Authors: C.J. Fallowfield
31 Days of Autumn (47 page)
‘Love you, miss you already,’ I giggled as I
hugged her.
‘Love you, miss you, too,’ she replied, hugging
me even tighter. ‘Karaoke party when you return?’ she asked hopefully.
‘Sure,’ I smiled. I winked at her as I
disappeared into the utility and slipped out, virtually skipping my way down to
the boathouse. I always thought of Jenny whenever I saw it, but it had been
home to Brooke and Molly for so many years that it didn’t feel disrespectful
for Dan and I to use it as an escape from time to time.
‘Dan,’ I whispered to myself, smiling as I saw
he’d put on the Christmas lights outside. He was finally a festive season convert,
so different to the Dan I’d met all those years ago. Now he loved having his
family around him at this time of year, any time in fact. Stan, the mercurial
woodcutter I’d met, had definitely been retired for good. I knocked on the
door, feeling like an excited schoolgirl. I could well be Eva fawning over
Greyson, I was that in love still.
‘Come,’ he called, a mischievous air to his
deep masculine voice.
‘O, I plan on it,’ I laughed as I stepped
inside, then stalled in the doorway. There were no lights on. Instead, he’d lit
the log burner and a huge number of candles, which bathed the white interior in
a soft glow, showing off bouquets of red roses on nearly every conceivable
surface. The scent of them was heady. I blinked, surprised to see him on one
knee on the floor holding a Havershams ring box. I closed the door and shook my
head as I looked at him. ‘Have you suddenly developed Alzheimer’s? Have you
forgotten that we’re already married?’ I asked, not sure what was happening.
‘No,’ he laughed, ‘my memory is perfectly
intact. I know it’s not twenty-two years since we got married, or started
officially dating, but it’s an anniversary of the moment I knew that I’d found
the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.’
‘It took sex to make you think that?’ I faked a
scowl and put my hands on my hips to back it up. I loved teasing him.
‘No, shit no,’ he uttered with a crestfallen
face. ‘I knew that you were special the moment I saw your photograph, hence my
elaborate, and ill-advised, charade. But sex with you, falling asleep with you
after sharing such an intimate moment, just reinforced how strongly I felt
about you. Get over here, will you, I’m fifty bloody six, my knee can’t handle
waiting on these hard floor boards for much longer.’
‘Ruining the whole romance of it,’ I laughed,
stepping towards him.
‘Ellie Davenport, you’ve spent twenty-two years
making me the happiest man alive, will you do me the honour of agreeing to
spend the next twenty-two doing just that?’ he asked, as he held one of my
hands in his.
‘No,’ I replied as I shook my head, a look of
confusion crossing his face. ‘Because twenty-two years is nothing, I want to
agree to spend every last one of our years doing just that.’
‘Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack,
woman,’ he laughed, lifting my hand to kiss it and making my stomach do back flips.
‘I’ve arranged for everyone from our wedding to come for a renewal of our
wedding vows in the cabin for New Years’ Eve. James and Stuart are flying up, Lucas
and Summer are coming over, even John and Edward are hopping off their cruise
for a few days so they don’t miss it.’
‘You have?’ I felt some tears rolling down my
face, touched that he still put so much effort into our relationship after so
long.
‘It will be a night to remember,’ he smiled. ‘I
roped in Luiza, Eva, Molly, and Brooke to help. I even had your wedding dress steam-cleaned
for the day, I thought I’d want you to look as beautiful as you did that day,
but then I realised that’s not possible. Every day my love for you grows, along
with your beauty. You still take my breath away, Ellie.’
‘You do mine,’ I whimpered as I gazed down at
him, overflowing with emotion. He opened the ring box and slipped a stunning heart-shaped
emerald, with two small heart-shaped diamonds on either side, onto my right
hand. ‘Dan, it’s beautiful,’ I gasped as I gazed at it, the candle and
firelight fracturing off each bevelled edge and making it sparkle. ‘It’s so
beautiful, thank you.’
I dropped to my knees in front of him, clasped his
face, and kissed him passionately, letting him feel how much I appreciated what
he’d done, what he was doing for us. He quickly pulled me down onto the
sheepskin rug in front of the fire, weaving his fingers into my hair as he sank
his powerful tongue into my willing mouth while I dug my fingers into his pert
backside and groaned.
‘Mum, Dad,
seriously
? That’s
totally
gross at your age.’
We broke apart laughing as we looked up to see
Oliver standing in the doorway, holding Lottie’s hand. He looked really bummed
out to have had his obviously sneaky night of passion, without all of our
family listening in, ruined.
‘I could still teach you a lesson or two in
romance, son,’ chuckled Dan. ‘Take the boat and go and see Tina at the hotel. She’ll
let you have the penthouse suite, which I’d reserved ready for your mum and I
for our event.’
‘Thanks, Dad, you’re the best,’ he grinned,
tugging Lottie out.
‘Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Davenport,’ she grimaced
over her shoulder, a flush spreading across her cheeks.
‘Son?’ Dan called, making Oliver look back.
‘What, Dad?’
‘Use protection, for Christ’s sake, ok? And be
prepared for Lottie’s father to punch you when he finds out, because if that
was Eva being whisked off to a hotel right now, I wouldn’t be so
understanding.’
‘Yes, Dad,’ he groaned, rolling his eyes and
shutting the door as Lottie and I giggled.
‘You didn’t have to embarrass him like that in
front of her,’ I laughed, cuffing his shoulder as he lay on his side looking
down at me.
‘She’s only two years older than Eva and I’d be
furious if she came home pregnant at nineteen, let alone to find out she was
having sex. Trust me, Lottie’s father doesn’t know she’s having sex or he
wouldn’t have allowed her to come and stay with us. He’d have her at home under
lock and key. Just like I’ll want to do with our daughter.’
‘Come back down here and kiss me, then make
love to me like you promised, instead of getting so worked up,’ I smiled,
pulling him down to meet my lips. ‘I love that you’re so protective of our
family. I love you, Oliver Daniel Davenport.’
‘I love you too, Ellie Davenport.’
‘Thank you so much for this, for all of the
effort you’ve gone to, for arranging another wedding for us and for my
beautiful ring. I can’t believe all of the trouble you’ve gone to. You must have
spent so much money. Surely you know by now that I love you whether …’
‘Christ, woman, twenty-two years and you
still
don’t know when to shut up,’ he laughed, interrupting me as he reached to brush
my hair out of my face.
‘I just want you to know how much I appreciate
everything that you do for me, Dan.’
‘Don’t worry about it. The moment I took your
original reservation, you were on the all-inclusive Davenport package for life,
baby. While it might always be perfectly imperfect, just like we’ve always been,
it’s all part of the service,’ he winked, as his hand slipped up my skirt and
his tongue sank into my mouth again, making me see stars.
The
End
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31 Days of Autumn
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