LAUGHING, ROMAN SNAPPED A photo of Milly with his phone. His girl was covered in a fine dusting of icing sugar, squealing excitedly as she brandished a wooden spoon in the air like a flag. Blobs of chocolate icing hit the kitchen bench, the tiled floor and even Milly’s blonde head.
‘Oh-oh...’ Roman said, scooping Milly up and transporting her to the sink where he managed to de-bulk the worst of the cake ingredients from his daughter while she unsuspectingly slashed the wooden spoon through the stream of warm water.
‘Tatínek is going to be in trouble with Mummy. Unless we can clean up all of this mess before she gets out of the bath.’
Roman cherished every second with his girls, the ordinary and extraordinary. They enabled him to reflect on how lucky he was to have the love he’d found with his two families, strengthened his vow never to take any moment for granted.
‘Clean what up?’ Sadie said from the hallway as she entered the decimated kitchen, her smile, as always, brightening his day.
‘Just a little baking detritus,’ Roman said, placing their toddler on her own two feet so he could wrap his arm around Sadie’s waist and kiss her as thoroughly as possible while keeping one eye on Milly.
With a toddler awake and exploring, couple moments were rare. But in the year or so they’d been together, and with the help of Grace and both sets of grandparents, they’d somehow managed to carve out a little grown-up time among all the wonderfully normal everyday family moments.
‘What did you bake?’ Sadie said a little breathlessly, her eyes scanning the cluttered counter where he’d used every single bowl and utensil they owned.
‘A cake!’ Roman once more picked up Milly and, with a flourish, whisked off the tea towel covering their creation. ‘Ta-da.’
Sadie chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand as she tried to hide her laughter.
‘What?’ Roman said, admiring the lopsided and partially burned cake. ‘So you think it’s funny, huh?’
Impatient, he’d put the butter-cream icing on too soon while the cake had still been warm and it was starting to melt, but hopefully it would still taste good.
Slinging his arm around Sadie’s shoulder, he drew her close, calculating the hours until Milly’s bedtime when he and Sadie could be alone.
‘Well, I mean, it’s not that funny,’ Sadie said, reaching up to kiss Milly’s floury cheek. ‘It has a certain charm... I mean...if you like burned cake that is, which fortunately I do, so that’s good.’
‘Oh-oh.’ Roman rounded his eyes at Milly. ‘Mummy’s doing the nervous-chatter thing.’
Because he couldn’t be this close to Sadie and not kiss her, he snagged her lips, brushing them with his in a tease, a promise of more to come.
‘What are we celebrating?’ Sadie asked breathlessly, staring up at him with the passion that was never far away when they were together.
‘Nothing in particular,’ he said, dipping his finger in the icing and dabbing it first on Milly’s nose and then on Sadie’s, the sound of their laughter squeezing another drop of love from his heart. ‘Just a celebration of us three, and how lucky we are to have each other.’
Sadie sobered, her shining eyes dipping to his mouth just before she gripped his face and kissed him again, this time winding her arms around his neck and pressing her body to his restlessly.
‘I love you,’ she said, the look she shot him full of heat and promise.
‘I love you too,’ he said, scooping his arm around her waist, so she couldn’t escape, ‘which is why I think you should marry me.’
He ignored Sadie’s shocked gasp and turned to Milly. ‘You think Mummy should marry me too, don’t you?’
Milly garbled something unintelligible, waving her wooden spoon in agreement.
‘See,’ he said, facing Sadie once more. ‘She agrees.’
Placing Milly on the floor, he got down on one knee and took Sadie’s hand. ‘Sadie, it’s time to promise we’ll be together for ever...you, me and Milly. Will you marry me?’
Laughing through her tears, Sadie kneeled on the floor in front of him, throwing her arms around his shoulders. ‘Yes, I will.’
She kissed him, hugged Milly and then kissed him again.
There was flour on the floor, a cupboard spilling out pots and pans. Not the most romantic setting for a proposal, but, for Roman, it was perfect. And he’d make it up to Sadie later, when they were alone.
Roman gripped Sadie’s waist and pulled her close, holding both his girls. ‘I’d say that was something worth celebrating, wouldn’t you?’
Sadie rested her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh. ‘Absolutely. Every day with you is worth celebrating.’
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from JC Harroway
Phoebe’s Baby Bombshell
Breaking the Single Mom’s Rules
Tempted by the Rebel Surgeon
How to Resist the Single Dad
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Bound by Their Pregnancy Surprise by Louisa Heaton.