Page 90 of Where the Heart Is

She flung a cushion at his head. ‘I’m not a hoarder. I like to surround myself with pretty things.’

‘Me too.’ Jack carefully placed the lamp and crystal on the floor before crossing the room to slide his arms around her waist and nuzzle her neck. ‘Extremely pretty.’

‘I never would’ve picked you for an old romantic,’ she murmured, savouring the feel of being cherished by her husband. ‘But I like it.’

‘Good.’ He nipped her neck before easing away, a wicked glint in his eyes. ‘You know what I like? Taking a break from this endless packing for an afternoon nap.’

Adelaide laughed. ‘When we had one of your infamous “naps” yesterday, we didn’t make it out of the bed until this morning. At this rate, we’ll never finish packing.’

‘We happen to be very good atnapping.’ His cheeky smile warmed her heart. ‘Plus, we have to make up for lost time, you know.’

She cupped his cheek, wishing they hadn’t been so stubborn for so long. ‘I know. But I also want to get back to Ashe Ridge and set up our home.’

His gaze softened. ‘Our home. I like the sound of that.’

‘Me too.’

She pressed her lips to his, still marvelling that in the last month since the B & S ball, they’d reunited for good, and Jack had accompanied her to Tally Bay to pack up the remnants of her life here.

The last two weeks had been bliss: easy hikes, afternoon swims, impromptu picnics, and making love long into the night. Adelaide had never dreamed she could be this happy again and while they’d holiday here on occasion in the future, she knew where her heart belonged.

With Jack, in the cottage he’d built for her, in Ashe Ridge.

‘I guess the faster we pack, the faster we go home?’ Jack’s mock huff made her chuckle.

‘Exactly.’ She winked. ‘Besides, the faster we stuff those boxes, the sooner we can take a nap.’

‘Don’t have to ask me twice.’ He released her and headed back to the bookcase he’d been emptying. He picked up a dreamcatcher. ‘Keep or discard?’

As she studied the lines of her husband’s face, the uptilting of his mouth, and the softness in his eyes as he looked at her, Adelaide knew she didn’t need the dreamcatcher anymore.

Her dream of happily-ever-after had come true.

EPILOGUE

One Year Later

‘If I thought farming was tough, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for with running a farm stay.’ Mila moaned as Sawyer pressed his thumb into the ball of her foot. ‘If I didn’t have you to give me foot massages, cook stir-fries, and help manage the social media side of the business along with the bookings, I’d be screwed.’

‘All in a day’s work.’ He grinned and increased the pressure, almost making her eyes roll back in her head from the pleasure of it. ‘I like having things to do to fill my days now I’m a kept man.’

‘You are so far from a kept man it’s not funny.’ She stuck her tongue out and winked. ‘Though I do like the thought of you at my beck and call.’

‘Actually, about that …’ He moved her feet off his lap and slid off the sofa, onto one knee, and she swore her heart stopped. ‘How do you feel about making our living arrangement permanent?’

‘It already is,’ she murmured, not daring to breathe as Sawyer slipped a tiny blue box out of his pocket.

‘Well then, how about you make an honest man out of me and agree to be my wife?’

He popped the lid of the box and she exhaled on a sigh.

The princess-cut emerald surrounded by diamonds was breathtaking.

And a ring she’d admired when they’d headed to Melbourne for a city-cation a few months ago.

She hadn’t thought much of them window-shopping in Collins Street at the time. They’d been eating spicy lamb souvlaki and struggling not to let the garlic sauce drip all over them as they passed the jewellers and the emerald had caught her eye. They’d barely paused because Sawyer had wanted to visit a bookshop to stock up on reading for Brett and Aimee. Or maybe that had been a distraction technique so she wouldn’t guess he’d been wanting her to choose her own engagement ring.

‘If you’re taking this long to answer my proposal, I’m starting to think I’ve made a mistake.’

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