Marry Me: The Proposal Plan / Single Dad, Nurse Bride / Millionaire in Command

‘Hmm, I suppose so,’ she said grudgingly.

He refilled her glass, then his own. ‘So you agree on how to proceed? Excellent. Why don’t you come to lunch with my parents this Sunday? They’d love to see you. They’re always asking about you.’

‘You mean go back to Gloucestershire?’ She felt a vague sense of unease and squashed it. She generally avoided going back to her home county, as if the new life she’d built since leaving would somehow be challenged by revisiting her old one. Her parents were long gone from there, of course, but the memories wouldn’t be.

‘Of course. Sunday roast. Not cooked by you. Sound tempting?’ He grinned at her expectantly.

She debated to herself. She knew she should put an end to the avoidance of anything relating to her childhood. She was an adult now and could recognise it for what it was. Maybe going back to Gloucestershire would do her good—she could lay a few ghosts, and she had to admit he had a point about Ed. Wasn’t absence meant to make the heart grow fonder? They had fallen into a bit of a rut recently, doing the same things on the same days.

She gave in. ‘It does sound tempting. And I suppose you could be right—perhaps Ed needs to miss me a bit.’

‘He definitely does. He needs to appreciate you a bit more and feel like he’s lucky to have you and he ought to snap you up officially just to make sure. He feels too sure of you, that’s the root of the whole thing. And in the meantime, we’ll have a look at your appearance and see what we can do with that. And I need to observe you out together socially.’

Lucy looked doubtfully down at her plain T-shirt and jeans with a vague but undeniable feeling of dread at the idea of Gabriel analysing her wardrobe. In an attempt to divert him she latched onto his second suggestion. ‘No problem. We’re all meeting up tomorrow night at that new wine bar on George Street. You could come along if you like. Do all the observing you want to.’

‘Who’s we?’

‘Ed’s friends,’ she said. ‘Well, mine, too, of course. There’s Digger and Yabba, and their other halves, Suzy and Kate. Probably one or two others—it varies depending on who’s free.’

‘Digger and Yabba,’ Gabriel repeated. ‘They sound like rejects from some kids’ TV show.’

Lucy laughed. ‘That’s their nicknames. No one in Ed’s friendship group is called by their proper name. It’s a man thing. Even Ed isn’t his real name.’

‘You’re kidding,’ Gabriel said with sudden interest. ‘What is his real name?’

‘Roland,’ she said, expertly ignoring Gabriel as he almost choked on his wine with a sudden snort of laughter. ‘Ed is some schoolboy name to do with heading a football or something. I’ve never questioned it because frankly Roland is awful and Ed suits him far better.’

Gabriel shook his head in mock wonder. ‘There’s a whole laddish culture going on that seems to have passed me by.’

‘You haven’t missed much,’ she said. ‘It might have been vaguely funny once when they were in their teens but there’s something a bit sad about having the nickname Yabba when you’re pushing thirty and working as a fireman.’

She leaned back on the sofa and looked at him expectantly. ‘So what do you think, then?’ she asked. ‘Do you want to drop in and join us for a drink?’

‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Should be interesting. Are there any single women going?’

She threw her hands up in exasperation. ‘For heaven’s sake, Gabriel, can’t you forget about your next conquest just for one night? Is it too much to ask? You’re meant to be concentrating on me and Ed, not chatting up the nearest single woman.’

‘I know, I know.’ A pause. ‘But are there? Any single women going?’

She sighed wearily. ‘Well, there’s Joanna, I suppose. She’s Kate’s sister. She’s been single for a bit and she’s started hanging out with us. But she’s been through a horrible break up and the last thing she needs is a three-week dalliance with the likes of you!’

‘That hurt!’ he protested. ‘I just meant it would be nice if I wasn’t the only single person there, that’s all.’

‘Hmm,’ she said dubiously. ‘I’ll believe you. Thousands wouldn’t. I take it that means you’re coming, then? Eight o’clock at Hardings. I’d tell you not to be late but there would be no point, would there?’

CHAPTER THREE

LUCY glanced at her watch for the third time. Quarter to nine now and still no sign of Gabriel. His habitual lateness never usually bothered her and she was annoyed with herself for letting it get to her this evening. Despite the fact that she’d asked him for help, his negative comments about her relationship with Ed had been getting on her nerves. She’d been looking forward to proving him wrong by showing just how great a time she and Ed had together. Not that tonight seemed to be going that way so far, she admitted to herself. Ed’s day hadn’t gone well—a structural problem had been picked up at the house he was currently working on and it was going to be costly to have it sorted out. She noticed he’d moved on to whisky from his usual beer and it wasn’t even nine yet. Great. Maybe it would be for the best if Gabe didn’t turn up after all. The last thing she needed was him to see Ed slowly getting drunk at the opposite end of the table from her. Just how the hell would that look?

As if he had somehow read her mind, the door suddenly swung open at the end of the bar and Gabriel sauntered in, absently looking at his mobile phone as he walked, in no rush whatsoever. He glanced up, quickly searched the room and, seeing her, made his way over to their table. She saw out of the corner of her eye Joanna, the only single girl there, sit up imperceptibly as he approached and viewed him herself for a moment with objectivity. He was wearing a dark shirt, open at the neck, quite snug-fitting, which showed off the heavily muscled shoulders and brought out the depth in his grey eyes. Outside the weather was cold with a tinge of fog in the air and the moisture had tousled his dark hair a little. She gave herself a little shake to clear her head and pasted a smile on her face as she got quickly to her feet.

‘You came,’ she said through slightly gritted teeth. ‘Finally.’

‘Am I late?’ he whispered in her ear as he leaned in to kiss her cheek, and his breath felt warm against her neck. She felt the shivery sensation of goosebumps beginning and moved away from him as quickly as she could.

‘No more than usual,’ she said, and mustered a more genuine smile before turning to the table. ‘Everybody, this is my friend Gabriel. Gabriel, this is Digger and Kate, and Yabba and Suzy. Digger and Yabba play football with Ed.’ Nods were exchanged around the table. ‘And this is Joanna.’ Lucy gestured towards the blonde at the end of the table, who was apparently unable to tear her gaze away from Gabriel. ‘And you know Ed, of course.’ Ed raised his whisky glass in a perfunctory hello gesture from the other end of the table.

She sat down as Gabriel hooked a spare chair from a nearby table. Fully expecting him to sit next to her, she felt a little piqued as he dragged it two spaces away and sat down between Joanna and Yabba. She was left to continue the conversation with Kate, who was sitting on her left, about the plans she was making for the summer holidays later in the year.

Gabriel lost no time in buying a round of drinks and then quickly immersed himself in quiet conversation with Joanna. Ed was steadily getting drunker at the other end of the table and Lucy sipped her own glass of orange juice defiantly. If this was the way the evening was going to go, with her boyfriend and her best friend both apparently having no need of her to have a good time, she would damn well make the most of her own company.

Time and again her eyes strayed to Gabriel. She found she was able to largely tune out the ongoing conversation with Kate and Suzy, who were planning a shopping trip in the next few weeks, and who invited her along with no real conviction because they were both fully aware that Saturdays were one of the busiest days of the week for the cake shop. The occasional yes or no seemed to maintain her part in the discussion perfectly well. Joanna’s curtain of blonde hair swung glossily as she leaned in towards Gabriel. She seemed oblivious to the rest of the table. Lucy felt a stab of annoyance. And she had every right to feel annoyed, she told herself. She’d invited him out after all, to watch her interact with Ed, and yet he’d barely glanced her way even once. Lucy found she was able to make out the occasional snatch of conversation between them.

‘… go out for dinner some time… nothing heavy, just a relaxing evening…’ she heard Gabriel saying. She picked up her orange juice, trying to keep the smug smile from her face. Same old Gabriel. Get the caveat in up front. No chance of the relationship being any more than a couple of dates, so make it clear from the outset. She noticed the firm set of his jaw at this angle and the way his dark hair curled a little over his collar. He was truly gorgeous. No wonder Joanna was mesmerised. And he certainly seemed to have the gift of making her feel as if she was the only woman in the room for him. Because it didn’t appear to matter how often Lucy glanced his way, she might as well have been invisible for all the notice he took of her. She stood up and went to the bar to get another drink, deliberately ignoring them as she passed. Why should she care if Gabriel chatted up yet another woman? It wasn’t as if it were anything she hadn’t seen before, after all. She picked up the menu at the bar and looked through the fat-laden snack list. If this was going to be a long and extremely dull evening, she’d need something to get her through.

Lucy checked her watch. Six forty-five. They’d only been jogging for five minutes and already she was flagging. She’d had hardly any sleep, tossing and turning half the night, unable to switch off. When she’d eventually dropped off at about three it had felt as if her alarm had gone off ten minutes later. Her head ached horribly. Gabriel seemed as fresh as a daisy however, despite the fact it was so early in the morning. She wondered if he’d be seeing Joanna again and mentally slapped herself down. It was nothing to do with her and she absolutely didn’t care.

‘So what conclusions did you get from last night, Relationship Guru?’ she panted, more to bring her mind back on task than because she really wanted to speak.

Gabriel glanced sideways at her and then slowed to a stop. There was a bench a short way off and he slowed her down too by grabbing her arm, then pointed at the bench as they approached it. ‘Let’s sit down for a bit, shall we? You look beat.’

She was too out of breath to argue, and frankly the idea of sitting down for a few minutes sounded wonderful. She followed him to the bench and they sat down and gazed out across the still river. The early morning was fresh and cold and she could see her breath, the clouds from her mouth diminishing slowly as her breathing recovered from the run. Gabriel opened a bottle of water and handed it to her.

‘It was an interesting evening,’ he began.

‘I’m surprised you noticed anything that went on between Ed and me,’ she grumbled. ‘You spent the entire time trying to prise Joanna’s phone number out of her.’

‘Just setting up my cover,’ he protested with a grin. ‘Don’t want Ed to work out there’s something going on, do you? Don’t you think he would have wondered what the hell was going on if I’d spent the entire evening watching the two of you interact? Not that you really did,’ he added pointedly.

‘Hmm,’ she said, unconvinced. ‘What are your conclusions, then? Tell me there was a point to it all.’

‘Of course there was a point to it. I spent a couple of very useful hours observing you and Ed, and what I saw confirmed what I already thought.’

‘Which was…?’

‘The reason it doesn’t occur to Ed to propose to you is because it won’t give him anything more than he already has. Except perhaps a large bill for wedding costs.’

Lucy groaned. ‘Frankly I was expecting something a bit more insightful than that.’

‘I can give you insights. That was just the concise version.’ He took a swig from his bottle of water and glanced at his watch.

‘Go on, then.’

‘OK…’ He stood back up and began stretching to keep warm. Lucy made no move to join him. The way her muscles felt this morning a few stretches were going to make no difference. She might as well give up right now and walk home. But not before she’d heard him out.

‘First of all, just look at the people you are hanging out with,’ he said.

She frowned. ‘What about them? I didn’t see you moaning last night when you were chatting to Joanna over drinks and nibbles.’

He shook his head at her. ‘You’re missing the point. They’re all settled, aren’t they? Well, except for Joanna, but just from a quick conversation with her I can tell she wants to be settled, too. They’re all married or about to be married.’

‘I see where you’re going with this, but you’re wrong. Digger and Kate aren’t married, they live together—’

‘That’s only while Kate pushes Digger towards marriage. You can see the pattern with them—it’s the same as you and Ed. The only difference is that Digger has actually moved in with her while Ed’s hanging on for dear life to his bachelor pad. What I’m trying to say is that marriage is essentially a girl thing. Your average guy has no real drive to get tied down like that. He’s quite happy to live with his girl without all the trappings.’

‘Marriage isn’t just about trappings,’ she protested. ‘It’s a commitment. It gives proper, constant stability.’

‘Only if you choose to see it that way,’ he countered. ‘Living together is a commitment, too, you know. You just don’t have to spend a fortune on a wedding in order to do it. But that doesn’t make it any less significant.’

She shook her head to try and clear it. He always did this—confused the issue so she ended up questioning her own certainties. ‘Get to the point!’ she snapped.

He took a deep breath, the way he always did when he was going to say something that he knew would provoke her. ‘Part of the reason for you wanting to get married is a subconscious desire to fit in with your social group. And Ed will never ask you unless he’s painted into a corner, because when you pare it right down, he has nothing to gain over and above what he’s already getting from you. He has the freedom to keep his own social life; he has you looking after him from every angle. And the pair of you already fit in with all his mates. Why go and spend a fortune making it official? Eventually he probably thinks he’ll ask you to move in with him, but, hey, there’s no rush.’

His sideway glance to measure her reaction told her he knew perfectly well that he was making her angry. Her head ached and her brain felt as if it were swathed in cotton wool. She didn’t have the energy to explode at him as she normally would. Instead she settled for sharpening her tone.

‘To be perfectly honest, Gabe, this amateur psychology rubbish is starting to get on my nerves. All I want is a few pointers. I don’t want or need my whole life deconstructed.’ She stood up, wincing at the throb in her head at the sudden movement. ‘I’m starting to wish I’d never told you about any of this.’

He shrugged. ‘No problem, Lu. I thought you wanted my help, and I’m not going to just tell you stuff you want to hear. That’s not how I work. I’ll give you my opinion and then it’s up to you how you act on it. But what I’m saying is, if you change nothing about your relationship, if you carry on playing the part of a wife before you actually are one, then don’t expect Ed to propose to you any time soon.’

‘I don’t expect him to propose any time soon. I’m going to propose to him. Isn’t that the whole point of this?’

‘Of course. But don’t you think it makes sense to work out why he hasn’t taken the bull by the horns himself? Then you can make changes that keep him on his toes and stop him taking you for granted. You have to admit that would be a good thing for your relationship. He doesn’t seem to feel like he has to make any effort with you at the moment, does he? I mean, just look at him last night, sulking into his whisky glass at the end of the table. I’d be surprised if he said more than ten sentences to you all night. Why does he think it’s OK to treat you like that? He might have had a bad day, but that’s no excuse. I’ll tell you why—it’s because you let him think it’s OK.’

She looked at his serious expression. The problem with her friendship with Gabriel was that their usual sparring was self-perpetuating. She heard herself talk to him sometimes and thought she really was just arguing for argument’s sake because she never wanted to be the one that gave in. She couldn’t fail to see that he had a point and she would be an idiot not to accept it. Too tired to keep bickering, she sighed. ‘OK, OK, I’ll admit I can see where you’re coming from.’

To his credit Gabriel obviously knew her well enough to restrain himself from making any gesture or sound of triumph, simply nodding in agreement, and so she felt able to continue calmly rather than taking the plunge back into the row that any crowing on his part would have provoked. ‘Where do we go from here, then?’ she asked. ‘I’m putting myself in your hands.’

He began jogging lightly on the spot. ‘Well, the next logical step is your appearance, of course. We’ve covered your social life, we’ve looked at the way you react and respond around Ed. Now, you need to make him sit up and take notice. We start with how you look and then we move on to the way you behave. Right?’

‘Right,’ she repeated, with more conviction than she felt.

‘Good,’ he said in a businesslike tone. ‘Then as you’re obviously desperate to quit running you can go home now. Meet me on Thursday night in the city centre.’

Her heart sank.

Lucy locked the door of the cake shop behind her and listened until the alarm system finished beeping and set itself before heading to her battered yellow Mini car. It was already dark outside and she cursed the car’s next-to-useless heater, which roasted her right foot but left the rest of her freezing cold as she made her way through the steady traffic into the main city centre. Towards the shops. The knot in her stomach wouldn’t go away. She didn’t like clothes shopping and applauded the ascent of the Internet, where she could buy what she wanted online in the comfort of her own sitting room, a cup of coffee to hand, and send back anything she didn’t like. She had aspirations to extend her cake business one day to encompass online shopping.

Sighing to herself as she parked, she realised that if she wanted to keep expanding her business then the cash investment that seemed so important to Ed wasn’t likely to be a reality any time soon. Still, Ed would understand that, she was sure. He was as steady as a rock, one of the things that attracted her to him. Not unpredictable or headstrong. Not like Gabriel at all, she thought unexpectedly, and frowned. She had no place thinking that, she admonished herself. It was of no consequence to her how Gabriel differed from Ed; she wasn’t one of his endless stream of girlfriends, thank goodness. She had no idea how they put up with him, not knowing if he would be there for the next date or not. She easily silenced the small voice at the back of her mind that protested that unpredictable was a million times more interesting and exciting than steady. It was also a million times less safe.

It was Thursday night, late-night shopping in Bath, and Gabriel had ‘called in a favour’, as he described it, and organised a personal shopping session for Lucy. Not necessarily to buy anything, he had placated her when she’d raised a frugal eyebrow—Gabriel had expensive tastes and she really didn’t need that kind of encouragement. But to try on a few new things and look at the kind of thing men apparently liked their women to wear. According to Gabriel this was a world apart from what women thought men liked them to wear.

‘A subtle distinction, but by the end of today I think you will agree an important one,’ he said confidently as he led the way into the heart of the city on foot, having parked the Aston Martin close enough to her Mini to make it look shabbier than ever. Bath looked beautiful in the dark, lights from the shops brightening the cobbled side streets. ‘A few changes and it could kick-start your relationship. Ed won’t know what’s hit him.’

‘I’ve never had any complaints before,’ Lucy pointed out. ‘In fact, Ed’s really good about complimenting me on my appearance. He always notices when I get my hair cut. He likes the way I look.’

Gabriel nodded admiringly. ‘He’s got his head screwed on, I’ll give him that. Always stick to the rule.’

‘What rule?’

‘You know, if you can’t say anything good, then don’t say anything. She always looks beautiful, especially in the morning, and if she ever asks you if something makes her look big the answer is always no.’

‘Even if it does?’

‘Especially if it does.’

Lucy stared at him. ‘Is there really this underlying theme of men playing some kind of game with us or are you just messing about?’

She sounded shocked and he slowed his pace to a stroll and looked at her with a grin. ‘Maybe I’m overstating it a bit,’ he said. Then he raised an eyebrow as he apparently debated the question to himself. ‘Though not that much. There is something of an unwritten rule for men.’

She looked at him quizzically.

‘You learn about it as you go along. It’s not worth the grief sometimes to be brutally honest so you tell her what she wants to hear and then enjoy your quiet life. Men don’t notice what women wear half as much as other women do.’

‘In that case what the hell is the point of us being here?’ God, he could be exasperating at times.

‘Because we want Ed to sit up and take notice, don’t we? Look at you through fresh eyes. And the easiest way to make a man do a double take is with your appearance, right?’

Gabriel dragged her by the arm into the beautiful old building that housed Jolly’s department store. Designer and high street in one vast place, with chandeliers and lots of steps up and down to different departments. As they stepped out of the lift and walked into the lusciously carpeted personal shopping suite Lucy was surprised to see him kiss the cheek of the impeccably dressed assistant who greeted them. Surely that was a bit overfamiliar, wasn’t it?

‘Lucy, this is Amanda,’ Gabriel said.

Lucy nodded uncertainly at the perfectly groomed blonde woman in her understated suit and heels.

‘Amanda, thanks so much for fitting us in,’ he said warmly, and led the way into the suite, walking next to the woman as Lucy lagged a few paces behind them feeling drab in her jeans and sweater. ‘Getting married soon, could do with a makeover…’ she heard him say and her eyes widened. What a cheek!

Amanda showed them both to a huge squashy leather sofa, and then disappeared through a side door. The moment they were sitting down and she was out of earshot, Lucy elbowed Gabriel hard in the ribs.

‘Ow!’

‘Serves you right!’ she said in an angry stage whisper. ‘Could do with a makeover? There’s nothing wrong with the way I look!’

‘Calm down, Lu.’ He held his hands up in mock surrender. ‘I’m just keeping her sweet. Just making sure she realises we’re not, you know, together. Do you have any idea how booked up this place gets? Told you I’d call in a favour. I knew Amanda would squeeze us in, time being of the essence and everything.’ He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes skyward in exasperation. ‘You mean I’ll be getting dress tips from one of your conquests? You must be joking!’

He made an urgent shushing gesture, which infuriated her all the more. ‘Keep your voice down! She’s not a conquest, since you ask, but she is a friend of a friend and—’

‘Oh, great. She just isn’t a conquest yet, then. Big difference.’

‘Will you just chill out? She’s excellent at her job and you want to try on some new stuff. Where’s the problem?’

She shook her head impatiently at him and then pasted a polite smile on her face as Amanda reappeared with an armful of clothes and began hanging them on a rail at the side of the room.