Miracle In March Page 23

  Speaking of which…

  James took a deep breath as they arrived at the baggage terminal, his heart rate rising a notch.

  ‘You okay?’ Emma asked.

  ‘What? Yes. I’m fine.’ He slipped his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet.

  ‘You look like you’ve had several cups of coffee,’ she said.

  He grinned, and as he removed his hands from his pockets, he pulled something out along with one of them. James cleared his throat and lowered himself to one knee.

  ‘Shoelace undone?’ Emma asked.

  He laughed. She really had no idea. He’d said she wouldn’t know when it was coming and he’d been right.

  ‘My shoelaces are perfectly fine,’ he replied, looking up at her and holding up the velvet box, opening it with a muffled pop.

  Gasps and whispers sounded around him, and he noticed someone with a phone camera, but most of his focus was on her face, taking in the moment as best as he could so he could remember it for years to come. Her mouth hung open and her hand flew to her chest, her eyes brightening in realisation.

  ‘Emma Brighton, my favourite woman in the world,’ he said, ‘well, apart from my mum, my sister, Nonna, and…well, the chick in the grocery store is pretty cute too.’ He winked, then prepared for the cheesy poem he’d promised he’d write for her when she returned home. ‘Complete will be my life, when you become my wife.’ He grinned. So it had only been a two-line poem, but she hadn’t specified length, so he figured that was enough to get the message across. ‘My beautiful Emma,’ he continued. ‘Will you marry me?’ He gazed up at her as she gazed down at him, her eyes becoming shiny and her hand shaking.

  ‘First of all,’ she said, ‘your poetry needs work.’ She giggled. ‘And secondly…’ she moved closer, holding out her left hand towards the white gold solitaire ring he’d bought on a whim, thinking it would be perfect for her. ‘Your ring-buying skills are spot on.’ She smiled. ‘So here’s my poem: I can’t imagine a better life, than one where I’m your wife.’

  Intense love rose up inside as he took the ring from its box. ‘I take it that’s a yes?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s a definite yes,’ she replied, her voice shaky.

  Onlookers cheered and applauded, and James slid the ring on her finger, securing the future he’d always wanted, with the woman who, though she’d once broken his heart, had healed it back together to create a new and improved version 2.0.

  * * *

  Summer…

  ‘You ready?’ Jen asked, as Emma neared the pathway at Tarrin’s Bay Beachside Cabins.

  Emma took a preparatory breath. ‘I’ll be asking you the same thing in two months time.’

  ‘I know,’ Jen smiled. ‘Isn’t it exciting?’ She rubbed Emma’s arm.

  They exchanged happy smiles and with an eagerness in her eye, Jen turned around and began her walk down the aisle, AKA — the concrete pathway alongside the cabins — the chiffon sash of her baby blue bridesmaid dress trailing behind her.

  Emma waited behind the tree as Jen had her moment, and when she was halfway along, she walked up to meet her mother and father at the back of the arrangement of chairs with blue and white chiffon ribbons around each one.

  ‘All set?’ her mother asked, and she nodded.

  Barbara gave her an excited smile and turned to walk along the grass to take her seat in the front row.

  ‘So,’ she said, glancing down at her dad. ‘I guess this is it.’ She patted his shoulder and he grasped her hand.

  ‘Wheels and I are ready when you are.’

  ‘Wheels?’

  ‘Yeah, I had started calling my constant companion Marilyn, but your mother got jealous. So, Wheels it is now.’ He smiled.

  Emma did too, and glanced over at the playground behind and to the right of the congregation, where Amelia and Bob were keeping Jackson amused. He had grown quite fond of the two in the last few months, and they’d become Jackson-Approved Babysitters, Registered Carers of Owly, and Qualified Operators of the Sound Machine. With James’ parents now living in Queensland, it had been great to find two other people who Jackson could cope with when Emma and James needed time alone. She smiled as he played with Owly on the equipment, realising that in a few moments, she would officially be his mother, and her dreams of becoming a parent would be fully realised. It had taken a while, but she’d come to know that her fulfilment didn’t need to come from pregnancy and childbirth, but from being part of a child’s life and helping them reach their full potential with love, commitment, and dedication. With Jackson, and James, she’d been gifted with more than she thought she’d ever receive.

  ‘Well, c’mon Wheels, do your thing.’ Emma gestured to the controls on the automated wheelchair, and her dad was about to press one when she put her hand in front of it. ‘Wait.’ She moved in front of the chair. ‘If you can’t technically walk me down the aisle, Dad, then I’m going to roll with you.’ She sat on his lap and adjusted her simple, elegant wedding dress so it wouldn’t catch in the wheels. ‘Am I too heavy?’ she asked.

  ‘No. Half my body can barely feel it anyway. Let’s get this show on the road.’ He instructed Wheels to start moving forward and gripped the steering handle.

  Emma giggled as they began their journey towards the front. Guests chuckled and snapped photos, including Marie Gallagher who stood at the front next to Martin and Lizzie and her nine-month-old daughter, Hope.

  Emma smiled at the crowd, a light breeze wafting around her face as it moved from the ocean towards her, as though embracing her with the promise of a fresh new life. The occasional fluffy white clouds in a perfect blue sky complemented the blue and white theme, and seagulls swooped overhead in what looked like a synchronised dance of bliss. The salty scent of the ocean felt like home as she got closer to the front, and her heart rate rose as she caught the gaze of the singer and guitarist who was filling the great outdoors of the holiday park with his soulful, earthy voice. He winked at her and she smiled wide. She never thought that international superstar and Tarrin’s Bay born and bred, Drew Williams, would be singing at her wedding. Thanks to her yoga teacher, Chrissie, who’d been able to set up the surprise gift for her. His romantic, cruisy melody filled her with joy, and anticipation of what was to come.

  She basked in the perfection of the moment as she saw James standing next to his best man, André. Her fiancé wore a blue-grey suit with white shirt open at the top, showing a hint of his tanned chest. His thick, dark hair was expertly styled in sexy waves, and his face beamed. He didn’t take his eyes off her. She locked eyes with her soon-to-be husband, while admiration, appreciation, and electrifyingly magnificent love filled her heart to the brim and overflowed.

  ‘I love you,’ he mouthed as she got closer, and Emma mouthed it back. Birds chirped and the breeze danced around her in celebration, and she realised how lucky she was to have been given a second chance in not only life, but love, and to be rolling down the aisle towards her one true love, her soulmate, her miracle.

  THE END

  Thanks for reading Miracle In March. I hope you enjoyed it.

  If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage www.julietmadison.com, follow me on twitter @Juliet_Madison, or like my Facebook page.

  You can also follow me through my publisher’s page here www.escapepublishing.com.au

  Reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you’ve read, and what you thought.

  You’ve just read a book in my Tarrin’s Bay series. The other books in this series are The January Wish and February or Forever.

  This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.

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  ISBN: 9780857992307

  Title: Miracle in March

  Copyright © 2015 by Juliet Madison

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Limited, Level 4/132 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2060.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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