Dawning (Dysmorphia Series #3)

Finishing Touches

Andrew was waiting at her parent's door, she noticed him before she'd had time to act like she hadn't seen them, it felt too weird now to lapse back into their usual easy way of talking, too much had been said up in her room that couldn't be taken back.

She didn't want to take anything back, she thought back to what Cole had said, the romantic notion would have been for the two of them to skip off into the sunset, she and the twin of the boy she had once loved, but she didn't love Cole in the fierce way she loved Andrew, in the way that made her think that no matter what life through at them this would all end at the altar with the two of them becoming man and wife.

With shaky legs she opened the car envisioning just what married life with Andrew would entail, how everything was going to be alright, she stopped abruptly at the front door just centimetres away from him for once today sparing a thought for her parents who at this still early hour in the morning were probably fast asleep.

"Hi"

Florence played with her engagement ring watching it glint in the early morning sunlight, words had already been exhausted between them and in all honesty she'd expected him to take more time to get back to her, she'd barely been with Cole for an hour.

"I've been driving round and round the past hour just thinking, its strange that as humans we really spend so little time just sitting still and thinking but I thought a lot Flo, about everything and I've come to the conclusion that I've been utterly selfish, I went off when you needed me and then turned around and blamed you for your mixed feelings to be honest given how I left you I should probably be grateful that you didn't act on them, I know that you loved Chase and that your probably beating yourself up right now about some non existent crime you didn't commit but I still love you and hopefully you still love me so what the heck can we just forget the messiness and get married?"

She smiled at him, that was such and Andrew speech.

"Well I'll have to think about that one" she said playfully her heart practically singing, it was all going to be fine she hadn't wrecked it, she was going to be married!

Andrew got down on one knee and she couldn't stop herself from giggling like a moron.

"Florence Elizabeth Clarke please forgive my idiocy and constantly putting my foot in where it isn't concerned as well as jumping to conclusions and do me the honour of marrying me"

"Your such a drama queen, I hope our kids don't get your genes for flamboyance and grand gestures, they'll be such an embarrassment"

She blushed realising what she'd just said, the two of them had never got to that conversation, the one about children it just hadn't come up and now she looked like she'd done something over the top like already pick out their non-existent children's names.

"Well I hope they do get their Mother's wicked sense of humour and beautiful eyes because we don't want them wasted"

Florence could have cried, he was just so very perfect but not perfect at the same time.

"Now let me tell you what's going to happen this month" he took her hand in his warm one.

"This month I am going to come with you on every single remaining tour date, I'll fetch you cups of coffee and massage your aching shoulders and then on the weekends we will wedding plan like there's no tomorrow because I think a certain wedding planner of ours is rather mad, I've taken leave off work for six months you know that and I'm going to spend every single second of it with you"

He raised her hand to his and brushed her knuckles lightly with a kiss that sent a tingle down her spine.

"But Andrew my dear you know what we have to do now?" she raised her eyebrows wickedly.

"What?"

"We have to go inside this second because my Mother is peeking her head round the curtain practically dying at the fact that she hasn't stuffed our faces full of a classic Clarke breakfast never mind the fact that we've eaten, so we go inside, we eat and then we talk tours and wedding speeches"

He smiled at her.

"Where were you then?" he asked as they walked inside hand in hand.

"I was at Oakwood, at the clinic, I actually met Cole, I had to talk to him don't you make that face it isn't like that with us not anymore there were things I had to say that have been left unsaid for way, way too long and the only way to stop this being a threat to our relationship is to make it that way"

Andrew nodded, like he understood but wished she wasn't being quite so reasonable about the matter.

"Andy! Flo sweetheart me and your Father have been waiting for you two to come home with baited breath, we heard a bit of a row in the morning is everything okay loves?"

Florence's Mother was the only person in the world who called Andrew Andy, this was mostly because he didn't allow anyone to give him nicknames and shot them a scowl refusing to answer to the nickname if someone dared to try.

For the first time she realised how sweet it was that he didn't protest when her Mother called him Andy, that was what love was making sacrifices that didn't need to be made because you cared about someone and the people they in turn loved enough.

She squeezed his hand extra tight for that and he squeezed her back in turn.

The world revolved round the way it was meant to, at least until that evening, the four of them ate dinner together, laughed and genuinely basked in the fact that a wedding was due.

What they didn't know at least then was that like most of the happiness in Florence's life, this happiness would be short-lived...