Theo pulled off his loafers and dug his toes into the cool golden sand. A simple act, but there was such a sense of freedom in it. He rolled up his jeans around his ankles, got to his feet and started walking towards the water.
Free!
A feeling of weightlessness. It was impossible not to smile, impossible not to feel euphoric. Bram was all right. After all the false starts and disappointments, this time Bram really seemed to have turned a corner. It would always be one day at a time, Theo knew that, but still, he wanted to jump for joy. His brother was back! He wanted to shout it out loud. He started to run, felt the sand scuffing under his heels, the sea breeze in his face. Bram was all right! More than all right. He looked well. Fit and healthy, lightly tanned. He’d taken up kite surfing, he said, and he was running—had actually challenged Theo to run a charity marathon with him—and he was excited about a café and gallery he’d seen for sale in De Koog. Would Theo invest? Damn right he would! Bram’s plans were totally on point: healthy food, freshly cooked. Smoothies and juices; vegetarian and vegan... He’d got it all worked out. He even had a business partner who was going to run the gallery side of things.
He slowed to a walk, dawdling at the water’s edge, enjoying the feeling of froth tickling his toes. He held in a smile.
Marta! How could he have known that the girl he’d employed to clean the beach house twice a week was a talented artist? She’d been supplementing her income through small cleaning jobs, and over the time she’d been going to the beach house she and Bram had become close. After he’d asked her to visit Bram daily, they’d become closer still, and then they’d fallen in love. Bram was a dark horse; he hadn’t told him a thing until that morning. He chuckled softly. He was an accidental matchmaker! Marta’s seascapes were mesmerising; worked in acrylics on canvas, they were vibrant, dramatic, powerful. Mia was already lining up to do a piece about her for an arts magazine, the two of them chatting away like old friends...
He’d left them to it, wanting some time to himself to take everything in. Bram in a good place at last, and himself...? He took a few steps forward until the cold water drowned his ankles. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the cold to stop biting, and then his body was unwinding like a spool of thread. He felt his limbs loosening, calmness washing over him. He lifted his eyes to the horizon, to the high, clear sky. He was in a good place too and it was because of Mia.
She was a light on the shore. A clear, bright beam guiding him home...and a home was all he’d ever wanted. He closed his eyes and saw her arranging tulips in Direk’s fancy vase; the deftness of her fingers, the way her hair touched the side of her neck, the light in her eyes when she’d looked up and found him watching her. Somehow, she’d come into his life, and since then everything had been better. He couldn’t imagine going back to a life that didn’t have her in it.
He opened his eyes. She’d turned his own phrase back on him, told him he was a person who shaped fate... He drew in a lungful of sea air. She was absolutely right. He was going to try his hand at shaping fate because some things were too precious to leave to chance.
‘That looks really cold...’
Mia!
He spun round and felt a vigorous swell sloshing up his legs. She was standing a little distance away, her white jeans turned up around her ankles, her hair blowing back in the breeze. She had a way of looking at him that turned him inside out. A loving glow in her eyes. He’d never tire of seeing it. It felt new every time.
He glanced down. ‘My feet are numb. I can’t feel anything.’
‘I was worrying about you.’ She took a step towards him, winced as a wavelet swirled between her toes. ‘Are you okay...?’
He felt a steady warmth building in his chest, spreading through his limbs. ‘That depends...’
She took another step forward, flailing and gasping. ‘On what...?’ She steadied herself, met his eye again.
He smiled. ‘On your answer...’
She took another cautious step forward, then she looked up at him, her brow furrowing. ‘My answer...?’
She really had no idea. He took a breath then crashed to his knees in front of her. The shock of the water rushing up his thighs was nothing to the shock on her face.
‘No...’ Her hand was over her mouth and her eyes were glistening.
‘What...?’ He gasped as a wave drenched his crotch. ‘You’re not allowed to answer until I’ve asked.’
Both hands were over her mouth now, tears winding down her cheeks. At least she wasn’t saying no any more, which was a good sign.
He took a steadying breath. ‘Mia... I love you so much. You are the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful person I’ve ever met.’ He swallowed hard. ‘I can’t believe you love me. I know I don’t deserve you but, if you’ll have me, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve you.’ She was crying and smiling now. His heart leapt. ‘Mia Boelens, will you marry me?’
And then she was falling to her knees in front of him, gasping and laughing, wiping her eyes. ‘Yes! A million times, yes.’
And then her lips were on his and he forgot about the cold chewing through his bones because she was warmth and light and love... He was home at last.
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Ella Hayes
Italian Summer with the Single Dad
Her Brooding Scottish Heir
Both available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Cinderella’s New York Fling by
