Page 68 of Hollywood Games
Zoe grinned and took Basil out of her hair to put him between them. As she lifted him up, she felt something tied around his neck. Confused, she sat up, to see what it was. Around his neck was a red ribbon, and on the ribbon hung a gold ring, the centre stone a huge ruby surrounded by diamonds.
She looked at Rory.
‘Zoe Maxwell. Please, will you marry me?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
Rory looked shocked. ‘Yes, as in, youwillmarry me?’
Zoe nodded. ‘Yes, I will marry you,’ she replied, then promptly burst into tears.
‘No! Don’t cry. You’re meant to be happy,’ said Rory, taking her into his arms. Basil ran onto her shoulder and chattered away in agreement.
‘I am happy,’ she sobbed. ‘I’m so happy I think I might burst.’ He rocked her in his arms, kissing her. When she had relaxed back, he untied the ribbon from around Basil’s neck and slid the ring on her finger. She brought her head away from his chest and sniffed loudly, holding it up to catch the light. ‘Bloody hell, it’s enormous. Where did you get it?’
‘It belonged to my grandmother.’
‘Your mum said she was a witch.’
Rory laughed. ‘She was certainly fiery. Almost as much as you.’ He passed Zoe a handkerchief and she blew her nose.
‘I love it. Thank you.’ She paused. ‘May I ask for something else?’
‘Yes, of course, anything.’
‘Tonight, in the great hall I want a ceilidh with the entire cast and crew and village invited and I want you to be there and be nice to Brad and your mum and even Kirsten, and dance with me please,’ she said in a huge rush.
Rory looked at her blankly and sighed. ‘Let me guess. My mother has already arranged the entire event. It’s happening whether I like it or not, and your role is to break the news to me and guarantee my presence and good behaviour?’
Zoe nodded her head, fiddling with the ring.
Rory put his hands around both of hers. ‘Yes. For you, anything and everything. At least after tonight, I won’t see Brad Bauer ever again and things can go back to normal.’ Zoe let herself be pulled into his arms. Breaking the news that Barbara was leaving was a problem for another day.
The final day of shooting was a short one, and after they wrapped, people were busy packing up and preparing to leave the following day. Nobody seemed to notice or care that Vlad had disappeared. Clive arrived at lunchtime and Rory helped him set up the stage for the band and the bar with Charlie, glad to have the great hall finally cleared. As Zoe was walking through one of the corridors, she passed Barbara and raised her hand to show her the ring.
Barbara nodded as she continued on her way.
In the late afternoon,when the hall was ready and people were thinking about food and getting dressed up, Rory made his way to the flat he’d shared with his mother. He could hear her in the bedroom, but still knocked on the door and waited to be invited in. Barbara opened the door, let herself out and closed it behind her, shielding him from what was inside.
‘Yes?’
‘You’re leaving.’
Barbara let out an exasperated sigh. ‘The silly chit should have waited until tomorrow to tell you.’
‘Zoe hasn’t said anything to me.’
Barbara looked at him in astonishment. ‘Then how do you know? No one knows.’
Now it was Rory’s turn to sigh, and he leant back against the opposite wall. ‘I know because Zoe has agreed to be my wife, spiced shortbread sales have gone through the roof, the castle is safe, Vlad is gone, and the shoot is over. So, now I can take my head out of my backside and open my eyes. I’ve never seen you happier than when you’ve been with him, and for his faults I believe he loves you. Your whole life with dad was about learning to control a challenging man and Brad is a challenge like no other. You’ll be the making of him, and you’ll love every minute of it.’ He paused. ‘You’re an incredible woman, Mum. This castle and Kinloch are too small for what you’re capable of.’
Barbara blinked rapidly. She turned away from him, but he caught her and pulled her to him.
‘Thank you, son,’ she said quietly. ‘I will be back, especially for the grandchildren.’
Rory chuckled. ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself, we’re not married yet.’
Barbara disengaged from him, wiping her eyes and giving him a withering look. ‘It’ll be a shotgun wedding, mark my words. The pair of you are worse than rabbits.’
The wrap partywas a night that no one would forget. Everyone was relieved the shoot was over. The negatives were forgotten, the positives amplified. Brad had not only paid for the band, but also a free bar, and once again the inhabitants of Kinloch proved their true Scots spirit by drinking it dry by the end of the night. Clive was the only one who looked stressed about the dwindling supplies of alcohol, but at least he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and told Zoe he was taking the family off to the Caribbean for a month.
Brad looked so happy Zoe thought he might combust, wearing full Highland dress and even persuading Barbara to dance. Zoe spent most of the evening being swung around the floor by Rory, pure joy radiating from her. She kept glancing between the sparkling ruby on her finger and the incredible man beside her to convince herself she wasn’t dreaming.
At the end of the night, the caller took to the microphone and announced a special performance to close the evening. In secret, not even known to Barbara, Sam and Jamie had taught the band ‘The Heart of Scotland’, and they came on stage to perform it with them for the crowds. Zoe stood, her back against Rory’s chest, his arms wrapped around her, his lips nuzzling into her hair as the song broke like a wave of silvery magic over the room. At the end of the song, the stamping of feet on the wooden floor calling for more was so thunderous, Zoe looked in alarm at the portraits along the walls, expecting them to fall down. The song was played twice more, the crowds joining in as if it were the national anthem, tears rolling down their cheeks. As the final chorus was sung, Zoe turned to Rory, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, her perfect man in a perfect moment.
The end.
