Page 95 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 5-8

‘Hello, my equally beloved husband... Do you wish you were making your way up there, to the summit?’

Aston stared at Everest, standing imposingly in the distance. He’d imagined it. Most mountaineers probably had. Imagined the rigours, both mental and physical. The risks. But it didn’t call to him. The answer was a simple one. It had been simple ever since Ana had come into his life.

‘Not at all.’

‘Not even to stand on the top of the world?’

He turned his back to the view, and Ana glanced at the ice-axe in his hand. He placed it down on a small table and wrapped his arms around her waist.

‘The hardest of mountains I’ve ever had to climb were here.’ Aston tapped his head with a finger. ‘And here.’ He tapped over his heart. ‘Everest was Michel’s dream. Not mine.’

‘I’m glad.’ Ana turned round in his arms, her back to his front. She leaned into him as he manoeuvred them both so they could stare at the view together. ‘I never imagined this could be so beautiful.’

‘I know something that’s even more beautiful than those mountains.’ He buried his nose in her hair, taking in the scent of her. The smell of flowers, of home... ‘You.’

She laughed, the sound like the most joyous of bird songs, filling his heart with happiness. ‘Has it been worth it?’

He guessed she was talking about their trip to Nepal, but all he could think about was other things. Such as their wedding at Épernay’s magnificent town hall, followed by an intimate religious ceremony in the château’s chapel. Ana had been in an exquisite dress made for her by a French designer who had fought to create the perfect dress for a perfect princess—hisprincess. Their reception had been a raucous celebration of life and love in the château’s gardens, the ancestral home he loved. Because people were right. If you cut him, he’d bleed champagne.

‘It’s been worth all of it, being here with you.’

He hadn’t realised how hollow and meaningless his life had become. He’d just set one foot in front of the other like an automaton, until Ana had burst into it. Now every day was a thrill. He still loved to climb, to challenge himself. But, even more, he loved coming home to Ana. The way her love wrapped round him, completed him.

‘Are you ready for today?’ she asked.

In a few short hours, they’d take a helicopter from the hotel to Everest base camp. There, he’d hand his father’s ice-axe to a member of the expedition he’d once planned to join in climbing Everest. That team member would carry it on their own journey to the summit. It would be like closing a circle, part of Michel’s dream finally realised.

But Aston understood the greater depth of Ana’s question. What it meant. ‘It’s the right time,’ he said.

He’d come here not to climb a mountain, but to say goodbye. Each footstep a homage to his brother’s memory. To letting go.

‘You know I would have trekked to base camp with you, rather than taking a flight?’

Ana had come into her own since they’d married twelve months ago, showing him her confidence, her curious soul. It was such a precious gift. Aston had taken time away from his business and had begun to show her the world. During their honeymoon, they’d snorkelled with whale sharks and dolphins. On another trip, they’d hiked to see the pristine blue lakes and glaciers of Patagonia’s national parks. In Australia they’d even glimpsed a wombat in the wild. Aston suspected it had been one of Ana’s favourite parts of all.

There’d been so many adventures, and so many more to come. He loved seeing the world through her gaze, relishing her perspective. Discovering that had been a thrill all of its own.

‘I don’t need to prove anything to myself, and I don’t need you to prove anything to me either. Being with you, making you happy, is the only challenge I need.’

She wriggled from his hold and faced him, a glorious smile on her face, brighter than the rising sunshine. ‘I don’t know whether I should take that as a good thing or a bad thing.’

Aston smiled back. ‘A good thing. Every day with you in my life is good.’

He’d stopped pushing himself so hard and had begun to truly savour all life had to offer—the big moments and the quiet ones. In a few days they’d be flying home to Paris to a function for her charity, the Cygnet Centre. Soon, they hoped Ana’s friend Carla, who’d been released from hospital after a long rehabilitation, would join the charity’s board. It was an exciting time for Ana, for him. Together, it was as if they could achieve anything.

‘You don’t know how happy that makes me,’ she said. Her eyes glistened, as if with tears. This trip had been an emotional one in so many respects for them both. A closure of sorts, and a new and exciting beginning too.

‘Je t’aime. That’s all you ever need to remember.’

‘I love you too.’ She relaxed into his embrace, melting into him. A tempting heat lit in his belly. ‘And I’m late.’

‘No, you’re not. We still have a few hours. If you like...’ He trailed his lips down the side of her neck and she sighed before pulling back, cupping his cheek, a rosy flush blooming on her face.

‘I do like, but that’s not what I mean.’ She reached down and took his hand, placing it on her belly. ‘I’m...late.’

Her eyes lit up in a way he’d never seen before, with radiant joy, hope. Myriad emotions were contained in the pale, eternal blue of her gaze. He didn’t think. There were no words. It hit him like an avalanche. Emotion so powerful Aston didn’t know what to do with it. His lips simply crashed down onto hers. She threaded her hands through his hair and they kissed as if it were the first and last time of their lives. Breathless, endless. Aston poured everything, his undying love for her, into that kiss. Hoping she could truly understand how much this moment meant to him.

After how long he couldn’t say, they eased apart. Ana’s lips were red and well-kissed. It was a good look on her, one of his favourites.

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