Page 135 of Electric Kiss

“How are we going to visit all these places in two weeks?” she asked the map.

Luke came to her again, to her side, dropped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side. She liked it there so much she never wanted to move away.

“Well, here’s the thing. I hope you’re not mad and we don’t have our first argument before we consummated our marriage….”

“What did you do?” she asked the map.

“I brokered a deal.”

“Who with?”

“Dudley Morris.”

“Oh God, what do I owe that man now?”

“Nothing, he’s retired, remember. Gwendolyn Hoskins is the new head teacher.”

“That’s right, so what is the deal?”

“You won’t be returning to school until October half term finishes, so roughly the end of October.”

“How did you manage that?” she shrieked, grinning from ear to ear.

She’d sell her soul to go away with Luke for two months.

“I explained to Dudley that perhaps we would give you an extended leave of absence due to the extra hours you’ve been working for the last two years.”

“That’s it?”

“Not quite. I also told him that if he wanted to remain in the board of governors after his retirement and have any say in the future of Copper Island High School he would put the permissions in place before he retired. I was not shocked to hear, he’d done it immediately. So, we are going to travel for six or seven weeks, get to know each other better with no drama circling overhead. What I would also like, if you can swing it, is to get pregnant with my children so I can come back smug.”

She looked at his profile and laughed. “Children?”

“Yeah. Triplets would be awesome then I can best them all.”

“Your siblings?”

“Yep.”

Freya let out a long laugh and wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed.

“I’m not sure there are triplets in either of our lineage but we’ll give it a go.”

“That’s my girl. Right, we gotta get moving,” Luke said.

“Okay, do I get to know where we’re going this time of night? There are no ferries, planes or helicopters at this hour.”

“Another surprise,” he said and kissed her nose.

“I quite like your surprises.”

“So you’re not mad I arranged time off from your teaching job?”

“No, honey. It’s true that since you’ve been back you’ve either been dealing with your aunt, learning a new job, then learning another new job while setting up a thriving business with your siblings as well as trying to make amends with the townsfolk. Plus all your studies. It’s been a lot. I cannot wait to spend six or seven weeks with you.”

“I love you,” Luke said.

“I love you too, now, what do I need to get?”

---