Three Minutes to Happiness (19 page)
Read Three Minutes to Happiness Online
Authors: Sally Clements
Tags: #Romance, #Romantic Comedy, #Contemporary Fiction, #Literature & Fiction, #Contemporary
The temptation to haul her into his arms and kiss her hard was almost too strong to resist. Finn clenched his hands into fists and resisted. She knew he loved her. Knew he wanted more. If he gave in to the urges burning through his body, it didn’t change anything. Didn’t stop exactly the same thing happening again, tonight, or tomorrow.
“Finn.” She laid a hand on his chest.
“We should talk.” He stepped away, and sat on the nearest armchair. “You walked out on me, Val.”
Val’s hands clasped together. “Yes. I did.” She swallowed a large mouthful of wine. “I ran. I couldn’t believe you said what you said. And when all your family applauded…”
“They’re pretty irrepressible.”
“I thought I didn’t want to be in a relationship with anyone after my marriage went bad. Since then, I’ve felt that love is just an illusion, something that doesn’t last.” She took a step closer to him. “I don’t think that anymore.”
Hope leapt in Finn’s chest. He chose his words carefully. Had to be sure. “What changed?”
A tiny smile. “Everything. I saw my mother. Met her fiancé, and realized that love is possible, even under the most unlikely circumstances. I thought about me. About you. About what my life would be like without you in it. And I didn’t like it.” She stepped closer, toe to toe with him. “I know you must be angry. I know I humiliated you, running off the way I did. But I’d like another chance, because the truth is, I love you too. Too much to say goodbye.”
Finally.
Finn reached for her, jerked her down onto his knee and kissed her. Till they both saw stars.
Chapter Twenty
The bride looked beautiful.
Val fired off a bevy of shots as April stepped from the car, a vision in apricot silk. Not for the first time, she marveled at April’s skill. She’d made her own wedding dress, and gorgeous dresses for her bridesmaids, Amy and two of April’s oldest friends, Marie and Eliza.
When Val had agreed to photograph April and Matthew’s wedding, she’d never dreamed she would be one of the guests as well as the photographer.
The past three weeks had passed in a whirl. Both she and Maggie had moved out of the flat, and she’d sublet it to Sorcha and a female friend from college.
With the shackles off their relationship, Val had moved in with Finn, and had never been happier in her entire life. “I’ll go ahead, and get set up.” She squeezed April’s hand. “You look beautiful.”
Val hurried into the registry office. The room was plain, but had been transformed with a flower-shop’s worth of blooms, organized by Ellie. “It may not be a church, but it damn well will be beautiful,” she’d announced earlier that morning as she filled vases. Val hadn’t expected the warm welcome she’d received when she walked back into Finn’s parents’ house. She thought they’d be cautious, guarded. But their welcome was warm and heartfelt.
“Hey,” Finn broke away from the clutch of gorgeous brothers as she walked into the room. “Is she here?”
Val nodded. “She is. Better take your position.”
“She can’t look as beautiful as you do.” His arm snaked around her waist possessively. He pulled her close and kissed her. “No-one can hold a candle to my Val.”
The temptation to stay in his arms was strong, but she had a job to do. “Hold that thought.” She stepped back. Pointed the camera at him. “And smile for me.”
*****
April did look beautiful, but in Finn’s eyes there was no-one there as lovely as Val. He hadn’t thought it would be possible to love someone as much as he loved her, hadn’t anticipated that the feeling could grow, would swell to such epic proportions that she was all he wanted every morning, every night.
He watched her as she worked. At the wedding, and at the reception afterwards. And when she finally put the camera down, and joined him at the top table for the speeches, he covered her hand with his.
Matthew and April’s happiness was plain for all to see. They both had all their family at the wedding, wishing them well for their future. Finn slipped a hand into his pocket. His fingers curled around the small blue velvet box he’d put there this morning. Now was the time to celebrate his brother’s happiness. He wouldn’t make the mistake of proposing in front of everyone, but later, when they were alone…
“What are you thinking about?” Val whispered.
“Nothing much.” When in reality, it was everything.
The speeches seemed to go on forever—but knowing every speaker so intimately made them enjoyable. When at last they were over, there was the dancing to look forward to. The last speaker sat down. Then Val unlinked her hand from his and stood.
“I’d like to say something.”
Finn stared.
The room quieted. Every eye in the place seemed to be on Val.
“A few weeks ago…” She twisted her hands in the way she did when she was nervous. “Finn made a declaration to me in front of many of you, and I responded by running away.” She looked pink and flustered. He reached for her hand.
She gripped it hard, and looked down at him gratefully. “That night was pretty awful, to be honest. I can only imagine how Finn must have felt.” Her mouth curved into a smile. “If this goes bad, I deserve it.”
A murmur rippled around the room. Val swiveled, so she was facing Finn. “Could you stand up?”
Happiness filled Finn’s chest as he got to his feet.
She wasn’t going to…not in front of everybody.
“Finn Logan.” Val stared into his eyes. “Will you marry me?”
In the silence, you could hear a pin drop. Or a heart beat.
He couldn’t resist. “No ring?”
She frowned. “I…”
Finn reached into his pocket, pulled out the box, and opened it.
Val gasped, and the room burst into applause as he got down on one knee and slipped the ring on her finger. “Damn right, I will.”
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Other Books by Sally Clements
Runaway Groom (The Logan Series, Book 1)
Blaze (A Minxes of Romance anthology)
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