the next week, Claire worked later and later on last-minute changes to the wedding show outfits, and the only way Sean could get her out of her workroom for dinner was to haul her manually over his shoulder and carry her out of the room.
‘You need to eat to keep your strength up, and you can’t live off sandwiches for the next week,’ he told her, ‘or you’ll make yourself ill.’
‘I guess.’ She blinked as she took in the fact that her kitchen was actually being used and something smelled gorgeous. ‘Hang on, dinner isn’t a takeaway.’
‘It’s nothing fancy, either,’ Sean said dryly, ‘but it’s home-cooked from scratch and there are proper vegetables.’ He gave her a rueful smile. ‘And at least you have gadgets that help.’
‘My electric steamer. Best gadget ever.’ She smiled back and stroked his face. ‘Sean, thank you. It’s really good of you to do this for me.’
‘Any time, and you know you’d do the same if I was the one up to my eyes in preparation for a big event, so it’s not a big deal.’ He kissed her lightly. ‘Sit down, milady, because dinner will be served in about thirty seconds.’
But when he’d dished up and they were eating, he noticed that she was pushing her food around her plate. ‘Is my cooking that terrible? You don’t have to be polite with me—leave it if you hate it.’
‘It’s wonderful. I’m just tired.’ She made an effort to eat.
He tried to distract her a little. ‘So do you have a dream of a dress?’
‘Not really,’ she said.
‘So all these years when you’ve sketched wedding dresses, you never once drew the one you wanted for yourself?’
‘I guess it would depend when and where I got married—if it was on a beach in the Seychelles I wouldn’t pick the same dress, veil or shoes as I’d pick for a tiny country church in the middle of winter in, say, the far north of Scotland.’
‘I guess,’ he said. ‘So which kind of wedding would you prefer?’
‘It’s all academic,’ she said.
He could guess why she wasn’t answering him—she was obviously worried he’d think she was hinting and had expectations where he was concerned.
‘Is that why the outfits in your wedding collection are so diverse?’
‘Yes—four seasonal weddings, one vintage-inspired outfit, and one that’s more tailored towards a civil wedding,’ she explained.
‘That’s a good range,’ he said. ‘It will show people what you can do.’
‘I hope so.’ For a second she looked really worried and vulnerable.
‘Claire, you know your stuff, you’re good at what you do and your work is really going to shine at the show.’ He reached over to squeeze her hand. ‘I believe in you.’
‘Thank you, though I wasn’t fishing for compliments.’
‘I know you weren’t, and I was being sincere.’
‘Sorry.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘Ignore me. It’s just a bit of stage fright, or whatever the catwalk equivalent is.’
‘Which is totally understandable, given that it’s your first show.’ He cleared their plates away. ‘Let me get you some coffee.’
She gave him a tired smile. ‘Sorry, I’m really not pulling my weight in this relationship right now.’
‘Claire, you’re so busy you barely have time to breathe. I’m not going to give you a hard time about that; I just want to take some of the weight off your shoulders,’ he said.
‘Then thank you. Coffee would be lovely.’
He made two mugs of coffee and set them on the table. ‘This is decaf,’ he said, ‘because I think you’re already going to have enough trouble getting to sleep and the last thing you need is caffeine.’
‘I guess.’
And he hoped that what he was about to do would distract her enough to let her fall asleep in his arms tonight and stop worrying quite so much about the wedding show.
He rescued the box he’d stowed in her fridge earlier—a box containing a very important message. He checked behind the door that he hadn’t accidentally disturbed the contents of the box and mixed up the order of the lettered chocolates, then brought them out and placed the box on the table in front of her.
She gave him a tired smile. ‘Would these be some of your awesome salted caramels? Or are you trying out new stuff on me as your personal focus group?’
‘Open the box and see,’ he invited.
She did so, and her eyes widened as she read the message. When she looked back at him, he could see the sheen of tears in her eyes. ‘Sean.’
‘Hey. They say you should say it with flowers, but I know you like to be different, so I thought I’d say it in chocolate.’ He’d iced the letters himself. I love you Claire. He paused. ‘Or maybe I just need to say it.’ He swallowed hard. Funny how his throat felt as if it were filled with sand. ‘I’ve never said this to anyone before. I love you, Claire. I think I probably have for years, but the idea of letting anyone close scared me spitless. You know you asked me what scared me? That. Deep down guess I was worried that I’d end up losing my partner like I lost my parents, so it was easier to keep you at a distance.’
‘So what changed?’ she asked.
‘Capri,’ he said. ‘Seeing the way you just got on with things and sorted out the problems when Ashleigh’s dress went missing. And then dancing with you. I really couldn’t take my eyes off you—it wasn’t just the song. I tried to tell myself that it was just physical attraction, but it’s more than that. So very much more.’
‘Oh, Sean.’ She blinked back the tears.
And now he just couldn’t shut up. ‘And in these last few weeks, getting to know you, I’ve seen you for who you really are. You’re funny and you’re brave and you’re bossy, and you think outside the box, and—you know your speed dating question thing, about what you’re looking for in a partner? I can answer that, now. I’m looking for you, Claire. You’re everything I want.’ He gave her a wry smile. ‘Though my timing’s a bit rubbish, given that you’re up to your eyes right now.’
‘Your timing’s perfect,’ she said softly. ‘You know, I had a huge crush on you when I was fourteen, but you were my best friend’s older brother, which made you off limits. And you always made me feel as if I was a nuisance.’
‘You probably were, when you were a teenager.’
She laughed. ‘Tell it to me straight, why don’t you?’
He laughed back. ‘You wouldn’t have it any other way, and you know it—I love you, Claire.’
‘I love you, too, Sean.’ She pushed her chair back, came round to his side
