Those dusky lashes shot upward. ‘You want to get married? To me?’
He shrugged, all kinds of insecurity tightening around his gut. He had everything riding on this moment. His life. His happiness. His desperate desire to have the whole of that future happiness tangled snugly with Vera’s forever and then some more.
‘I want it more than I’ve wanted anything. What do you say? You got room in your life for a small-town vet with a fifteen-year-old daughter and an old brown dog?’
She ran her hands up his chest and all sorts of unquenchable fires started burning.
‘I have all the room in the world. Yes, Josh. Yes!’
That was all he needed to hear. He gathered her close and fastened his mouth to hers.
It took a while, but eventually he remembered there was a café full of people waiting to join in the celebration. He rested his head against hers while he lowered his, um, heart rate enough to brave the crowd.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ she murmured.
‘I’m with you a thousand per cent on that. Small problem.’
She smiled. ‘More questions? Let’s just fast-forward and pretend I’ve said yes to everything.’
‘You hear that ruckus going on inside The Billy Button?’
She lifted a head. ‘You’re right. It does sound a little rowdier than usual for a Friday evening.’
‘That’ll be the welcome home party.’
‘For … me?’
‘If you’re going to get mad with someone, get mad with Graeme,’ he said gallantly. ‘Come on.’
He shepherded her round the side of the building and in through the front door and the blast of laughter and cheering nearly lifted the roof off the place.
Marigold was first in line, a blur of tangerine lipstick and beaded earrings. Alex was there, dusty and tall in his fire brigade outfit, clapping him on the back, and Kev must have dug deep into his endless drawer of ties, because he was wearing a yellow swirly number that could have stopped traffic.
He ducked to the side so the wellwishers could throng around Vera, and was heading for the counter to sweet-talk Graeme into selling him the coldest beer in the fridge, when a squeal nearly took out his eardrum.
He turned, and there was Poppy.
‘Dad!’
‘Popstar, I wasn’t expecting you so soon.’
She looked smug. ‘I had a secret plan going. The school year finished at noon today, so I caught the first train out and Hannah collected me from Cooma.’
He wrapped her in a hug. ‘Huh. Where is my secret-keeping sister?’
‘Oh, some sheep fell off a truck and she took off. Graeme’s in charge of me in your absence.’
He held her away from him so he could look her over. Was this the same girl who’d barely looked in his direction without rolling her eyes six months ago? He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her again until she squealed.
It was a lucky day for him when Vera offered his daughter a job.
It was an even luckier day the day she agreed to be his wife.
He held Poppy’s hands in his. ‘Poptart, I have some news.’
She grinned. ‘Oh yes? It’s not lovey-dovey news, is it, Dad, because I have my limits.’
He pinched her hand. ‘I just asked Vera to marry me.’