One Indian Summer

[Dark Saint Alaick]

This was all happening so fast, so unbelievably fast, and her head spun with the implications of what she was considering.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say nothing. For now, we eat, then you start making plans.”

Plans to take her on the adventure of a lifetime.

***

Trying to navigate the jostling crowd at St. Kilda’s famous Esplanade Sunday Market with a heavy backpack hadn’t been one of Khushi’s brightest ideas but the moment she’d spied the colorful stalls, she’d disembarked the tram and headed straight for them. Besides, she hoped one of the stallholders could point her in the right direction to Acland Street.

Harrison’s instructions had been specific: call him if she changed her mind and arrived in Melbourne.

Where was the fun in that?

She wanted to surprise him but as she showed a vendor the piece of paper with Harrison’s address scribbled on it and followed where he pointed, maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea.

It was almost the end of the month. What if he’d started work early? What if he’d given up on her and moved out?

Ignoring the “what-if” scenarios running through her head, she passed a giant clown’s-mouth entrance to a theme park, a huge palm tree and made a right into Acland Street, her nose twitching at the delicious aromas of vanilla, cinnamon and roasted nuts.

[Dark Saint Alaick]

Her stomach rumbled as her head swiveled, stunned by row upon row of cake shops lining the street, their tempting wares piled high in the windows. Everything from custard tarts and vanilla slices to chocolate éclairs filled with decadent lashings of cream and cute cupcakes iced to perfection.

She’d come to the right place to indulge her sweet tooth. But that wasn’t why she was here and as she scanned the shops for an aromatherapist—more precisely, the flat above—she spied a familiar figure at a roadside café table, surrounded by monstrous textbooks, several cups of coffee and a half-eaten Danish pastry.

Her heart leaped, raced, jumped out of her chest as he looked up, her hungry gaze colliding with a stunned blue one as Harrison broke into a wide grin, pushed back his chair and opened his arms.

[Dark Saint Alaick]

Her feet flew, cumbersome backpack and all, and she flung herself into his arms, hugged him tight, intent on never letting go.

“Does this mean—”

“Yes, to everything. I want to be your wife, I want to make Melbourne my home, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“What about the family I mentioned? Perhaps having a little girl who’s the image of her gorgeous mother?”

With a shy smile, her mouth hovering an inch from his, she murmured, “I think we can work on that.”

Their lips met, clung, savored and when they finally broke apart she traced the curve of his cheek, lingering near his lips.

“I always craved adventure, but I ended up with the love of my life, too. How lucky am I?”

“Not half as lucky as me.”

As he crushed her to him, his arms safe and strong around her, she knew wherever this man was, she’d always be home.

THE END