My Blossoming Redemption

FIFTY-SIX

But this time it symbolises new, happier times. This is a family I fit into, with the banter and the happiness rising with the steam from the plates. I watch Hannah give Gabriel his little plate, and he digs in before anyone else has even started.

I stare at the tablecloth: white with tiny little daisies embroidered in. Georgina.

"Mum had it made for her fifteenth birthday," Nick explains when he catches me staring at it. "She wanted afternoon tea as if we were the royal family or something. She had her friends and family around for the afternoon. We all had to dress up smart and Mum made sandwiches with cakes and pots of tea. The tablecloth was made especially plus the napkins."

"I made Nick wear a full suit with a tie," Hannah adds, a smile on her face.

I chortle. "Too right. You can't have posh afternoon tea without the suit."

"It was a very uncomfortable day," Nick adds.

"It was for your sister, and you ended up loving it! He even made Georgina a little corsage for the day as well," Neil says.

"It was just a daisy chain bracelet," Nick defends.

I smile at him as he eats. Every single time I find out more about him, it makes him seem like an enigma to me. Nick is like a constellation that hasn't been discovered yet – each part of him is the star on the map, waiting to be discovered and named.

But the thing about him is that as soon as I find out about that constellation and start getting nearer to naming him, I find a new star on his map and it's just as bright as the rest, sometimes brighter. He's the constellation I just can't find out enough about. No matter how long I study and memorise him, there will always be a new star waiting to be discovered.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you too, my daisy," he returns in between bites. Apparently, I'm not as important as his dinner, though.

"As soon as he puts the ring on your finger, Aspen, he won't even respond to declarations of love," Hannah jokes. "He'll just grunt at you between bites of food. Enjoy this bit while it lasts."

"Hey, woman," Neil jokes. She giggles back. "I tell you I love you at least once a month. Relish it."

"See? Spoilt!" Hannah jokes. "Behind all the nature lines and the cheese are two very...interesting men."

"I can be interesting!" Nick defends. He puts his cutlery down; he means business and I can't stop laughing at them. "I'll have you know that I am very interesting! Tell her, Aspen!"

I giggle and look between Nick and his mum before deciding where my loyalty lies here.

Always with the matriarch.

"Nick, the day I moved in, you moved your Xbox into the bedroom," I point out.

"You didn't even wait to do that? Nicholas! You should've waited at least a week! Let them think you're this philosophical man and once they're comfortable, the cooling-off period goes and then you move in the console. Come on! I taught you better than this!" Neil scolds.

"You sure you want to marry into this, Aspen? You have a chance here to say no. I wouldn't even blame you," Hannah asks. We both laugh.

"I think Mrs Knight will be just perfect," I answer.

"She's whipped, well done my lad," Neil announces.

Nick glances at me and shakes his head. "Welcome to the madhouse."

"No, no, my family is the madhouse. This is the perfect house," I answer.

"Finished!" Gabriel announces. He waits until all eyes are on him before clapping his gravy-riddled hands together. A splash of the stuff goes everywhere and when I think I'm going to hear Hannah yell at him, she surprises me by bursting out into laughter, and soon enough the table is giggling.

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"Mrs Knight, huh? You're not going back to Wilkins or staying as Watkins?" Nick questions. I can hear the pride coming through his words as I settle beside him on the sofa. He opens his laptop and starts typing away.

"Why did you not want me to take your name, Nicholas?" I tease.

He snorts. "No, I thought I might change my name. I thought we could maybe be Mr and Mrs Daisy."

"Okay, let's do it," I challenge.

His eyes harden, and I watch him silently accept my challenge. "I might even change my first name. I'm going to be Mr Hyacinth Daisy. Two flowers, done."

"Only if I can be Mrs... uh... I lost it; my name is already a tree," I say with a hint of disappointment.

"I could always change my name to Mr Knight in Blue Scrubs, and you can be Mrs Princess in Distress, how about that?"

I roll my eyes. "Now you're being ridiculous."

"I feel offended, my dear Aspen!"

I chortle. "You're weird!"

He chuckles. "I'm joking. Of course, I want you to take my name, I'd be honoured. But it's your name, Aspen. Do what you want."

"I like the idea of Mrs Aspen Knight."

He grins like the cat that got the cream. He puts the laptop down and gently pulls me onto his lap. "It sounds like everything I've ever dreamed of."

"Please promise me one thing," I ask, teasing his shirt buttons open one by one. The low groan that escapes his mouth is enough for me to carry on. "Never, ever stop being smooth."

"It would be hard not to be smooth around you, my daisy," he whispers. He tucks my hair behind my ears as I drop the fabric of his shirt and bite my lip.

"I can't wait to be Mrs Knight," I say and start tracing the outline of a flower on his chest.

He groans again and lifts me off the sofa, towards the bedroom. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you." 

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