Page 36 of The Wedding Pact
‘Nice,’ Flynn nodded.
‘I know, right? And I thought this way it ties in with you going to Japan for a while, in case that ever comes up.’
‘Good thinking.’
‘So, it’s a sunny morning, I have tears in my eyes, you tell me how pretty I am and how you’ll remember my face every time you see a sunrise, it’s all very Vera Lynn. Andthen,’ August stopped, chuffed with this next part. ‘I surprise the hell out of you by getting down on one knee, and asking you to marry me.’
‘You propose to me?’ Flynn asked, surprised.
‘Yep. On one knee and everything. And I tell you I’ve never known a more handsome and kind man, and that I don’t want to lose you, andthen… ’
‘There’s more?’
‘There’s more! And then you say that I would never lose you because I am your everything, and the only way you can travel across the world is so that you can come back home and be my husband. And thenyouget down on one knee and pull out a ring, and propose to me!’
‘So we propose to each other?’ Flynn seemed impressed.
‘We were just always so in sync that we both knew it was the exact right time on that morning.’
‘But I still went to Japan? Weren’t you mad?’
‘No, not at all, because absence made our hearts grow fonder, and I used that time away from you to pour my everything into training with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.’
‘You went to RADA?’
‘I did inthisversion of my life.’
‘Very cool,’ Flynn nodded.
The truth was, August would have loved to have gone to RADA. Ever since she was young, she’d been keen on acting, though fear had held her back from a lot of opportunities. She’d been so excited when she started landing regular voice work in London, but a gnawing insecurity told her she wasn’t skilled enough, didn’t have enough in her repertoire, that it was too hard. She was so fearless in so much of her life that she worried,if I’m scared ofthis, maybe it’s not right for me? And so, acting was her passion, but she kept it part-time.
‘So how does all of that sound to you?’ August asked, hopeful, shaking herself from her thoughts.
‘It sounds perfect.’
‘You don’t mind that I proposed to you first?’
‘Of course not,’ he said. ‘I’m flattered.’
August beamed. ‘Okay, what did we do for our honeymoon?’
Flynn took a moment, looking at his notes.
‘Come on, spill,’ August coaxed, softly. She wondered why he was hesitating.
‘All right,’ Flynn started. ‘I know it’s not the most far-flung place and you probably want a honeymoon that takes you all over the globe … ’
August smiled at that, not that Flynn saw as he was staring at his paper. She didn’t necessarily need those things …
He continued. ‘But I thought our honeymoon could be in Edinburgh. You said you’d been to Edinburgh, right?’
‘I have, I loved it,’ she answered, surprised by his choice. She thought for sure he was going to suggest some little bolthole in the Japanese countryside.
‘So. We had our wedding, whatever that looked like, and then we took the train up to Scotland. Just you and me, and a couple of small bags each. We’d sleep on the train. I guess it could even be a sleeper train, depending on how far we were coming from. Either way, we’d probably be tired from the big day, and dozy, and so we’d travel and eat and watch the world go by for a while.’
August could just picture it. She sat back in her armchair and closed her eyes, listening to Flynn talk.
‘Once we made it to Edinburgh, we’d stay a couple of nights in one of the castle hotels, somewhere with a spa and a good restaurant. We’d explore the city, enjoy the history and the skyline, and then we’d travel further north and stay in a cabin by a loch, somewhere in the Outer Hebrides.’ He paused, and then said, ‘August? Did you fall asleep?’
