The words were so profound, so wise and insightful, Drake wanted to jot them down in his notes folder in his phone so he wouldn’t forget them. Maybe he had a lot to learn too. Maybe it was time for a bit of self-reflection about his attitude to relationships. He knew it stemmed from his tragic past. But how could he move past it?
‘You must miss her terribly,’ Drake said.
‘Oh, I do,’ the old man sighed. ‘But I could have lost her so much earlier by not changing in order to win her over. I’d never told anyone I loved them until Maisie. Then I told her every day we were married, and those three words were the last words she heard before she took her last breath.’
I could have lost her so much earlier by not changing...
But Drake had lost Aerin. He had lost her by not recognising what he felt for her. The feelings that had grown from the moment he’d kissed her, but he had tried to squash, to ignore, to crush. Feelings that had sprouted and grown inside him regardless, nurtured by the sunshine of her smile, the healing magic of her touch. He’d been too afraid to speak his feelings out loud.
But he wasn’t afraid now. The old man’s wise words had triggered a realisation that he only had one life and what would that life look like without love? Without Aerin? A sad and lonely empty life. His father had destroyed Drake’s family but why should he allow his father to destroy his ability to love? Not all love was toxic. Not all love failed. Not all love was perfect, but it was love, and he realised now he couldn’t live without it. He could not escape the tragic end that came to his mother and sister, but he could escape the emotional prison his father’s actions had placed him in.
Life was worth living to the full. Loving was part of being fully human. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t end up sad and lonely as an elderly widower. He thought about the bravery of the young couple marrying this weekend in Kent, the courage of the young bride, Yelena, marrying her sweetheart, Viktor, even though he hadn’t long to live. Drake was a fool to fail to grab life with both hands now and enjoy everything loving someone with your whole heart offered.
Drake put his hand on Mr McPhee’s shoulder. ‘I’m going to have you transferred to somewhere nicer than this. Somewhere you can have Mutley with you for part of the day. How does that sound?’
The old man’s eyes watered. ‘It sounds expensive. I don’t have the money for anything like that. I’m fine here. Don’t worry. I’ll make do.’
Drake took one of the old man’s craggy hands in both of his. ‘I owe you for making me see what I couldn’t see before. I love Aerin like you loved your Maisie. I’m going to tell her now, even though I’ll be gatecrashing a wedding to do it.’
Mr McPhee beamed. ‘That’s my lad, you go for it. I’ll be cheering for you all the way.’
Aerin stood at the back of the church as the young bride and groom exchanged their vows. It was sad and poignant and happy at the same time. The groom was in a wheelchair, too frail to walk, but the bride stood proudly beside him and promised to love him in sickness and health, till death do us part. Harper was doing the photography and Aerin could see her every now and again brushing at her eyes before she took the next shot. Her assistant running the video was also having trouble holding back tears. Jack was in the back pew, bouncing Marli on his knee, not far from where Aerin was sitting. Ruby and Lucas were further along, holding hands, the love they felt for each other plain for all to see.
It wasn’t often that the wedding planner and caterer and photographer’s partners were invited to their clients’ wedding, but Yelena and Viktor had insisted on them being there. Of course Aerin didn’t have a partner, and it was particularly sad to be sitting, once more, on her own. Maybe it would have been better if she had been brave enough to attend her school reunion on her own and then she wouldn’t have this gnawing pain of emptiness and loss.
But then she wouldn’t have experienced the magic of falling in love with Drake.
Aerin heard someone come in the church behind her pew, where she was seated on the end of the row. And then a familiar deep voice asked in a gentle whisper, ‘Is there room for me next to you?’
Aerin glanced up in shock to see Drake standing there. Her heart banged in her chest as loudly as the church bells had done outside earlier. What was he doing here? Dared she hope he had come to see her? No, she dared not hope. She had learned her lesson by now. She had to be sensible and level-headed about Drake Cawthorn.
‘Of course.’ She shuffled along, her pulse suddenly racing. ‘I thought you weren’t a fan of weddings?’ she said softly so no one else could hear. A musical piece was being played by the wedding couple’s friend, so it offered a quick moment to find out why he was here.
Drake gave a mock shudder and smiled at her. ‘I’ll have to get used to them.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Because how else will I marry you?’
Aerin stared at him with wide eyes, her heart skipping, her mouth dropping open. ‘Are you...proposing?’ She said the word as if it was the most unthinkable thing he would ever bring himself to do. Because, for the last few days, that was exactly what she had accepted. He didn’t love her. He didn’t want her to be with him for ever.
His dark eyes twinkled and he leaned closer to speak against her ear. ‘I love you and I want you to be my wife. I couldn’t wait until later to ask you. I’m sorry about gatecrashing the wedding but I couldn’t waste another minute without you.’
Aerin was overjoyed, but she was forced to restrain herself due to the wedding service, which was resuming now the musical performance was coming to a close. So many feelings bubbled up inside her she could barely keep still. She was about as restless as little Marli, who was babbling and bouncing on her daddy’s knee further along the row. ‘I love you too. So very much. And yes, I will marry you.’
Drake pressed a brief kiss to her lips and then took her left hand and laid it on his thigh. He stroked her bare ring finger, his touch gentle, almost reverent. ‘I’ve come without a ring. I thought we could choose one together.’
‘I think that would be a lovely thing to do.’
‘I also wrote a poem on my way here, given that was, what, number six or seven on your checklist?’
Aerin tried but failed to suppress a giggle, but no one seemed to notice. ‘Number seven. Six is:must have a pet or want one.’
‘Does Mutley count? I’ve grown quite fond of him, even if he leaves hair everywhere and farts a lot.’
Aerin smiled. ‘So, what’s your poem?’
‘Roses are red, violets are blue, I want you in my life, as my loving wife, so please say “I do”.’