“Honey, I’m home.”
My heart starts beating madly as I prepare to tell Matthew something I can’t take back when I’ve said it. I’ve decided to tell him I’m pregnant and pretend it’s his. It may be, anyway, so it’s only a half-lie and I tell myself this is for the best all round.
Fixing a smile on my face to hide how nervous I am, I go in search of him and, on seeing him, run into his arms.
“I missed you.”
He hugs me tightly and says softly, “I missed you so much. I can’t wait for Rome.”
I snuggle into him and say in a muffled voice. “I have some news.”
He pulls back and looks at me quizzically as I smile. “I’m not sure how you’re going to take this, but I’m… we’re - pregnant.”
The look on his face causes me to break down because he cannot disguise the pure joy that breaks out across his face. He shouts, “Pregnant! Oh my god, we’re going to have a baby, I can’t believe it.”
He lifts me up and laughs loudly and I giggle along with him and my heart settles. Yes, Matthew is my baby’s father. I just know it. He has to be.
He puts me down and kisses me so passionately I melt against him. He strokes my hair and whispers, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making me the happiest man alive. I love you Venetia, so much it hurts.”
The tears fall as I stutter, “I love you more. I don’t deserve you and know you will make a fantastic father to our baby.”
He wipes the tears away with his fingers and kisses each one of my eyelids before planting another toe curler on my lips, then he groans. “Must we go out tonight?”
Laughing, I drag him towards the kitchen where his supper is waiting and say firmly, “Yes, we do. We owe it to Fleur but don’t worry, we have Rome where it will be just the three of us.”
I laugh at the broad grin that breaks across his face as he places his hand on my stomach. “Our baby. How I love the sound of that.”
Some moments in life are more treasured than most and this is one I want to wrap in that special place in my heart where the sweetest memories live and then revisit it forever. That special moment when life is perfect in every way and the future is bright and promising. This is our moment when everything comes right and I promise to spend my life making this wonderful man happy. It may have been a bumpy road getting here, but I made it and with the right man alongside me. I am quite emotional as I say with rare emotion, “I really love you, Matthew Stanmore.”
His eyes soften and he pulls me close again and whispers against my lips, “I love you more, Mrs Stanmore.”
As tempting as it is to forget about going to Fleur’s party, I resign myself to getting ready and spending a few hours making polite conversation with my friends. Above all, I’m dreading seeing Anthony there and wonder how things will be between us. I’m also curious to see what Fleur’s been doing while she’s been away and long to hear more details of Miranda’s trip to New York.
So just before eight o’clock, we head across the road and I couldn’t be happier than walking with the man I love beside me. Some may call this the calm before the storm. Some storms you are warned are coming and some are unexpected, destructive and life-changing and to be honest, I should have done, but I never saw this one coming.