Chapter 34

34

T hrough the bedroom window, ominous charcoal clouds blotted out the starry sky, their edges lit by faint flickers of distant lightning. A low, rumbling growl of thunder reverberated. It slowly built in volume and intensity.

Gennie snuggled deeper against Nathan under the duvet. Her body was still humming from their earlier…activities. Jesus, she’d rarely ever been so knackered.

Or so happy.

As they’d stumbled back to the car earlier tonight, hand in hand, she couldn’t have wiped the smile off her face if she tried.

Back at the house, the Camerons and Jo had showered them with love, beaming with genuine happiness for the unlikely couple. And honestly? Fuck what anyone else thought. She and Nathan had found something unique and special.

They’d found each other.

The last guests had left around eight-thirty, and Abby had been in bed by half past nine. Jo went to bed at the far end of the corridor in Gennie’s old room.

Had been high time for Gennie and her single-daddy Scot to have a proper… reunion . Pretty sure he’d made her summon the spirits of a dozen unholy incubi, judging by the way she’d been howling his name over and over on this Halloween night.

Quietly, of course.

Now, wrapped in the solid heat of his embrace, deep contentment seeped through her.

She tightened her arm around him. ‘You know, MacMillan,’ she buried her nose in the nape of his neck, ‘I could get used to this.’

‘To what? Being the big spoon?’

‘Yeah, that – and playing the small drawer for your very big spoon. Seriously, how do you not pass out each time?’

He rumbled a low chuckle. ‘It’s a magic wand.’

Shadows flickered across the walls as the storm drew nearer. With a muffled creak, the door slid open, and the sight had Gennie’s heart melting into a pool.

Abby stood in the doorway, her rabbit Pimpa clutched to her chest. Sleep-tousled curls framed her face. ‘Da?’ the little girl whispered, her eyes were wide and searching in the dim light.

‘Hey, my darlin’.’ Nathan’s voice was soothing as his hand reached out to beckon his daughter closer. ‘Come here. What’s wrong?’

‘I couldn’t sleep.’ Abby’s gaze flickered to Gennie and then a blinding smile split her face as she scampered across the room. ‘Gennie!’ She launched herself at her with the enthusiasm of a small, pyjama-clad cannonball.

Gennie caught her easily, Abby’s warm weight settled against her chest like it belonged there. ‘Hey, kiddo.’ She planted a kiss to the crown of her head. ‘What are you doing out of bed, huh?’

‘Bad dream.’ Abby explained, twisted in Gennie’s arms, and peered up at Nathan with a quivering pout that could melt granite. ‘Can I stay with yous?’

Nathan’s expression was a masterpiece, a blend of fatherly adoration and amused exasperation. ‘Och, you wee scamp.’ He tousled Abby’s hair and made space for her. ‘Of course you can stay. Hop in.’

With a triumphant squeak, Abby snuggled between them, Pimpa tucked securely under one arm.

‘I like it here,’ she declared, her voice already heavy with impending sleep. ‘It’s like a Gennie sandwich.’

Gennie bit back a laugh, her eyes meeting Nathan’s over the top of Abby’s head. ‘A Gennie sandwich, huh? Well, I happen to like Abby sandwiches even better.’

A crack of thunder boomed outside, lightning flickering through the curtains, and the little girl didn’t flinch.

Neither did Gennie.

The deep-seated fear that had gripped her for so long, the dread that came with every rumble of thunder and flash of lightning… was gone. Vanished like morning mist under the sun.

Because she wasn’t alone anymore.

She looked at the two of them, her heart so unbelievably full she thought it might explode. Gennie silently thanked Sophie for gifting her with this beautiful family. This – the unconditional love, the way Abby fit so seamlessly into her arms – was the family she’d never dared to hope for.

A chest-rattling, percussive boom of thunder shook the air.

‘You’re not scared of the storm, Abster?’ Gennie asked, her voice soft in the darkness.

Abby shook her head, a fierce little warrior. ‘Nuh-uh. I like thunderstorms. And you told me to be brave, ‘member?’

‘My two brave girls,’ Nathan said with unmistakable pride and love in his voice.

Such a big softie.

‘Gennie, will you tell me a pirate story?’

‘A pirate story?’ She shared an amused glance with Nathan. ‘I think I can do that.’ She settled back against the pillows with Abby in her arms. ‘Alright, you little sea urchin, listen up. This is the tale of Mary Read and Anne Bonny, the fiercest pirates to ever sail the seven seas. They were happily in love and feared by all…’

Abby’s eyelids grew heavy, the rhythmic patter of rain and Gennie’s storytelling lulling her into a peaceful sleep.

A comfortable silence settled over them, broken only by the occasional rumble of distant thunder.

Gennie knew the road ahead wouldn’t be easy.

There would be challenges. Moving to Scotland – good luck explaining that to her mum – juggling her career with family life, navigating the complexities of step-parenting, dealing with the inevitable raised eyebrows at their age gap. There would be bumps and bruises, misunderstandings and growing pains. Tears and tantrums and all the messy bits that came with building a life together.

But nothing worthwhile was ever easy.

And this? This was worth everything.

With a soft thud, Sir Hubert leapt onto the bed and claimed his rightful space on the pillow, above Nathan’s head.

Nathan grumbled something under his breath about ‘entitled furballs’, but Gennie saw the affection in the way he reached up to scratch the cat behind the ears.

He reached over and caressed her cheek with his thumb. ‘I love you, Gennie with a G. So fucking much.’

‘I love you, too, Nathan MacMillan. So fucking much more.’

In that moment, with Abby’s warm weight in her arms and the man she loved looking at her like she hung the damn moon, Gennie knew with absolute certainty that they were her future. Her forever.

Here in Scotland.