Page 75 of An Island Promise

For the first time, Gem’s happiness for her friends was genuine, without a hint of jealousy.

‘Next time I’m in the UK,’ Belle said, ‘we’ll have to get together and celebrate.’

‘We might be in our new house by then, with two spare rooms to put you both up in.’

‘Two spare rooms till the baby comes along.’ Belle grinned.

Laurie breathed deeply. ‘It’s still early days.’

‘I know it is, but it’s positive and hopeful and so exciting.’ Belle put her arm round Gem and she felt the comment was as much for her as it was for Laurie.

A positive pregnancy test of her own that had once felt like a life sentence had actually been anything but. Gem was incredibly proud of the young man she was bringing up and of Oscar too, and how Dan and Diego were fitting in to all of their lives. She was proud of herself as well, for facing up to the mistakes she’d made and for being brave enough to be truthful and open. Life was never easy and would always throw curveballs. Although she wasn’t exactly where she wanted to be, she had dreams, determination and a loving, gorgeous family. And Diego. He was sitting with Caleb at the table watching Jack with his cousins. Gem went over and curled her arms round him and when he pulled her onto his lap, beyond the love she had for her children, she’d never felt a love like it.

Whatever they were to each other, whether friends, lovers, partners or a messy combination of them all, they were parents and in each other’s lives. That meant everything.

April, Three Years Later – Belle

In a white dress, Belle swirled across Serenity’s sand-covered terrace, the euphoric house music competing with the voices and laughter that surrounded her.

‘Here comes Daddy and Auntie Cara,’ Belle said, hitching her eighteen-month-old son Arlo higher on her hip as Caleb and Cara danced towards them and swept them into their fold.

Cara looked radiant in a fitted white suit, while Caleb was effortlessly handsome in his, the jacket long removed and the top couple of buttons of his shirt casually undone. Arlo, matching his dad in his own white suit with the cutest waistcoat, had stolen the show. Belle knew she was biased, but it was hard not to be. At Cara and Naomi’s request, everyone was wearing white, which was rather fitting for a wedding on the White Isle.

Enveloped in Caleb’s and Cara’s arms, her son was pressed tight to her chest as they danced together beneath a clear sky sprinkled with stars. Life didn’t get much better.

Belle hadn’t made the mistake of leaving Ibiza for the second time. After a memorable summer when her relationship with Caleb had blossomed from a tentative love to an overwhelming desire to be a permanent part of each other’s lives, Belle hadn’t wanted to leave. When Caleb had asked her to stay, she hadn’t hesitated in saying yes.

Things had slotted into place when Cara had made the difficult decision to remain in Australia. Losing her father had highlighted how fragile life was and her relationship with Naomi had strengthened. By the time Caleb had started the conversation about how to navigate Cara’s return, the decisionhad already been made. Belle had taken over as permanent events manager, while Cara stayed on the other side of the world with Naomi and her family where she got to be a part of her niece’s and nephew’s lives.

Belle understood how much Caleb missed his best friend, because it had been the same for her. However much staying on Ibiza and being with Caleb was right, it was a completely different life. She missed Hannah and her friends in London, she missed Laurie and Gem too, but the trade-off was worth it because she was so in love with Caleb. And it wasn’t exactly hard to entice friends out to visit. Even Belle’s parents made an occasional trip.

Continuing to work for Caleb at Spirit and Serenity had put her own business plans on hold. As she’d once said to Caleb, he was in the business of making people’s dreams come true and she couldn’t think of anything better to be doing with her life. Instead of focusing on developing her own plans, she helped Gem set up her interior design business and even commissioned her to consult on the design plans for the La Retirada barn restaurant once the partnership between Caleb and Eddie had been confirmed. Her decision to stay on Ibiza had also continued to help Hannah, giving her friend the time and space to get through her divorce while staying in Belle’s flat.

Belle hadn’t thought life could get any better until she discovered she was pregnant on a trip to the UK. With most things shut down in Ibiza over the winter months, February had been the perfect time for Belle and Caleb to visit Laurie and Ade in their new house in Derbyshire before their long-awaited baby arrived. Sharing her own pregnancy joy with Laurie had meant everything, the idea of becoming mums within a year of each other beyond perfect, but it had been Caleb’s emotional response to the prospect of becoming a dad that had left Belle a teary hormonal mess. Their age difference had never bothered Belle,but for Caleb, entering his mid-forties after losing the hope of a family, a second chance had meant the world, so Belle delighted in telling him the happy news.

Now on Ibiza, celebrating Cara’s wedding as a family with Caleb and Arlo meant everything. Her life had come full circle and was filled with happiness. Plus life was about to change once again. Cara was returning to Ibiza with Naomi to start a new life together and while Belle was going to focus on events at Serenity, Cara was taking over the reins again at Spirit. It hadn’t been an easy decision and compromises and sacrifices had been made, but Belle knew how much Cara returning meant to Caleb.

While Naomi pulled Cara back onto the sandy dancefloor, Caleb put his arms around Belle and planted a kiss on Arlo’s head. ‘Maria’s going to take him home.’

‘So we’ll get a night to ourselves,’ Belle said with a smile, although her greatest joy was seeing her boys together. Arlo was a perfect mix of the two of them, with her blonde hair and the shape of Caleb’s face, and he doted on him, his patience for a family worth the wait.

After lots of kisses and cuddles from Belle and Caleb, Maria managed to peel Arlo from Belle’s arms, although his piercing cry echoed across Serenity as they left. Belle told herself he was in safe hands and his distress would be forgotten as soon as he was strapped into his car seat. She’d have been distraught too, being dragged away from such a wonderful night.

The music switched to chilled Ibiza vibes. Caleb kissed Belle and placed her favourite champagne cocktail in her hand. He led her to their spot on the wall that overlooked the terrace where dancing couples in white twirled.

They’d made a life together and started a family. They worked together, shared ideas, made time for each other and their friends and families both on Ibiza and in the UK, and they loved each other passionately. Paloma remained a part ofCaleb’s life because he still loved her and always would, but he had room in his heart for Belle too. He loved Arlo fiercely and they hoped they’d be blessed with a brother or sister for him. Paloma’s family were their family too, Maria and Juan surrogate grandparents, and Diego was like a brother. They were entwined together through Paloma, Belle and Caleb, Gem, Jack and Diego. Belle understood that Paloma asking Caleb to promise that he’d be happy and find someone to love again had led them to this point. They’d both learned that loss, disappointment and challenges danced hand in hand with hope, love and happiness. That was what made the good times so special.

As fairy-tale endings went, Belle couldn’t have asked for more.

MORE FROM KATE FROST

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A Greek Island Escape,another feel-good escapist read from Kate Frost, is available to order now by clicking on the image below. Or read on for an exclusive extract…

Chapter One

The applause was deafening, ricocheting around the theatre as Xanthe took her fellow actors’ hands and bowed. Although the blinding lights shadowed the audience, she could just make out the people getting to their feet, the ripple spreading from the stalls all the way to the balcony. The adoration was addictive and everything she’d craved since thestart of drama school when her desire for a career on the stage had been cemented. Yet, a sense of relief that it was her penultimate night washed over her as she took another deep bow. Circumstances and an opportunity gifted to her out of the blue had led to this point and she was about to kiss goodbye to her life in London. No, not kiss goodbye, just put it on hold for a few weeks while she took some time out to get her head straight and escape the heartache and constant gossip. What she’d been given was a lifeline, one she hadn’t known she’d needed until that surprise letter had arrived.

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