Page 70 of Ask Another Day

‘I love it when you tell me you love me,’ he whispered in her ear.

‘I love you.’

He groaned and then kissed her again, running a hand down her back before pulling her in closer.

‘I know I’m a very understanding older brother, but can you two please tone it down a bit?’ Luke whined from the bar.

‘Oh leave them alone - they’ve got lots of time to make up for,’ Rose swatted Luke with a bar towel, then shrieked as he chased her into the kitchen.

‘So. I’ve been thinking,’ Holly said, pulling away so she could make eye contact.

‘You’ve been thinking?’ Seb asked and paused.

Holly smiled at his confused face.

‘What have you been thinking about, Holly?’ Seb said again to the muffled backdrop of Rose’s giggles.

‘You can say no if you want.’

‘I’ll probably say yes.’

‘Seriously Seb, I want you to say no if this isn’t something you’d like.’ Holly waited for Seb to nod before continuing. ‘How would you feel about moving in with Natalie and me?’

When Seb didn’t answer straight away, Holly went to move back, but he stopped her.

‘Are you sure?’

Holly nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Seb looked at her, still not answering her question. He gently ran a hand down her face, then cupped her chin to draw her closer to him. He kissed her with a reverence that made her breath catch.

‘Is that a yes?’

‘It’s a yes. I’d love that.’

‘And I’ve also been thinking about how my office made a pretty good downstairs bedroom.’

‘You want to move our bedroom downstairs?’

Holly’s heart fluttered at his casual use of the word our.

‘Not for us, for Danny. So he can stay with us when he wants.’

The smile that spread on his face was another one Holly wanted to keep seeing.

‘He will be the envy of his friends for having a bedroom in a pub,’ Seb laughed out.

‘I don’t want to waste any more time, Seb, for us to be the family we should be.’ Holly looped her hands around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss to seal this new chapter in their lives.

For the first time since her 21st birthday, hope blossomed in her chest, and she knew within the walls of her pub was everything she needed for her happily ever after.

Chapter 23

All Signs Lead to Yes

Later that night, across the road, in The Book Nook, Rose watched the pub from her bedroom window. She didn’t know for certain what was happening behind those old doors now, but earlier, as she’d left she’d felt such a deep contentment in seeing Holly finally in Seb’s arms. She’d known all along there had been something special between them. It had frustrated her that they weren’t together. When Natalie had found Holly’s letter, lost for all those years, Rose had known it had to make its way into Seb’s hands. When he’d read it, he’d sunk down into the armchair in The Book Nook and smiled with such relief Rose had found herself tearing up.

‘What’s that?’ Luke asked as he slipped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her in and nestling his face in the crook of her neck.