Page 24 of One More Time

She turned it over in her hand. ‘You bought a house?’ She glanced back at him. ‘But I thought we already had our cottage, at Moonflower Acres?’

‘It’s not a house, my darling,’ he said, smiling.

Then it dawned on her. She sucked in a breath, and blinked back hot tears. ‘You didn’t?’

Charlie nodded. ‘I did. You can have your teahouse now.’

‘Oh my god, Charlie, I can’t believe the fishermens’ shack is all ours!’ Never would Grace have believed that this day could become any more of a dream. ‘You, Charlie Wilson, are the most amazing man I’ve ever met.’ She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he pulled her to him. ‘Thank you for giving me my dream, and for loving me like you do.’

‘Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life, Grace.’ He pulled back and seized her gaze with his baby blues. ‘And as for your wedding gift, you deserve every ounce of happiness it’s going to bring you.’

* * *

For the following seven weeks, Charlie woke up to his wife’s beautiful sunshiny face, and each and every morning he still pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. How his life had turned the corner, from a war-ravaged existence into the most wonderful of places, was still beyond him. He’d never lived so passionately in the moment, nor had his heart ever felt so full of love. Their wedding day had been like a fairytale, and filled with soul-deep love.

Grace couldn’t have looked more breathtaking in the gown her mother had made for her. Watching her take steps toward him had almost brought him to tears, and when he’d lifted her veil and their eyes had met, he’d almost fallen to his knees in thanks to the powers that had brought her to him. Grace was his earth angel, his wife, the mother of his yet-to-be-born children, his everything. He had no idea what he’d ever done to deserve a woman as amazing as her, and he was never going to let himself become complacent about being one lucky son of a bitch.

And now, they were actively making her dream of the teahouse come true.

‘Earth to Charlie.’ Grace snapped her fingers an inch from his face. ‘Are you here to help me, dreamy head, or what?’

Admiring the dusting of freckles on her rosy cheeks, he chuckled, shaking his head. ‘Sorry, I got carried away thinking about how exquisite you are.’ Passing her the hammer, he watched her bash another nail into the wall – his go-getting wife was determined to do things herself. ‘But that’s a good thing, right?’ He carefully picked the painting up from the floor and passed it to her.

Grace took cautiously. ‘I’m going to have to meet this wife of yours, Charlie, because she’s distracting my hired help way too much,’ she said with a smirk.

‘You’re a sexy distraction, Mrs Wilson. I just can’t help myself.’ Wrapping his arms around her waist, he picked her up from the floor and swung her around.

Her laughter abruptly stopped and Grace’s hands came to grip his shoulders. ‘Oh, my goodness, Charlie, I think I’m going to be sick.’ She covered her mouth and jiggled free from his arms.

She ran for the toilets and he followed her into the cubicle, holding her hair back as she brought her breakfast up. ‘Are you okay, Grace?’ He hated seeing her so pale, feeling so helpless.

‘I … I think so.’ She nodded, wiping her lips with the handkerchief he’d just plucked from his pocket. ‘Maybe it was something I ate?’

He thought about it. ‘We ate the same thing this morning, though.’

‘We did, didn’t we?’ She pulled her hair into a high ponytail. ‘Maybe I have a stomach bug, or I’ve touched something nasty and got it into my mouth?’

Charlie grimaced. ‘Either way, you need to put your feet up for the rest of the day.’ He helped her up and placed a gentle hand on her back. ‘Come on, let’s get you home.’

The drive back to Moonflower Acres required two stops for Grace to vomit at the side of the road. By the time they got home, Charlie was beside himself with worry. ‘I think we should make an appointment with the doctor, Grace.’

Nodding, Grace settled herself into the couch. ‘With the way I feel, I think that’s a good idea.’

‘Good.’ Sitting beside her, he placed a wet washcloth on her forehead. ‘I’ll give the surgery a call now and see if they can fit you in sometime today.’

Grace clutched his arm, momentarily halting him. ‘Thank you, Charlie, for taking such good care of me. You’re the best husband ever.’

‘You don’t have to thank me, darling. I love you.’ Bringing her hand to his lips, he placed a tender kiss. ‘I’ll make you a nice, sweet cup of tea once I make the call to the doctor. That might help to settle your tummy.’

Relieved the doctor could fit Grace in at three, Charlie flicked the kettle on, got the teabag ready in Grace’s favourite china cup and returned to her with a blanket.

‘It feels so strange here, without your grandma around. I really miss her.’ Grace pulled the blanket up and under her chin. ‘When do you think she’ll be back from the city?’

‘I think she’d be enjoying the time with her sister, but she’ll be missing home, and us too, so I’m sure it won’t be too much longer.’ He plonked down beside her and started rubbing her feet. ‘I know she told us she wanted to have a little holiday away from Sapphire Bay, but I think she’s just trying to give us some privacy while we’re getting the cottage renovated.’

‘Yeah, you’re probably right.’ Grace sighed softly. ‘Josephine’s a wonderful person, always thinking of everyone else.’

‘I’m so blessed she and my grandfather raised me.’ Charlie rolled his eyes. ‘Because god only knows how I would have turned out if I’d been sent to an orphanage.’