Page 90 of Where She Is
“Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“About the fact you don’t approve?”
“No… yes… I’m not sure…”
“Okay, it’s not ideal, but it is the only way Joe can cope. He’s trapped and Jennifer gives him… normality.”
I double take. “What? Jennifer? Your father’s assistant?” He nods as my mouth drops.
“They haven’t been together long, a few weeks maybe. She seems to help him and now he has something for himself. Please try to understand.”
It’s a lot to take in and not what I was expecting him to say at all. “I will… I mean, it’s not for me to judge and I suppose I’ll get used to it.”
It will take a while to get my head around this news. I never met Jennifer. Our paths didn’t cross, and I always imagined her as a vision rather than an actual person. Now here she is having an affair with Daniel’s brother, although part of me is relieved that Joe has someone. There is little or no relationship with Freya. They are forced to stay together out of circumstance and not love. My mind wanders back to the farm, the arguments, and the upset caused by Freya until Daniel pulls me out of my thoughts once again.
“So, what do you think then… about me living here, with you?”
“How do you know this is the right move for you? How can you be so sure?”
“Why wouldn’t I be sure?” He seems frustrated and gets up from the sofa and walks around the room while running his fingers through his short dark hair. “What else can I do to convince you? You’re the one. You’ve given me back my life. I just existed before and was forever looking for something I didn’t think I’d find. I didn’t know at the time that my destiny was living on the other side of the world. Now I’ve found you, I’m not prepared to let you go. I need you to breathe, to liveand… fuck it!” With that, he purposely strides towards me and promptly drops to the floor on one knee and takes my hands in his.Oh God! Oh my God! No, not like this! No!
“Hannah, I love you. You’ve given me more love and understanding than I deserve. My crazy, beautiful, patient girl, I can never let you go. Marry me?”
Shit! He did it, the one thing I didn’t want him to do.I can’t speak. I just sit and stare at him.
“Please say something, baby.”
“I can’t.”
Maybe it’s shock or the fact his reasons are wrong, but he can’t ask me like this. He looks utterly devastated. “I don’t understand.”
My body trembles. I don’t want to break his heart, but I also don’t want him to do something he may well regret.
“Daniel, I love you so much, my heart aches. The thing is… I think you’re asking me in haste—because of the situation. When and if you ever ask me, I want it to be because you really want me to be your wife. Not because you feel you have to prove a point.”
“No, Hannah.” Daniel pushes up from the floor and pulls me to him. “Please, baby, listen to me. I am moving here to be with you. I was flying back to Sydney to complete my move and after that, I was coming back here to ask you to marry me, anyway. I have a ring. It’s in Seaforth, in our home. The home we share. The one in which I fell in love with you. I won’t give up our life, Han. We can be anywhere in the world. I don’t care. I can’t function when you’re not with me.” He draws breath with a weary smile, “I wasn’t sure when or how, but I wanted to ask you a while ago. Then your mother became ill and you know the rest.”
He looks at my hands and holds them in his. “If we were to begin again here, in London, we could be free. Free from all the shit at home. Freya, the cameras—”
“And the ex-girlfriends.” I can’t help myself, and at least it makes him smile.
“Rebounds. Yeah, those too.” He pauses, his eyes locking with mine. “Marry me. Please?”
“You’re telling the truth?”
“You know I am. Hannah May, you are the love of my life.”
“What about when you go home for a few weeks?”
“For Christ’s sake, Hannah, say yes!”
I need to stop tormenting us both with ‘what ifs.’ This time, I don’t hesitate. “Yes… yes, Daniel Grant. I’ll marry you!”
Daniel’s eyes widen, and the smile on his face is like nothing I’ve seen before. He sweeps me off my feet and dots kisses on my lips, cheeks, forehead, chin and the top of my chest before heading back to the other side. When he reaches my lips for the second time, his mouth takes mine deeply. It’s the most seductive kiss we’ve ever shared, although it’s interrupted by a slight clearing of the throat. Dad stands in the doorway supporting a huge grin.
“I trust you two have some wonderful news to share?”
Epilogue
