ demanded Brooke. ‘I mean
you’re hot and sexy, hot and sexy shouldn’t be single.’

‘And neither are you, sweetie,’ Molly warned.

‘I know, but I mean come on, even as an all-out
rug muncher you can appreciate he’s a seriously good looking guy. Women should
be falling over themselves for him.’

‘Maybe I’m just not the settling down kind of
guy,’ shrugged Logan as he sipped from a glass of water with a slice of lime.

‘Or maybe you’re too scared to make a move on a
girl that you really fancy,’ I added, knowing he’d know I was talking about his
crush, Summer.

‘Work’s busy, I don’t have much time for anything
else.’

‘What do you do, Logan?’ asked John.

‘Personal Trainer, I’m into keeping fit, in all
sorts of ways,’ he grinned, with a discrete wink at me.

‘Keep fit doesn’t keep you warm on the long cold
lonely nights, Logan,’ I replied with a shake of my head, wishing he’d just
ditch his escorting business and ask this girl out. Dan said he was infatuated
with her, since he’d spent the night making her virgin fantasy come true.

‘Whatever,’ he replied, with a roll of his steel
grey eyes and a warm smile. ‘Talking of devilishly handsome men, where’s the
nipper?’

‘Fast asleep in the corner. Appreciate it while it
lasts,’ I nodded, as I excused myself to go and see Mr. and Mrs Davenport.

We all headed up to the roof terrace to watch the
sunset over the loch, after a delicious five course meal. Oliver had worn
himself out again and was fast asleep in Logan’s arms.

‘Dan, it’s so beautiful up here,’ I gasped, as he
opened the staircase door. It was a large terrace, half of which was covered
with a white sail peppered with thousands of sparkling LED lights. Bay leaf
trees in large slate pots, with white ribbons around their trunks, were dotted
around the edges and the view was to die for. You could see all the way up to,
and beyond, our island. There was a small bar at the back of the terrace, where
a waiter started offering everyone more champagne.

‘Have one at least,’ Dan coaxed, as he handed it
over. ‘It’s a special night.’

‘I guess a few sips wouldn’t kill me,’ I smiled.
Most people said to stop breast feeding at twelve months, but I’d decided to just
carry on until the new baby arrived. One day without wouldn’t be the end of the
world for Oliver, not now he was eating solids. Dan handed me the glass and I
heard a chorus of
Oooo’s
and
Ahhhh’s
as everyone watched the sky
changing colour. Dan tugged my hand and led me to the unsheltered part of the
terrace, right next to the turrets, before toasting my glass with his own and
we took a sip.

‘I love you, Ellie Baxter. You know that, right?’

‘Of course I do,’ I smiled, wondering why he felt
the need to ask and why everyone wasn’t joining us for a better view. Dan put
his glass down on the stone ledge and took mine off me, then grabbed my hands
in his.

‘I never knew I could be happy,’ he stated, as he
looked at me seriously.

‘Neither did I. Me that is, not you. I’m happy,
really
happy. Though I knew you could be happier that first time I met you, you were
seriously
moody, you could have won a split personality or multiple personality award,
for the way your temperament changed that winter.’

‘Ellie,’ he sighed.

‘Don’t even think of denying it, or I may have to
revert to calling you Stan as a reminder,’ I smiled and picked up my champagne
and took another sip. It was delicious, I did miss having the odd drink. He
took the glass off me and set it back down, reclaiming my hand in his.

‘Stan has well and truly gone, this is the real me
that you’re talking to and I have something to say.’

‘O no, what’s not turned up? Please don’t tell me that
the cake hasn’t arrived?’

‘The cake’s fine.’

‘There’s a problem with the flowers?’ I looked at
him, searching his face for a clue, tomorrow needed to be perfect, Brooke and
Molly deserved perfect.

‘The flowers are fine, everything’s fine. Will you
calm down for a minute and listen to me, I’m trying to tell you something,’ he
sighed.

‘O God, what’s wrong? Are you sick? Is this to do
with you not telling me where you were going on Saturday morning? Were you
seeing a doctor or specialist?’ I asked, looking at him concerned. We’d had a
bit of an argument when he said he had some shopping to do and refused to take
Oliver and I with him, then wouldn’t explain why. I’d caught him on the phone a
few times since, when he looked irritated and asked me to leave the room and
was evasive when I tried to push him for answers. Suddenly my mind was racing,
he’d been hiding something from me, something that would upset me.

‘Yes,’ he sighed again.

‘You’re sick?’ I yanked my hands out of his and
covered my mouth, as my heart started cantering. ‘No, this can’t be happening,
not now, not after everything.’

‘No, the yes response was to why I wouldn’t tell
you where I was going, not yes to the “are you sick” question. I’m not sick,
I’m perfectly healthy. God damn it woman, this isn’t how I practiced this.’

‘Practiced what?’ I uttered, as I smacked him. ‘I
thought you had cancer or something. Don’t
do
that to me. I was having a
whole visual of being a single mother of two and I don’t know how I’d do that
without you. Do you have …’

‘Jesus Christ, do you
ever
know when to
shut up?’ he groaned, as he grabbed my face and kissed me, levering my lips
apart as he flickered at my tongue with his own, until I stumbled and collapsed
against his hard chest as I clutched his shirt, oblivious to both the sunset
and everyone behind us. His kisses were spectacular, they sent my mind orbiting
the earth leaving me giddy. He pulled away and smiled, as I just gazed up at
him adoringly and slightly stunned. ‘That’s better, now maybe I can get a word
in edgeways without you interrupting me, or going off on a Brooke like
tangent.’

‘I resent that,’ I heard Brooke yell and looked
around to see everyone just standing staring at us.
What the hell was going
on?

‘God damn it, if it’s not you it’s her ruining my
perfect bloody plan,’ he muttered, as he grabbed my chin and forced me to look
back at him.

‘What’s,’ I managed to say before he put his hand
over my mouth.

‘Not another word, not one, from you or
anyone
else, thank you very much. Understood?’

‘Yes, Sir,’ I mumbled.

‘That was another two words,’ he smiled.

‘Sorry,’ I whispered against his palm.

‘Ok, from now, no more words, you’ve completely thrown
me off, so I’m scrapping my plan and I’m just going to cut to the chase before
I lose my nerve.’

‘Ok,’ I nodded, his hand still muffling the words.

‘Ellie!’

‘Sorry.’

‘I give up,’ he groaned, as he moved his hand.
‘I’d practiced a whole bloody speech all week, a romantic and sincere speech,
which you’ve just ruined as my mind’s now gone blank.’

‘A speech?’ I looked at him wide eyed, as my mind
started to catch up to what was actually happening and I caught my breath as he
dropped to one knee in front of me and grabbed my hands again.

‘I love you, Ellie Baxter. More than I can even
begin to tell you. You’re the most amazing girlfriend and the best mother to my
son. You’ve ruined me for life, because if you ever left me you’d break me.
I’ve been trying to ask you to marry me in a romantic way, but with your
incessant babble you’ve managed to ruin that. Just agree to bloody marry me
woman and put me out of my misery, because I’m dying in front of our family and
friends here.’

I just stood looking down at him, not sure I’d
heard him right.
Had he really just proposed to me?
When I’d told myself
it was never on the cards for us? His marriage to Moira had obviously been the
reason it could never happen, but even after he became a widower I just assumed
he’d never want to go through it again, that it wouldn’t hold any meaning to
him. I blinked a few times to refocus and saw him looking up at me confused,
emotion swimming in the beautiful green pools of his eyes and I took a sudden
shocked deep breath. He meant it, he really meant it, I could read it written
all over his face. He wanted to
marry
me. I felt my bottom lip start to
wobble, as tears started to roll down my face and I opened my mouth to say something,
but nothing came out.