Surprise Reunion with His Cinderella Page 17

  Nothing could penetrate the chill in her heart as she’d climbed the broad stone steps, remembering the night she had run down them, unseeing of the ground, the ice as the tears had rolled freely...

  But that was then, and this was now. And she wasn’t running scared.

  She sucked in a breath as the door began to open, raised her chin as her lips parted, ready to explain herself to the member of staff answering, and...gasped.

  ‘Freddie!’

  ‘Jasmine?’

  He looked as stunned as she felt. He scrubbed his face, blinked and blinked again. ‘It’s really you. What are you...?’

  He widened his blue eyes at her, their bloodshot state making her want to cry as her hand wavered between them and she fought the urge to reach for him. He’d aged in a week, lines marring his brow, stubble darkening his jaw, dark smudges beneath his eyes and his skin so very pale against the white of his shirt, the black of his suit. Had she got it wrong? Was his father worse?

  Finally, she found her voice. ‘Freddie, I’m sorry. I had to see how you were, how your father was.’

  He looked back over his shoulder into the darkened hallway beyond, stepped forward and pulled the door to leave a narrow gap.

  ‘He’s fine, doing much better already. But you...’ His words trailed off as he cupped her face, his thumbs trembling as they swept across her cheekbones. ‘After all I said, all I did...’

  She covered his hands with hers. ‘I had to come, Freddie.’

  He shook his head, his lips curving into a smile that was all the more powerful for its sorrow. ‘I can’t believe you’re really here.’

  ‘Well, believe it.’ She wet her lips, searched his gaze as she admitted, ‘Wherever you are is where I belong.’

  He closed his eyes, said her name very quietly.

  ‘I’m here to prove to you that we’re stronger together, that you don’t need to protect us, to protect me. I no longer need you to be our voice. I love you, Freddie, and I want the world to know it.’

  She used his decade-old declaration to bring her point home, but as he opened his eyes, all she saw was anguish and pain, his head shake seeming to reject it all. He opened his mouth and she wanted to cover her ears to whatever was about to come, but instead he drew her body against his. Held her tight.

  ‘I missed you, Red.’

  She sank into him, her arms wrapping around him as a sob rose up within her. ‘I missed you too. I missed you for ten years, I missed you for a week and, still, I couldn’t say which one was worse.’

  He pressed a long kiss to her hair, his deep breath an audible rasp above her, but no words came. She pulled back, just enough to look up into his eyes.

  ‘Please, give us a second chance, Freddie. We deserve it, don’t we?’

  He kissed her, his lips soft and urgent at the same time and she allowed herself the pleasure of it, the joy of being in his arms again, of feeling like she had come home, at last.

  But she wasn’t. This was Highgrove Manor. And he still hadn’t verbally given her his love, his agreement, hope...

  She dropped back. ‘Freddie, pl—’

  ‘Freddie?’ The door shifted open. ‘Who is—? Jasmine?’

  Their heads snapped to a gaping Ally in the doorway, her wide eyes the colour of Freddie’s, her sleek black ponytail swinging as she looked from one to the other and back again. And then she started to smile.

  ‘Alison! What’s going on?’ Their mother appeared alongside her, her voice as grand as the pearls and deep blue trouser suit she wore, her greying hair fixed perfectly into the same tight chignon she had always favoured. ‘Jasmine? Jasmine Walker? What the devil...?’

  She half expected Freddie to jump away or straighten, do anything to lessen their embrace, but his arm tightened around her. ‘Jasmine and—’

  ‘I can explain,’ Jasmine said over him. It was her turn to do the talking. Or at least she thought it was, but where did she start? She’d recited so many versions of this tale in her head and they all evaded her now.

  ‘You’d better come on in,’ his mother said, her eyes both hard and confused, before turning away to march down the hall, muttering something about her son’s long-awaited return to Edinburgh making much more sense now.

  Ally gave her an encouraging smile, her hand reaching out to gently squeeze Jasmine’s arm as her other rested over her very pronounced bump. She looked every bit the elegant aristocrat in the navy woollen dress she wore, but her smile had always made Jasmine feel welcome, accepted. ‘It’s so good to see you, honey.’

  And then she was hurrying off in her mother’s wake.

  Jasmine moved to go after her, but Freddie held her still. ‘No, we’re not doing this. Mum,’ he called after her. ‘I’m going to talk to Jasmine in private and we will—’

  ‘No, Freddie.’ Jasmine pressed her palm to his chest and gave him a hard stare. ‘There are things I need to say and it’s important I say them in front of everyone.’

  She could do this. She would do it. For them.

  * * *

  ‘You’d best get the girl a drink, Frederick.’

  ‘I love you, Freddie...wherever you are is where I belong...’

  His heart beat faster, Jasmine’s words repeating over and over in his mind, warming his chest that had been chilled for days. But was she crazy?

  After everything that had happened within these four walls, she wanted to come back here and declare it...

  The answer was a resounding yes. Everything about her showed determination: striding ahead of him through the hall; entering the room before him; stopping in front of the fire to face the sofa and armchairs either side, one already occupied by his mother.

  No hiding, no cowering, only the slightest nip to her lip that told him she was battling nerves. Her freed hair was a mass of colour as the fire danced at her rear, her thick cream jumper swallowing her up, her legs all the more slender in beige leggings and black riding boots. Even with her back straight, her chin raised, she looked petite, but far from vulnerable and never more beautiful to his Red-starved eyes.

  He wanted to pull her back into him, whisk her away, kiss her until nothing else and no one else existed.

  ‘Frederick!’ His eyes shot to his mother. ‘A drink!’

  ‘I’ll sort it,’ Ally said smoothly, quick to move. ‘Why don’t you take a seat, Jasmine?’

  Ally offered her a space on the sofa and Jasmine gave her a smile and sat, folding her hands in her lap as she gave him—him—a reassuring smile.

  ‘What can I get you?’ his sister asked her.

  ‘Whatever you’re having is fine.’

  ‘Oh, no, you don’t want what I’m having.’ She rested her hand over the curve of her belly. ‘I’m on the water.’

  ‘Water’s fine.’

  ‘Okay.’ Though his sister clearly thought something much stronger would be wise. ‘Ice, lemon?’

  Jasmine smiled at her. ‘Just as it comes. Thank you.’

  Ally disappeared and Freddie found himself back at the fire, his forearm resting on the mantel, trying to give the impression that all was fine, but he knew his eyes told another story. He looked from his mother to Jasmine, hardly daring to believe that this was happening. That she was here.

  But this was Red. His Red. She embodied everything he’d loved as a teen and she’d grown into a woman with all the confidence and strength he’d tried to thrust on her before she’d been ready.

  And on top of that she was smiling at him, she was giving him the strength.

  The corners of his mouth twitched, the beginnings of a smile he hadn’t given in days, and, satisfied, she cleared her throat softly and looked at his mother.

  ‘I hope you don’t mind me turning up so unexpectedly...’

  He looked at his mother too, the wasp she was chewing putting up a good fight.


  ‘It must be very important.’

  ‘It is, Lady Highgrove, it really is.’ She glanced at him and then she sat straighter, angling her body towards his mother.

  ‘First, can I just say I’m so glad to hear that the Laird is recovering well. I was very sorry to learn of his stroke.’

  ‘Thank you. Your concern is appreciated.’

  Jasmine gave her a small smile, her eyes sparkling with compassion as she planted her palms on her thighs. She breathed in deep, letting it out slowly. ‘I don’t want to beat around the bush, Lady Highgrove, so forgive me if I get straight to the point.’

  His mother’s eyes widened marginally but Freddie’s eyes narrowed on his dear sweet firecracker with her blazing red hair and her bright green eyes, cheeks as pink as a rose, lips as sweet as candy. His heart swelled with both love and pride.

  She didn’t need him to do anything but watch.

  She didn’t want him to do anything.

  And it was a pretty good job too, because right now he was the one that was weak, utterly immobilised by her. Hanging on her next move, her next word, all her.

  ‘No forgiveness necessary. Please, continue.’

  ‘I am in love with your son,’ Jasmine blurted, and his heart leapt with her confession, his smile twitching to life again as she pressed her lips together and bit the inside of them.

  His mother gave no reaction at all as Jasmine leaned closer. ‘Truth is, I’ve never stopped loving him. I’ve loved him for almost all of my life and, frankly, if that’s not a good enough reason for me to be worthy of him, then let this be another. I know I can make him happy. I will love him, care for him and be there for him. I have no need of your family name, your wealth, your social status—’

  He was torn between watching his love declare her feelings for him so passionately and watching his mother’s face slowly change. The flickering emotions sweeping across her features were hard to judge, but he knew one thing, she wasn’t immune.

  ‘I am my own woman, with my own substantial fortune, and I can stand my ground. I don’t need a man to secure my place in this world, but I do need Freddie to make me feel complete. I am lost without him, Lady Highgrove. And if he will have me then I promise to spend my life loving him and doing right by him, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.’

  The room fell silent, the pounding of his heart very loud in his ears as he realised that, whatever happened now, nothing would get in the way of them. Nothing.

  ‘Right, what have I missed?’ Ally returned, her eyes flitting between all three of them and taking in the weighted silence.

  And then he was moving, as fast as his stride would permit. He took Jasmine’s hand and pulled her up into his arms.

  ‘If I will have you? Are you crazy?’ His words were muffled against her neck as he buried himself there. ‘It’s me that should be asking that of you after I left you like I did. I’m sorry, so sorry.’

  ‘Stop apologising, Freddie! I want to be with you. I want to marry you. I want to have kids with you. I don’t want to waste a second more when we’ve wasted so many already.’

  ‘I wouldn’t say it was wasted, dear.’

  They jerked away from one another just enough to eye his mother, who looked as close to tears as she’d been the day he’d returned from the Seychelles.

  Ally was still, so still he almost forgot she was there.

  ‘It seems to me you’ve grown into a fine, independent woman, and you’ve made something of yourself.’

  Everyone frowned, save for his mother whose lips had the hint of a...smile.

  ‘It wasn’t that we doubted your love for one another all those years ago. You were just too young, too young and too foolish, and too fuelled by hormones. Youngsters just have no patience in this day and age.’

  Ally swallowed something that sounded a lot like a surprised laugh.

  ‘I won’t pretend that we didn’t want more for you, Freddie. It was always the way that we would expect a high society marriage.’ She waved a hand through the air like she was discussing something as simple as the weather. ‘After all, an arranged marriage never did us any harm and look at your sister too, the picture of health and happiness. But you, you were always one for doing your own thing. From the moment you could walk right up until the day you upped and left for Harvard. Your father and I worried we’d lost you for good.’

  He shook his head. ‘If you were so worried that you’d lost me, why keep pushing me into a marriage I didn’t want?’

  ‘You can hardly expect us to be happy with your bachelor status. Life is hard, Freddie, you need someone to share it with. And you can’t blame us for trying to find you a suitable match, it’s expected of us to do so. It’s the topic of conversation at virtually every function.’

  Her eyes lowered to Jasmine, a faraway look creeping into her blue eyes that were so like her son’s. ‘We never banked on you coming back, though.’

  He sensed Jasmine swallow, felt her arms twitch around him as she said, ‘There’s a bit of a tale to that.’

  ‘Yes, Alison has said as much.’

  ‘She has?’ He looked at Ally, who gave an awkward smile.

  ‘I haven’t said that much, just that M waved her magic wand and brought you back together.’

  ‘And you didn’t say anything to me?’ he asked his mother.

  ‘I figured you’d say something in your own time, if there was something worth telling.’

  ‘I see...’ But did he?

  ‘You have to admit, it is kind of like fate,’ Ally said wistfully.

  ‘Trust you to believe in fate, little sis,’ he murmured, distracted by his thoughts, still trying to gauge his mother’s reaction and the battle ahead. If there was to be a battle...

  ‘Your sister makes a very good point. Even you have to admit, dear, that of all the men and all the women M had access to, bringing you both together was nothing short of a miracle.’

  Jasmine and Freddie stared at her, their disbelief growing.

  ‘What?’ She gave a short laugh, her cheeks colouring beneath her flawless make-up. ‘Is it so hard to believe that I can think fate played a hand? I can be quite a romantic...when I want to be.’

  Hard to believe? Try impossible.

  ‘Yes, well,’ she rallied into the stunned silence. ‘Your father is less so. Best to leave him to me.’

  And still no one moved.

  ‘Right, Alison, give the girl her drink and let’s go and see what Maggie can rustle up for supper. It seems we have a guest for the night. I assume you will stay, Jasmine.’

  ‘I—What?’ She dipped in his arms as though her knees had buckled, and he tightened his hold around her.

  ‘That would be lovely,’ he said, giving Jasmine the strength that she’d already expended. It was his turn to step up.

  ‘Yes. Thank you, Lady Highgrove.’

  ‘Annie, please.’

  Jasmine swallowed. ‘Annie.’

  His mother paused at the door, turning back to smile at them both, her eyes resting on Jasmine.

  ‘Your mother was always very proud of you, dear, and quite rightly so. Tonight you shine so brightly that your light is sure to have reached her in the heavens.’

  The door closed softly behind her and slowly they turned towards one another. His hands reached into Jasmine’s hair as their gazes locked and he witnessed her love for her late mother, for him, for what was to come glistening back at him.

  ‘I love you, Red,’ he whispered into that look. ‘I’ve always loved you, and only you. Will you marry me?’

  Tears welled in her brilliant green eyes. ‘I will Freddie, I will.’

  ‘And I will of course do that again properly, with the ring.’

  She clutched his face in her hands, her smile breathtaking. ‘I don’t need the ring, Freddie, I just need you.’
>
  ‘Don’t let my mother hear you say that because she’s going to want me to use Granny’s ring this t—’

  His words were cut off by her kiss, her passion, her love...

  The love of his one and only Red.

  EPILOGUE

  One year later

  NERVOUSLY, JASMINE BIT into her lip as Freddie tugged her away from the doors that led into the manor’s great hall. The noise from the other side ebbed and flowed with music and chatter, the clinking of glasses, the sound of laughter. The evening reception was in full swing. Friends, relatives and staff had all gathered to celebrate their wedding.

  ‘Are you sure we should just sneak off?’

  Freddie chuckled and pulled her into his chest. ‘It’s tradition.’

  ‘Making our secret getaway?’

  ‘Yes. And as I have the jet on standby, it would be rude to keep the pilot waiting.’

  She shook her head with a laugh, the loose curls framing her face brushing against her cheeks. He looked so handsome, so impressive in full Highland dress, the kilt giving him an edge she could definitely get used to. As for his hair, it was longer, not quite as foppish as it had once been, but the perfect length for her to run her hands through and she did it now. Gazing up at him with all the love she felt inside. ‘Since when have you worried about keeping people waiting?’

  ‘Since I was left waiting ten years for you to come to your senses!’

  ‘Me come to my senses?’

  He chuckled deeper, pressed a kiss to her affronted mouth. ‘You and my parents.’

  ‘Are my ears burning?’

  His father emerged from his study, his face as severe as the day he’d caught her stealing Maggie’s shortbread and Jasmine smiled at him, her heart softening. Behind that severe look were eyes that now danced like his son’s. Yes, grandparenthood had changed him, but even in the last year she’d witnessed him change further. Whether it was the health scare, the change in his lifestyle or seeing his son so happy, she wasn’t sure, and ultimately it didn’t matter.