One year later
Molly flung open the door and greeted their visitors with a beaming smile.
‘You look amazing, Natalie.’
The presenter was dressed today in a vivid purple jumpsuit – a bold statement which suited her down to the ground.
‘Thank you, honey. You know me, a shrinking violet.’ She winked, and Molly laughed before turning to give Rachel a hug.
‘Hey sis-in-law.’
Rachel tutted. ‘Not today, I’m working. I hope that brother of mine is all set to talk to us.’
‘You know Ben. He’s chomping at the bit, can’t wait to get in front of the cameras again. Only yesterday he was saying how much he misses that heart-to-camera room. He used to really love spilling his feelings in front of you guys.’
‘My wife’, came Ben’s dry voice from behind her, ‘is talking bollocks.’
Molly turned and gave him a mock glare. ‘My husband is rude.’
‘Oh, this is magic.’ Natalie waved a hand towards the camera crew. ‘We need to get this on film,’ she hissed, before turning back to her with a bright smile. ‘Please, carry on.’
Ben briefly raised his eyes to the ceiling before facing his sister. ‘I blame you.’
‘I’m not going to take responsibility for your wife talking bollocks. I do shoulder some of the responsibility for Molly being your wife.’ Rachel smiled sweetly. ‘But as that was the best thing that’s ever happened to you, I reckon you owe me.’
He heaved out a breath. ‘You know what I meant.’
‘What, you mean you blame me for these guys?’ The two men lugging cameras inside gave a self-conscious wave. ‘You won’t even notice them when we sit down. The pair of you are just having a catch-up chat with Natalie about the last year. You’re our success story, so suck it up bro.’
‘Maya and Marcus are still together,’ he pointed out, then glanced over at Molly. ‘And Duncan and Jasmine are married with a baby.’
She knew Ben had worried when she’d heard the news, but all she’d felt was happiness for Duncan. He’d got what he’d wanted, a wife and family to look after. As she’d gone on to tell Ben, she’d got what she’d always wanted, too. Her soulmate.
‘Duncan and Jasmine didn’t marry on the show,’ Rachel countered, dragging Molly out of her daydream. ‘You’re our golden couple.’
Ben briefly closed his eyes, as if the idea of it pained him.
The cameras were set up in their open plan kitchen/living room/garden annex/study/place they spent all their time. Molly shuffled next to Ben on their corner sofa, and Natalie sat opposite them.
‘So how is married life?’ She asked.
Ben looked at Molly. Expecting his lack of response, she grinned and shook her head. ‘You’re going to answer that.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I used to do all the talking and I think the viewers should see how much you’ve changed.’
‘I haven’t.’
A giggle burst out of her at the look of frustration on his face. Truth was he had a changed, in the only area that counted, the only part of him she’d wanted to change. He talked to her all the time about how much he loved her.
‘Let’s start off easy, Ben.’ Natalie gave him a bright smile. ‘I know it was a year ago now, but how was Hawaii?’
‘Good. A least, what we saw of it.’ He gave Molly a sideways glance, amusement lurking in the hazel eyes she still got lost in.
Amusement and heat, she corrected as a flush crept across her face. ‘Hawaii was amazing,’ she said brightly. ‘We went to Pearl Harbour, swam with turtles, had a helicopter ride over an active volcano and … err…’ Ben raised an eyebrow, giving her that sexy, wryly amused look that never failed to send her pulse soaring. ‘Well, you know, sun, sea and … umm … sand. Lots of sand.’
Laughter chased across Ben’s handsome face and she gave a silent fist bump. Making him laugh was one of her favourite things to do. That and making him gasp, and groan…
‘And how has life been for you since you’ve come back from honeymoon?’ Natalie asked.
Molly again turned to Ben, who shrugged. ‘I answered the first question.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Okay, fine. Well, life’s good, actually. Really, really good.’ She paused and gave Ben another glance. ‘Should we tell them about the business? We should, shouldn’t we?’ Thrilled to have the chance to talk about her second passion, after Ben, she faced Natalie again. ‘We set up this business together called Shabby Chic. The name was actually my idea. I figured it encompasses exactly what we’re trying to do, which is turn shabby items, you know, the clothes and furniture people give away because they’re old, tatty or out of date, and turn them into chic clothes and furniture that everyone wants to buy.’ She glanced back at Ben, saw he was watching her intently, his expression so adoring it brought a lump to her throat.
‘We run it together, mainly from this room actually, because it’s so bright in here, and lovely to look out at the garden. It really helps when you’re trying to be creative, you know? Sorry, am I rambling? Probably I am, but I’m so excited about this business. It’s not just working on something I really love… I mean, upcycling clothes versus selling car parts. It’s like a dream come true.’ She reached to squeeze Ben’s hand. ‘But it’s not just what I’m doing, it’s who I’m doing it with. Working with Ben, his drive, his ambition, it’s incredible. Every day is like an adventure. I’m learning so much from him, but also learning so much about him. About myself, too.’ She laughed. ‘Sorry, I’ve gone off tangent. Where was I? Oh yes, I was saying we run it together. Ben already ran his own business before he met me, so it made sense for us to split our responsibilities so that I’m in charge of our products, you know, what we sell, and he’s in charge of how we sell it.’ She frowned and looked over at him. ‘That’s how we said to explain it, isn’t it?’ She waved a hand at the cameras. ‘But I guess you guys don’t really care about the details. You’re more interested in whether we have rows, but honestly, we’ve found this rhythm.’ She laughed. ‘You know, thinking about it, we probably work well together because we don’t actually see much of each other. In the early days we were both at home because I was making the clothes, but then things took off so we had to employ people to help, and now we have a workshop where we make things, so that’s where I spend most of my time. We’ve branched out into jewellery and we’re starting to make furniture, too.’ She giggled. ‘That was inspired by Ben’s stepladders at our wedding.’
She glanced again at Ben, saw he was still watching her, but now along with the adoration, there was amusement.
‘You let me do all the talking again.’ She raised her hands in the air and looked to Rachel and Natalie. ‘The viewers should hear from him, too, shouldn’t they? You should make him say something.’
Natalie laughed. ‘Molly’s right. How is married life from your perspective, Ben?’
He slid Molly a look, gave a slight shake of his head, but the love in his eyes melted her heart. ‘It’s perfect.’
‘That’s so sweet, Ben.’ Natalie smiled. ‘But can you give us just a few more words?’
He sighed. ‘Look, all people need to know is I love Molly. This marriage didn’t happen because we were taken in by the show and the cameras. It happened despite all that.’ He turned towards her, his gaze riveted on hers. ‘My sister lured me onto the show by telling me I would meet my perfect match. For once, she was right.’
Oh, wow. A lump rose in Molly’s throat. ‘What he said,’ she managed hoarsely, reaching for his hand.
His eyes blazed back at her for a few humming minutes, before he turned back to Natalie. ‘And now we’re done. You guys have interfered enough in our relationship. From now on it’s just Molly and me.’