Author's note: I can't believe that so many of you have stuck with me on this story which has gone on for so many pages! Thank you to all of you and especially those of you who have kindly taken the time to leave comments. Thanks and credit are due to the wonderful Hebe Dotson and Anne Baker who tirelessly correct my mistakes and improve my writing – I could not have done it without you two special ladies – any errors that remain, are mine.

  

No Half Measures

by Jenny Walker

© 2003

PART 24

  

CHAPTER 47

He grinned shyly at me. "Hey you," he said softly.

I was almost annoyed at the way my body betrayed me: I felt myself flush and my pulse quicken at the sound of his voice.

"What are you doing here?" I repeated.

He shrugged. "I came to see you. Can I come in?"

I was so flustered by this unexpected turn of events that I didn't know what to do or say. "Uhh… yes, of course."

I opened the door, he followed me in and set his suitcase down. He stood just inside the doorway and smiled at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You're looking great."

I inclined my head. "I feel great." It was true – with the exercise of skiing and the fresh outdoor air, I felt healthier than I had for a long time. "Whereas you? You look exhausted, Jon."

He grinned. "Yeah, I've been travelling all day."

"How long were you waiting there for me?"

"About three hours or so."

"Jon! You must be freezing. Let me get the kettle on. You must be starving too…"

"Cara, no," he gently interrupted.

I turned back to face him with the confusion evident on my face. "But…"

He shook his head. "All that can wait. There's something that can't wait."

"I don't understand…"

He pointed to the sofa. "Can we talk?"

He took his coat off and I did likewise. After lighting the gas fire and slipping off my boots, I joined him on the sofa. I had this horrible feeling that he had come all this way to apologise for the situation I had found him in. I had purposefully wanted to avoid such an encounter and that was why I had gone to great lengths to keep my whereabouts a secret. How had he found out? I had been trying to put Jon out of my mind for weeks and the last thing I needed was for him to bring all the buried pain to the surface again.

He was sitting and staring at me in silence. I said, "You wanted to talk?"

He nodded thoughtfully and then sat forward. "Cara, when we last saw each other, you told me something very important." He paused. "Do you still love me?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I wasn't sure I could handle a post mortem of my feelings or explain how hard it had been to try to get over them.

"Jon, I don't think there's any point going over old…"

I stopped with shock as he leant forward and gently kissed me fully on the lips. After about ten seconds, he broke the kiss and sat back. He looked at me with a strange intensity in his eyes.

"Jon, I… I don't understand." I raised my hand involuntarily to my lips. Again my body had betrayed me: the rush of adrenaline that had immediately coursed through my body at his touch was unbelievable. I was almost shaking.

He smiled. "Cara, I love you so much that it scares me witless."

I blinked several times and wondered if I had heard him correctly. My breathing became irregular and I suddenly felt very warm. "What? What did you say?" I asked, not wanting to believe it yet.

He smiled gently and slowly pulled me closer to him until his arm was around my shoulders. "I'm head over heels in love with you. I've never felt this way before."

I looked up at him with a mixture of confusion and anticipation. I was about to ask one of the million questions that had poured into my mind when he gently placed his finger on my lips. "Shush… please answer me one question before I say anything more. Do you still love me?"

The answer that I had been trying to instil within myself got thrown out the window forever as I looked into his piercing blue eyes. "Yes, Jon," I said in a croaky voice. "I love you."

His eyes closed momentarily and a blissful smile appeared on his face. "Thank God," he murmured. He lowered his lips to mine again and they barely brushed together yet it felt like thousands of volts of electricity were coursing between us.

We held that position for a few minutes, neither of us seeming to want to move. Eventually, Jon lifted his head and tenderly stroked my cheek.

"I don't understand…" I began hesitantly.

Jon smiled. "I think we both have a lot of explaining to do. Probably more so on my side. Shall I go first?"

I nodded and couldn't tear my eyes from his face. I curled my legs up underneath myself and leaned up against him as his arm pulled me closer.

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to start right from the beginning and tell you everything. No more secrets, no more pretence." He looked down at me. "When I first met you, as Cara, I was blown away. I've always liked pretty girls, but, when I first saw you, there was something more. There was this shy, vulnerable appearance that you projected. I can now understand why, but I found it incredibly attractive. Then, when you started to play and sing, I couldn't believe my luck. Here was this lovely girl who played great music and who had a killer voice. I mean, I'm talking my dream girl here."

I laughed and gently slapped a hand against his chest. "Jon!" I protested with embarrassment.

He shook his head. "No, I mean it. Perhaps now you can now understand the intensity of my reaction when I… realised who you were." He sighed. "I felt stupid, deluded and… disappointed." He paused and ran a hand through his hair. "I was determined to have nothing to do with your band."

"What made you change your mind?" I asked softly.

He smiled. "You did. That next day when I met you in town for coffee, I was all set to tell you that I didn't want to be a part of it. When I saw you again, I changed my mind. I don't know why, but I knew that I wanted to spend time with you. Oh, I pretended to myself that it was just the music. I couldn't admit to it being anything else. You know that I was awkward around you for quite a while, but then we just seemed to get to know each other better and it was like becoming friends again. I was trying to deny this deep attraction that I had for you as I couldn't deal with it, but the more time I spent with you, the more I wanted to be with you."

"I had no idea," I murmured.

He shrugged. "I wasn't exactly broadcasting it. So I thought anyway, but then the guys, Brian in particular, kept telling me how good you and I would be together. He kept asking if I felt anything for you. I kept denying it, but I knew that he wasn't buying it." He sighed. "So, I thought I'd try and show them - and myself - that there was nothing doing."

"Tanya?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I liked the girl and I knew that she had been keen on me for a while. I figured that I'd give it a go and see what happened." He paused again. "There was no spark though. I enjoyed her company, but she didn't set my world on fire. Do you want to know the best night I had while going out with Tanya?"

I screwed my face up. "I'm not sure I want to hear details of what you two…"

He shook his head and interrupted. "It was the night you and I went to the 'Stealing Time' concert."

My eyes widened and I murmured, "Oh…"

He grinned. "Yeah, I knew things weren't right between me and Tanya and it sort of came to a head that night when Noel… you know. I told her that I wasn't going to Paris, as I had to make sure you were going to be alright. She probably knew what I was feeling better than I did. She told me to stay with you, as you were obviously the one I wanted. I told myself she was just being jealous."

He didn't speak for a few seconds and I eventually prompted. "And?"

He looked back down at me. "Can you bear to hear me talk about Yosemite?"

I nodded. "I have to hear it."

He smiled. "Those two days we spent together, until… well until you know what, they were two of the best days I've ever had. I really enjoyed myself and being with you just felt right. I had no idea what you thought or felt, but I was just happy to enjoy myself. That day hiking to Sentinel Dome was fantastic. There I was with, in my opinion, the prettiest girl in the country and we seemed to be getting on great. I just forgot about…" He shrugged. "Anyway, I loved the closeness of carrying you after you hurt your ankle…"

"And looking down the front of my blouse at my breasts," I interrupted with a twinkle in my eye.

He laughed and blushed. "I still can't believe that you noticed. Well, yes, that too – it just felt so intimate. Then, when we ended up in the room together and you came out of the bathroom, I thought you looked so beautiful, so perfect… I couldn't stop myself from kissing you. I don't know if you felt it, but when we kissed… I can't describe the feeling."

"I felt it too," I said softly.

He nodded and then looked away. "Then I had to go and spoil it. I started thinking and my mind told me that I couldn't do what I was doing… and it all went wrong. I'm so sorry, Cara."

"It was a long time ago."

"I lay awake most of that night and felt like the most miserable creature on earth. This beautiful woman that I had such feelings for was lying there crying herself to sleep because of my stupid hang-ups. I decided to set things right the next morning. When I woke, you weren't there. I was so exhausted when I eventually did get to sleep, that I hadn't heard you get up. When you came to breakfast, I was going to tell you…"

"Tell me what?" I asked with a feeling of dread in my stomach.

"I was going to tell you that I had been wrong and that I thought I loved you. I was going to tell you that I couldn't get my mind round everything at that point, but that was the way I felt."

"Heavens above," I said. "Then I had to go and put my foot in it."

He inclined his head. "After what you said, I thought that maybe I had read too much into it. After all, it had been an emotional situation. So I just tried to put it behind me." He stroked my cheek again. "I'm presuming - with what you told me a few weeks back - that the words you said over that breakfast time weren't quite correct?"

I groaned. "Jon, they couldn't have been further from the truth."

"I've done a lot of talking. Do you want to tell me some of your side now?"

I nodded and thought for a moment after beginning. "Back at the start, I didn't have any strong feelings for you; I just wanted you in the band. I can't really pinpoint a moment when I realised that I had these feelings – they just sort of crept up on me and before I knew it, I was falling for you. Others noticed it too: Jools and Laura. Laura made me admit that I was attracted to you and I think she and Brian were both trying to play cupid with us. I kept trying to deny what I was feeling as I knew there was no future in it. I thought that there was no way you would feel the same for me." I smiled bashfully. "However, I was gutted when you told me about Tanya."

"What about Yosemite from your point of view?" he prompted gently.

I smiled. "Jon, I don't think I've ever been as happy as I was during those two days we spent together. Well, maybe until now…" I grinned and bit my lip as I felt myself redden. His hand was gently brushing my hair back from my face and it was all I could do to concentrate on keeping my train of thought from derailing.

"Where was I? Oh yes, Yosemite. I loved it. I really did. I have to admit I was overjoyed when I realised that it was just going to be you and me away together. I don't know what I thought was going to happen, but it wasn't about thinking too much, it was about feeling – and it felt good. Hurting my ankle was strangely one of the best things that happened. I loved how it felt when you held me close… and when you carried me. I didn't fake it, but with hindsight, if I hadn't hurt my ankle, it would have been worth faking it!"

He laughed and teased, "I did wonder if you were putting it on, but I figured that even you weren't clever enough to make your ankle swell by itself."

I grinned up at him and then got serious again. "When you kissed me…" I paused for a few moments and took a deep breath. I looked away and murmured, "I couldn't believe how it felt. I didn't know I could feel so… excited?" I hesitated. "I was hurt by what you said, but when I thought about it, I was probably also annoyed with myself. How could I think you would want me? Who did I think I was fooling?"

"Cara, I'm so sorry…"

I shook my head. "No, we were both to blame. To think that I concocted that cock and bull story about it not meaning anything and trying to pass it off as us acting irresponsibly in the heat of the moment? When the truth was that I knew I was falling in love with you. If only I'd let you speak first…"

He shrugged. "You weren't to know. I'd given you every indication that I didn't want you."

We sat there without speaking for a few minutes. The only sound was the gentle hissing of the gas fire. He pulled me closer to him and kissed the top of my head. "I'll go on, shall I?" he asked.

I nodded and snuggled in close.

"I felt miserable after the trip. I really did. I knew I had to try and get over it and put you out of my mind, but it wasn't that easy. I mean, every time we played 'Forgotten How to Love' I kept asking myself why you had written that song at that time. I wondered if was about me, then told myself to stop being so stupid."

"It was about you," I confessed. "Of course it was about you. So was 'Simply Say' by the way."

That surprised him and he smiled. "Really? You wrote that about me?"

I smiled shyly and nodded. "Yeah, although I probably pretended to myself that it wasn't about you."

He grinned at me for a few moments before continuing, "Anyway, I was trying to get you out of my head without much success. Then I met Simone." He winced. "Not one of my better ideas. I was so messed up. When I told you about her, on the roof of the Sony building, I was so hoping that you'd be annoyed, that you'd give me some sign that you had feelings for me."

I sighed. "We've been fools. I felt like dying when you told me, but what could I do? I couldn't tell you how I felt as I thought you would think I was repulsive or something for thinking you would be interested in me."

He squeezed me tight and in a voice that sounded pained said, "I could never find you repulsive."

I swallowed hard and felt a solitary tear escape my eye. Jon noticed and tenderly wiped it away with his hand. I found my composure. "I was to blame too. I was telling myself that I wanted to get past you and get on with things. That was supposedly my reasoning for going out with Charlie. I did like him and did enjoy his company, but deep down I knew that I didn't feel for him… what I felt for you." I paused. "You had every right to be annoyed with me. I thought you believed that it was sick that there was me, given who I was, hooking up with your cousin."

Jon laughed softly. "It wasn't that – it was jealousy, pure and simple. At your Christmas party when I saw him kiss you after I had kissed Simone, I just wished that it was you I was kissing. I know I probably sounded like an ignorant oaf when I confronted you about it in America."

I grinned ruefully. "And I was a total bitch to you."

We both paused for a moment.

"When you were kidnapped…" he began hesitantly. He shuddered. "It was like my world was falling in. The thought of anything bad happening to you made me realise that there was no way I was going to get over you. I didn't sleep a wink until I knew you were safe. If I could have, I would have torn the head off anyone who tried to hurt you." He sighed. "Then when you were back home, I kept waiting to see if there was any possibility of trying to tell you how I felt. I knew that you needed time to get over all that had happened. Then Jools told me to give you space and I thought that it was your way of letting me know that you didn't want me around."

"Oh no," I exclaimed. "I needed the time to finally admit to myself how much I felt for you and to decide what to do about it."

He shrugged. "I had no idea. I didn't even know that you and Charlie had broken up until after you came by my place that night. For all I knew, you two were getting along like a house on fire."

"That night…" I began sombrely.

"Yeah," he interrupted. "I could have killed myself." He paused and rubbed his eyes hard. "I was such a fool." He shook his head. "You have to understand that I thought there was no hope for us and I felt as if I was dying inside. You have to believe me when I tell you this next part." He sat there and chewed his lip, looking miserable.

I looked up at him with concern. I raised a hand up and gently stroked his cheek. "Tell me."

He blinked a few times and looked down at me. "I… I was really messed up. I met this girl in a bar, I met her just that night and I invited her back to my place. It was nothing; it was pitiful. I was just trying to prove to myself that I could still feel… that I was still alive…"

I looked away. "You slept with her." I felt hollow inside.

"No!" he exclaimed strongly. He gently lifted my face to look at him. "No," he said more softly. With pain in his voice he continued, "You have to believe me when I tell you this. I did not sleep with her." He grimaced, "I probably would have if you hadn't called round when you did." He sighed. "I haven't slept with a woman since… since I met you." He shrugged. "I just haven't wanted to. When you arrived at my door, I had a bad feeling. When you told me that you loved me, I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Here was the girl I loved telling me that she was in love with me and didn't I have some tramp in my bedroom?"

He shook his head sadly. "I ran out into the street after you and chased your car until I couldn't run any further. When I got back to my house, the girl had left." He took a deep breath. "I called at your house the next morning, but Gareth said you had gone away. I called everyone: Jools, Claire, Laura, Sony – anyone I could think of. No one seemed to know where you were. I thought maybe you had gone away for a while to get over things… but the weeks passed." He closed his eyes. "I felt like giving up on everything."

I pulled his hand to my mouth and kissed it gently. "I'm sorry, Jon, I'm so sorry. When I saw her in your flat… in your bedroom… I thought I was a stupid half-girl who had delusions that she could be loved…"

He turned my face to his and kissed me with passion. When he broke the kiss I gasped for air. "What…?"

He looked deep into my eyes. "You are not any sort of half-girl. Don't ever say that. Yes, I've been a fool and I couldn't seem to get over my stupid hang-ups, but I have now. I'm not going to pretend that I definitely won't ever have any difficulties, but one thing I know is that I love you and I want to be with you… always."

I couldn't hold it back any longer and I felt tears roll down my face. "Oh Jon, I love you so much…"

We kissed again and I slid round onto his lap so that I was facing him. I have no idea how long we kissed. Months of denied passion were bursting forth between us. I began to unbutton his shirt and gently kiss his wonderful strong chest. I felt his hand tentatively slide up my leg and I smiled at him encouragingly. His hand began to caress my backside and I kissed his neck, sliding the shirt from his shoulders.

He slowly raised his hand to my breasts and raised an eyebrow questioningly. I bit my lip and smiled. I nodded to him and he tenderly stroked them. I closed my eyes and revelled in the sensations that he was causing within me. He slowly began to unbutton my blouse and I nodded for him to continue. I slipped it off and smiled shyly as he looked at me.

He took a deep breath. "You're beautiful."

"Take my bra off… if you want," I said bashfully.

"Do I want?" he asked with a smile. He reached round behind me and had difficulty unclasping it.

"You're out of practice," I said teasingly as I reached round myself.

"I plan to get a lot more soon," he said with a grin.

I unclasped my bra and let it fall from my shoulders. His breathing was deep and slow as my breasts came free from the cups. His hand was shaking as he lifted it to gently caress my bosom. I closed my eyes and it took all my self-control to keep me from moaning at his touch.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this," he said softly.

I grinned. "Probably for as long as I've been wanting you to do it."

He laughed and leant forward and began to plant kisses on my breasts. I grabbed his head and cradled it in my hands, pulling him closer into my bosom. When I felt his tongue begin to encircle my engorged nipples, I let out a little squeal. I pulled his face from my cleavage and began to kiss him forcefully. Our tongues entwined together as we explored each other's mouths. We broke for air and Jon smiled at me and then dropped his eyes from my gaze.

"What is it?" I asked breathlessly.

He looked back up at me. "Can I take you to the… bedroom?"

I bit my lip and then nodded hurriedly. He picked me up in his arms and I pointed towards the master bedroom. He carried me in, kissing me as he did so, and gently deposited me on the bed. He slowly began to roll down my tights and then unbuttoned my skirt and slid it off me. I suddenly realised that I hadn't told him about my reason for being in America. Perhaps he had been told, but surely he would have mentioned it. I didn't want to shock him like that so I sat up and unbuttoned his jeans and urged him to slide them off. I pushed him down on the bed and eyed the noticeable bulge in his shorts.

"Is that for me?" I asked with a coy grin.

"Completely," he said, mirroring my grin.

I lowered my hand and gently caressed him through his shorts. I saw him bite his lip. I slipped my hand into his waistband and began to slide the shorts down. He grabbed my hand. "You don't have to do this if you…"

"I want to," I interrupted before he could finish. "You have no idea how much I want to."

He smiled and let go of my hand. I slid his shorts off and looked at him with awe. I gently began to touch him and from the sounds he was making, I knew that I was having some effect on him. I felt my love for him welling up inside me and my desire was driving me to do what I did next. I lowered my head and kissed his manhood.

"Cara," he said in a ragged voice, "I don't want you to do anything you don't want t…uhhhhhh."

His voice trailed off as I slipped my mouth over his hardness and gently began to pleasure him. I was moved by my love for him and my desire to please him and before long, he was driven over the edge and he cried out as he came.

I tenderly cleaned him up and then slid up to lie beside him. He looked over at me with the most intense look I have ever seen. "God, how I love you," he said breathlessly. "I hope that wasn't…"

"It was incredible," I said. "I wanted to do it and it won't be the last time."

It was like I had jolted him with a cattle prod as he jumped at my words. He gently rolled me onto my back and he sat up. He pushed the hair back from my face. "You have gorgeous hair," he murmured. "Your face is so beautiful and your lips so kissable." He traced his hand along my neck and stroked my breasts. "Your breasts are just awesome."

I grinned shyly. "You don't think they're too big?"

He laughed softly and raised an eyebrow. "Do you hear me complaining?" He shook his head and traced his hand lower. He tweaked my belly bar and smiled with a twinkle in his eye.

"You don't like it?" I asked. "I can take it out…"

"I love it," he said. "I think it is very sexy."

I smiled and shyly asked. "You think I'm sexy?"

He chuckled and tenderly kissed me full on the lips. "Do you even have to ask?" He kissed me again. "I couldn't imagine finding anyone as sexy as you, lover." He looked down at my flat crotch and smiled lovingly at me. "Cara, I want to take off your panties and I want you to remove your chastity belt."

"Jon, I…"

"Shush," he said gently. "I can handle this. I can."

"No, Jon, you don't understand. I'm not wearing my chastity belt."

His eyebrows shot upwards and he looked at me questioningly and then looked again at my flat crotch. I was about to try to explain but he just put a finger to my mouth and then he slowly slid my panties from me. When he saw what lay beneath his mouth dropped open and he just sat there staring.

"I was trying to tell you…"

"That's why you came to America," he said in a dazed-sounding voice.

"Yes." I looked at him as he sat there almost dumbstruck. "I hope… I hope… this doesn't change things…"

He looked down at me and blinked. He smiled. "Change things? Of course it does." When he saw my worried expression he quickly added, "For the better of course."

He lay down beside me and took my face in his hands. "Cara, I want you to know that I love you with all my heart and I was going to take you as you were. I had no idea…" He sighed. "But this… this is incredible. You're sure about what you've done?"

I laughed. "It's a little late now to ask that." I paused and looked at him fondly. "Yes, I'm sure. I did this for me. I know who I am and this was the logical step. It was for my own benefit." I paused and grinned. "Although, I'm happy if you also happen to benefit from it."

His face broke into a grin and he laughed as he kissed me on the nose. He stared into my eyes. "Cara, can I… touch you?"

I smiled nervously and nodded. "Yes, I'd like that, but I'm not ready for… you know."

He nodded. "I understand."

He lay beside me and I felt his hand slowly slide over my stomach and move lower down. I gasped as he touched me for the first time. He moistened his fingers in his mouth and then gently began to caress me.

"Is that OK?" he asked gently.

"Oh, yes," I murmured.

He continued to lovingly stroke me and then began to probe a little deeper. Up until that time, I had found the sensations associated with the necessary dilations to be quite unpleasant. This was different. This was the touch of my lover.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked tentatively and I knew what he was asking.

"P-please do," I stammered.

He slid down and lowered his head to plant kisses along my inner thighs. When I felt his tongue begin to explore my new womanhood, I gasped aloud and he stopped. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No, no, no!" I exclaimed.

He grinned and continued to softly lick and kiss me. The feelings were indescribable. I'm not saying that I was able to climax, but I hadn't had such stimulation for a long time. Perhaps ever.

After a while, I pulled his head up gently. "I'm not going to make it this time, lover," I said softly.

He grinned and slid up my body, planting kisses all the way up to my face. "Practice will make perfect," he said with a wink. He shivered. "It's cold in here, isn't it?"

I smiled. "Yes, and you look tired." I paused. "What do you say to getting under the covers and snuggling together? Maybe get some sleep?"

He smiled dreamily. "Sounds like a wonderful idea."

We shimmied under the covers and lay there in each other's arms contentedly.

"I can't believe this is really happening," I murmured.

"Believe it, my darling," he said softly as he gently kissed the top of my head. "I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep. Having you beside me is just so perfect."

Of course, given his exhaustion, he was asleep within minutes. I didn't mind. I smiled to myself, as I lay there in the darkness, his arms holding me close.

----------*----------

I woke first the next morning and initially panicked that it had all been a glorious dream. The gentle sounds of Jon's breathing assured me that it was for real. I looked over at him as he slept peacefully and I couldn't get the smile from my face.

'He loves me,' I thought.

Trying not to wake him, I gently slipped out of bed and pulled on my dressing gown. I slid my feet into my slippers and crept out of the room. I figured that he would be hungry when he woke up. I had no idea when he had last eaten and, with events having overtaken us the previous night, I guess food hadn't seemed that important.

I took some bacon from the fridge and started to fry it up. I was beginning to scramble some eggs when I felt strong arms slide around my waist and lips kissing the back of my neck. I squirmed and smiled. "Jon, that tickles."

He whirled me around and kissed me firmly on the lips. He grinned. "I don't know what's better. Waking up to a sight as beautiful as you, or a smell like that bacon."

I laughed and gently poked him. "Hey!"

He grinned and tenderly kissed me again. "Forget that. Stuff the bacon and come back to bed with me."

I chuckled and fought him off. "Now, now. I'm sure you're starving. When did you last eat?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea what time it is, what day it is and I'm not exactly sure where I am. Yeah, I am rather hungry though."

I was hungry too and we both tucked into a hearty breakfast.

"Any regrets?" I cautiously asked when we were finished.

He smiled and grabbed my hand. "Only that we didn't get together sooner."

I grinned. "We've been fools for months."

"Doesn't matter now," he said. "We're together and that's the way I plan on keeping it."

I looked into his eyes. "You mean that?" I said breathlessly.

He gave a half-smile. "Cara, I already know that I can't live without you. I'll be with you for as long as you'll have me."

I couldn't keep the Cheshire Cat grin from my face. "You'd better plan on being around a long time then, mister."

He leant across the table and gently kissed me.

I knew there was something I had to tell him. "Jon… about last night?"

"Yes?"

"I know that we were quite intimate…"

"I'd say!" he said with a smile.

I smiled nervously. "I've been thinking about a lot of things recently and I don't want you to take this the wrong way."

He moved round beside me and put his arm around me. "What is it, Cara?"

I looked up at him shyly. "I've been changing a lot recently and one of the things that has changed in my life is the way that I want to live it." I went on to tell him the full story about my kidnapping, how I had prayed, and the way that things had worked out. I told him about my conversation with Nathan.

"You see, the thing is," I continued, "I had sort of decided that I was going to do things right. I know we were very intimate last night… but I would like to wait before being intimate again – and I'm not making any presumptions here – but I want to wait until it's definite and final that I'm with the one and only…" My voice trailed off. "If you know what I mean."

He smiled at me and I felt disconcerted. "What is it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I understand totally. Believe me, I do. I'll not lie and pretend that I don't want you in that way, because I do. I'll wait 'til hell freezes over for you, Cara."

I laughed. "I'm glad to see that you haven't lost all your good lines." I became serious again and stroked his cheek. "Thanks for understanding."

He looked at me closely. "I hope you didn't do anything you didn't want to do last night. Or anything you weren't comfortable with?"

I shook my head. "No, I wanted to and we had to. We had to both know that we could be with one another… in that way - if we're going to have a future."

He smiled and gently kissed me on the lips. "So I guess that means I'll have to wait before being able to fulfil one of my greatest dreams."

"What's that?" I asked suspiciously.

He chuckled. "Showering with you and soaping up your wonderful body."

"Jon Peters!" I gasped and I felt myself blush. Inwardly I tried to quell the arousal that his words provoked.

----------*----------

After we got dressed – Jon having diplomatically moved into the spare bedroom – we sat snuggling together on the sofa. It wasn't the passionate encounter of the previous night, but no less enjoyable.

"Tell me," I said suddenly, "how did you know where I was?"

He grinned. "Ah, indeed. The billion dollar question." He looked at me dreamily and smiled. "I followed my heart and it led me to you."

I giggled and tickled him. "Come on, tell me."

"OK, OK," he laughed. "No one seemed to know where you had gone. I had thought that Claire might have. She was my best bet, but she denied all knowledge."

"She was lying," I interjected.

"I know that now. I was going crazy, and then Jools said that she had finally had a call from you. She wasn't able to persuade you to tell her where you were…"

"Jools knew how you felt about me?"

"I told her everything when I couldn't find out where you were. I figured she did know, but wasn't telling me. I thought if she knew why I wanted to know that she would spill the beans. Anyway, you didn't tell her, but you did tell her who did know."

"Claire and Dad."

"Yeah, I phoned Claire again and asked her outright. I told her that I knew that she knew, but she wouldn't tell me. You'd told her about what had happened that night when you called at my place, so understandably she was reluctant to help me. I told her how I felt about you and she hesitated, but still refused to tell."

"So?"

He smiled ruefully. "She said that if I really wanted to know, I would have to talk to your father."

"Wow! And did you?"

He grinned. "I drove straight up to Cardiff and waited for your father to come home from work."

"You didn't!"

"I sure did. I didn't care what I had to do, but I knew I had to find you."

"What did he say?"

"He wasn't too thrilled to see me. Again I presumed this was after hearing about your meeting with me."

"Yeah, sorry. I may have given him a somewhat biased account."

"No matter, it was understandable. So I told him how I felt about you, and I explained all the things that had led up to it. Pretty much what I told you last night."

"You told my father all that?"

"Sure, I did, and more! It was the only way to convince him that I was serious."

"And he told you?"

"He did. He also said that if I did anything to hurt you, he'd teach me new levels of pain that I couldn't even begin to comprehend."

I laughed. "He did not!" The thought of my father making such threats was hard to believe. "I guess he's become quite protective of me."

"Not half. He adores you, you know."

I grinned. "I know."

"He's not the only one, you know."

I laughed. "Are you fishing for affection?"

"Anyone biting?"

I giggled, leant over and began to nibble his neck. He squirmed and wriggled and then managed to turn my face around to his. He kissed me softly.

"I've never felt like this about anyone before. It really almost scares me," he admitted.

I looked at him with love in my eyes. "I know - the feelings I've felt since last night… I feel as if I'll never be able to show you how much I love you."

"We've got the rest of our lives to try." He looked out of the window where the light was beginning to fade. "Even if we haven't got much of this day left."

I suddenly jumped to my feet. "My goodness, I forgot." We had got up so late and had spent so much time in each other's arms talking together that time had passed me by. The others would have realised that I wasn't hitting the slopes that day, but we would usually meet up in 'Mountain Java' afterwards no matter what.

"What's wrong?" Jon asked with concern.

"I've got to meet my friends in the village."

"What friends?"

I briefly filled him in on how I had met the Scots and what I'd been doing the previous few days.

"Come on," I said as I pulled on my coat. "I want to introduce them to my new boyfriend." I winked.

He laughed. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do!"

----------*----------

They were sitting at our usual table when we entered. I saw their heads turning when they noticed who was with me. I was holding Jon's hand and we walked over to them.

"Hi, everyone," I said brightly.

They greeted us with smiles that barely concealed the questions that they had for me.

"Err… everyone - this is Jon."

They knew who he was, but Kirsty spoke up. "Is that Jon your guitarist, Nicola?"

I grinned like the cat that had got the cream. "No, it's actually Jon, my boyfriend."

I heard Jon make a noise that sounded like he had choked on his tongue, but he coughed and cleared his throat. "Hi everybody," he said with obvious embarrassment.

Kirsty grinned slyly at me. "And you said there was nothing going on between you two."

I shrugged. "Things change… for the better."

I looked up at Jon expectantly and he laughed before lowering his face to give me a quick kiss.

We sat down and ordered our coffees. Although Jon was initially a bit overwhelmed, he soon began to relax and join in the conversation. I leant over to Craig and murmured, "Sorry, Craig."

He chuckled and shrugged. "If you ever get fed up with him, give me a call."

I grinned and shook my head. "Don't sit by the phone."

Robert was asking Jon if he had ever skied. He hadn't and didn't seem too enthusiastic about starting.

"Oh come on, Jon," I said. "I was reluctant at first, but it is an amazing feeling."

We eventually persuaded him to join us the next day. With this in mind, Jon and I hurried to get to the shops before they closed. I helped him pick out a jacket, ski trousers, and all the gear. We walked along Main Street, hand-in-hand, Jon carrying our bags.

I sighed contentedly.

"What are you thinking about?" Jon asked.

"How perfect it feels to be with you. Sorry if that sounds soppy."

He chuckled. "Say anything more like that and I'll show you soppy."

"Why, what will you do?"

He grinned. "I'll drop these bags right here on the pavement and give you a kiss that will make your knees buckle."

"You wouldn't!"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Try me."

I did. "I want to feel your arms holding me forever…"

He called my bluff and I think we attracted quite a few stares from our fellow shoppers. I didn't care.

----------*----------

"What do you want me to call you?" Jon asked over breakfast the next morning.

I grinned. "Well, I had been toying with 'sex kitten', but I guess darling or sweetheart would do."

He chuckled. "Sex kitten, it is then. No, I mean do you want me to call you Cara or Nicola? The others in the café yesterday were calling you Nicola."

I shrugged. "I don't really mind. I guess I'm sort of trying to separate out my private and my public life. You belong to both."

"Can I call you Nicola?"

I smiled. "Sure, you can."

We headed out onto the slopes after breakfast and I watched Jon go through the pain and agony that I had endured on my first day skiing. He was athletic and in good shape so it didn't take him too long to pick up the basics. By the third day, he was practically as good as I was and was just about managing the intermediate slopes. I was happy to stick at that level and had no delusions of winning any downhill slaloms in the near future.

It was wonderful to sit on the ski lift, my head leaning against his shoulder and to look down on the beautiful world below.

"Isn't life great?" he mused.

I grinned. "I don't think it could get any better."

He chuckled enigmatically. "Oh I think it could."

"What do you mean?"

He wouldn't answer.

----------*----------

We took a day off from skiing the next day and, after each hiring a pair of sturdy hiking boots, set off to explore some recommended walks at the base of the peaks. We didn't walk that fast as we strolled along, arm-in-arm. Plus there were many breaks to enjoy the views. Most of the views being that of each other's face close-up as we kissed!

We came to a clearing in the woods and there was a frozen lake in the middle. A little open-sided wooden hut stood at the edge of the lake. We stood in the hut and gazed at the lovely scene. I noticed Jon shifting awkwardly where he stood.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he grunted as he reached inside his pocket.

"What are you doing?"

He grinned and took my face in his hands before planting a kiss on my lips.

"Before your father would tell me where you were, I had to tell him something else that I wanted. Something I want more than anything. Something I haven't told you yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He smiled at me and dropped to one knee. He opened his hand to reveal a ring. He looked up at me and with a look of longing in his eyes said, "Nicola, will you marry me?"

----------*----------

  

CHAPTER 48

I'm not sure how long I stood there. I was totally stunned. His words had taken me completely by surprise. I blinked furiously as my mind whirled. I looked down at him. He was smiling with a degree of uncertainty.

"Jon… wow, this is quite sudden…"

He squeezed my hand. "Nicola, I know it might seem that way, but I'm not taking this lightly or anything. I know for sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that being with you means more to me than basically anything else I can think of. I know that I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. Yes, we've only just been able to express these feelings to each other over the past few days, but I'm more certain of this than anything: I want you to be my wife. I don't want to wait too long either; we've wasted enough time this past year. I want to be with you… always."

His impassioned speech brought a lump to my throat. I was overcome with emotion at the things he said to me. I felt as if the world was spinning and I didn't know what to say.

Jon slowly stood up and took me in his arms. He spoke gently, "If you're not sure and you want to wait that's fine. If you know for sure that you don't want to marry me, again that's your decision." He paused. "Please tell me what you're thinking."

I smiled at him and raised a gloved hand to his cheek. "Jon, this is just such a surprise. I don't know what to say. How long have you been thinking about this?"

He grinned. "I've thought about it a lot over the last number of months, but have been trying to deny that to myself. Since you told me that you were in love with me, it's been filling my thoughts night and day. I've dreamt about making you mine completely."

I smiled at him and gently kissed him. I felt the tears begin to escape from my eyes. "Yes," I murmured softly.

"Yes?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes, I'll marry you."

"Are you sure?" he said as his body tensed.

I laughed. "I haven't dared to let myself think about this, but deep down inside I know this is what I want. I couldn't think of being with anyone else. I guess this is happening quite fast, but if this is what we both want, then you're right, why wait?"

He smiled and took my face in his hands as he gently kissed me. It was a loving lingering kiss that lasted for several minutes. When we eventually broke the kiss, I grinned at him. "You have a ring for me?"

He laughed and took the ring again from his pocket. "I certainly do. Look, I picked it myself so if it's not what you want…"

"It's gorgeous," I said breathlessly as I looked at it. It was a simple platinum band with a solitaire diamond embedded in it. "Will it fit me?"

He chuckled. "I did happen to check your ring size before buying it."

"How on earth did you do that?"

He shrugged. "Jools had some rings that apparently fitted you, so she let me use them to gauge your size."

I raised an eyebrow. "Jools knew that you were planning this?"

He grinned. "It was the only way I could think of to get the perfect ring for you."

"Does anyone else know?"

He shrugged casually. "Besides your father?"

"No way!" I exclaimed.

He laughed. "Of course he does. After all, I did have to ask him for permission to have his daughter's hand in marriage."

"I can't believe this. What did he say?"

"He was delighted. He wants you to be happy. He's quite a believer in the institution of marriage."

I smiled. "Yes, I guess he is. Wow, I can't believe this."

"Do you want to try the ring on?"

"Do I ever?" I pulled the glove from my left hand and held it out to him. He gingerly slid the ring onto my fourth finger. It was a little tight over the knuckle, but then moved into place. It was a good fit. I turned my hand one way and then another, inspecting the ring from all angles.

"Like it?" he asked softly.

I beamed at him. "I love it. It's perfect." I admired it again before looking up at him. "I can't believe this. We're engaged? We're going to be married?"

He chuckled. "You like the idea?"

I thought for a moment and then hugged him tight. "I love it. It just seems so incredible. Last week, I was just existing from day to day, not wanting to think about the future, but now I can't wait. It's like the clouds have cleared and the sun is shining brilliantly."

He pulled me closer to him and kissed the top of my head. "I know exactly how you feel. I'm sure it won't all be plain sailing, but I intend to give this my all."

"Me too," I murmured.

We walked slowly back to our condo, hand-in-hand, barely saying a word. I felt as if there was a new spring in my step. I was engaged to the man I loved!

----------*----------

Back at the condo, we were getting ready to go out to dinner that evening. We had planned to meet the Scots at a sports bar called 'Downstairs at Eric's'. I had chosen to wear a warm black jersey dress. Jon, unsurprisingly, had finished getting ready before me and was sitting on the sofa waiting.

"Do you always take this long to get ready?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

I laughed. "That was quick, buster. You'd better be prepared to wait much longer in future." I smiled primly. "It takes time to look this good."

He chuckled. "You do look fantastic. What do you say we forget the others and you just come and sit by me here? I'm sure we'll think of something to do."

I grinned. "Jon Peters, have you only one thing on your mind?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yes, I do. It's you and you alone."

I sat down beside him and cuddled up close. "You say all the right things, but we do have to keep our dinner appointment. After all, I have to show off my ring."

"Bah, fiddlesticks!" he said good-naturedly. "I can't wait 'til we get married and I have you all to myself."

"What? You think you will just keep me locked up at home all the time?"

He laughed. "As long as I can be locked in with you."

We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. I thought and then spoke up, "Jon, when do you want to get married?"

He looked at me and smiled. "I meant it when I said I wanted to marry you as soon as possible. If you wanted to, I'd be happy to jump on a plane to Vegas tomorrow and make it official. However, I'm imagining you wouldn't want to do it like that."

"You're dead right on that one. Plus my father would hardly approve."

"You want to do this properly? Church, white wedding, the lot?"

I grinned. "I think I do. I'm only planning on doing this once so I'd better make sure it's done right. Do you not want to do it like that?"

He kissed my nose. "Nicola, darling, I'm happy to stand up in front of the whole world and tell them that you are the one for me. I reckon my folks would be happier with a traditional wedding too."

His words made me stop and think. After a momentary pause, I said, "Jon, your family. We have to tell them the truth… about me. Don't we?"

He shook his head. "We don't."

"But Jon…"

"Shush," he said gently. "We don't," he emphasised, "because I already have."

My eyebrows shot upwards. "You've done what…"

He smiled and squeezed my shoulder. "Once I found out where you were and had decided to come and tell you, I realised that if things went well I wanted to marry you. I didn't want there to be anything to stand in the way of that. I went home to my folks and told them that I loved you and wanted to marry you."

"What did they say?"

He shrugged. "They were over the moon. They think you're a beautiful, talented girl and Mum has been nagging at me for years to bring a nice girl home and settle down." He chuckled. "My little brother Mike was quite expressive at his envy of me. He thinks you're just the 'hottest babe around'."

I blushed and grinned. "What did you say?"

He laughed. "Why, I agreed of course." He became more serious. "I knew though that if things were going to move ahead, I'd have to tell them the truth. I wanted them to know from the start. I realise that I was breaking your confidence by telling them, but I hope you don't mind."

"What did they say?" I asked anxiously.

He shrugged. "At first they couldn't believe it. They thought I was pulling their legs. Then, when they realised I was telling the truth, they were shocked. I'm not denying that they found it hard to accept, but I told them I had come to terms with it and that I was in love with you."

"And?"

He smiled. "They'll come round. Mikey helped in his own way. He said that he didn't care if you came from Mars, he'd have you any day. I think he was quite taken with the possibility of having Cara Malone as his sister-in-law."

"They don't hate me?" I asked with concern.

He shook his head. "No, not at all. My parents are fairly conservative, but when I told them about everything that had happened to you and what you had been through, they were more sympathetic. When they meet you, they'll realise that we're doing the right thing."

"There's something to look forward to," I said dryly.

"Back to the original question," he said. "When do you want to get married?"

I smiled and leant close against him. "How long do you think it takes to organise a wedding?"

"I have no idea," he admitted.

I thought aloud. "Let's see, it's nearly the end of April. We don't have too much else to do… how about getting married in June?"

He looked carefully at me. "You mean that? You're sure?"

I laughed and squeezed his thigh. "I'm sure. Besides, you're not the only one who is looking forward to… becoming more intimate." I winked coyly.

He chuckled and grabbed me in a bear hug before kissing me. "I can't wait," he murmured.

I sat up straight. "There is one other thing we have to think about, Jon. I do need to tell you about this before we make any more plans. You have to know about this as it will affect you too if we are together…" I went on to tell him about Simon's threat regarding the solicitor and the potential time bomb hanging over my head. He was shocked, but took it all in.

He gave a low whistle. "What are we going to do?"

I shrugged. "I've thought long and hard about it and there's only one real course of action I can think of." I outlined my plan to him and he was evidently shocked again.

He sat in silence for a few moments. "You're sure about this?" he asked.

I nodded. "Can you think of anything else?"

He slowly shook his head. "Not really. Nothing that would work for sure. This is quite a big undertaking though."

"Jon… I'll understand if this changes things. I mean, if you don't want to…"

"Stop right now," he said with gentle force in his voice. "I love you and I'm going to marry you. Nothing, but nothing will change that."

I smiled at him. "I love you too."

----------*----------

We met my friends at the restaurant and we managed to squeeze ourselves around one table. Eric's was indeed downstairs and was the traditional American-style sports bar. It had a friendly relaxed atmosphere and certainly seemed to be a popular spot. It didn't take too long for my ring to be noticed. Of course that may have had something to do with the way I was flaunting my left hand around.

"Wow!" Barbara exclaimed, as she was the first to notice it. "Is that what I think it is?"

I smiled. "What do you think it is?"

Kirsty grabbed my hand. "That's an engagement ring for sure!"

I laughed and leant up against Jon who put his arm around me. "I guess we've a little announcement to make."

"No way," Kirsty murmured.

Jon nodded. "Yes way. Nicola and I are going to be married."

"Way to go, dude!" Robert held up his hand and Jon high-fived him and then the others guys in quick succession.

I was engulfed in a girl-hug as Barbara and Kirsty practically leapt at me from where they were sitting. For some reason, I found myself in tears again. Definitely tears of joy. There was something about sharing happiness that really multiplied it.

Everyone sat down again and the questions began. "When did this happen?" Barbara asked.

"This afternoon," I replied.

Jon interjected, "It's been on the cards for some time though."

Kirsty gave me a strange look. "When we first met you said there was nothing going on between you and Jon."

I shrugged and smiled apologetically. "We had some… misunderstandings, but that's all cleared up now."

They all added their best wishes for our future together and drank to our health. I happily joined in their toasts, but with a non-alcoholic beverage for my part. I realised that I had to say something else though.

"Guys, I really hate to have to say this…" I paused. "What we've told you tonight is still a secret. I do trust you, but I have to ask you all to keep this to yourselves. Please don't even tell your closest friends. Our friends and family don't know yet, and we'd rather tell them ourselves than have 'The Sun' inform them."

"You've nothing to worry about," Craig said. He looked around the group. "None of us will breathe a word about this, will we?" There was a series of heads shaking.

"Thanks guys, it's been great getting to know you all this past fortnight," I said with genuine sincerity. "I can't believe you're heading home tomorrow."

"Neither can I," groaned Keith.

"I must get your addresses before you go," I said.

"Why?" Robert asked.

I shrugged and grinned. "So I'll know where to send the wedding invitations."

Kirsty spluttered, her mouth half-full of wine. "You're serious? You're not having us on?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No, the more the merrier." I looked up at Jon. "You don't mind?"

He grinned. "I don't care who's there as long as you are," he said to me.

The others made gagging noises and we all laughed. We enjoyed a simple yet tasty meal. The conversation was good and the laughter was flowing. At the end of the meal, I saw Kirsty speaking to the headwaiter about something. She was nodding in our direction and I became instantly suspicious.

True enough, a few moments later my suspicions were realised. The D.J., who had been playing soft rock songs all evening, stopped and made an announcement. "Folks, it seems we've got something of a celebrity in our midst. A British singer, with whom you may be familiar, is dining with us, Cara Malone." From the ripple of noise that spread around the room, it seemed that some people did recognise my name. "I was just wondering if the lovely lady might want to share a little song with us."

I shook my head and gave Kirsty a mock-glare. The D.J. had a radio-mike in his hand and walked over towards me. "Miss Malone, would you care to take the stage?"

I smiled. "Oh I don't know that I could. I don't have my band with me."

"This looks awfully like your guitarist beside you," the D.J. persisted.

Jon chuckled. "If only I'd brought my guitar."

The D.J. clicked his fingers and a waiter brought a semi-acoustic guitar out and set it on the little stage. "Will that do?" he asked.

Jon looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and laughed. "What the heck!"

There was a round of applause as Jon and I, hand-in-hand, headed for the mini-stage. Jon gently strummed the guitar and of course had to tune it to his liking. There were two high stools on the stage and we took one each. I pulled the microphone from the stand and smiled nervously. "Well, this isn't quite what I was expecting. My name is Cara Malone and I'm sure most of you have never heard of me." The protests from the crowd suggested otherwise. I laughed. "Anyway, we'll do a couple of songs and I hope you enjoy them. This first song is all about the fear of telling that special person in your life what you feel about them. Don't let the fear stop you from maybe missing out on the greatest love you might ever know." I looked over at Jon and he grinned at me. "Just tell them, all you have to do is 'Simply Say'."

Jon took his cue and began to gently pluck the introduction. As I sang the song, it was as if I were singing it properly for the very first time. I wasn't looking at the audience, I had eyes for only one person and he held my gaze all the way through. At the end of the song, the audience cheered and roared.

"Thank you so much, you're very kind." I smiled and pushed the hair back from my face. "This next song is another romantic one, I'm afraid. It's called 'Forgotten How to Love' and it's a reminder that we can get so caught up with the hustle and bustle of life that we can miss what is really important. Sometimes we don't realise it until it's almost too late."

Jon started us off again. There was something pure about the simplicity of the two of us sitting there – him playing, me singing. For me, it was as if the rest of the room faded into the background as I again sang to the man I loved:

"Oh teach me how to love

Unleash your wondrous charms

Want to laugh and cry,

To soar and fly

Up onto Cloud Nine

And know you're mine

Hold me in your arms,

For I, I'm remembering how to love."

At the end of the song, I slowly leaned towards Jon and smiled shyly at him. He grinned and leant towards me. Our lips met. We held our kiss for a few seconds and then broke again. The audience went wild and were roaring and whistling furiously. "Thanks so much. I'll not interrupt your evening any more. Good night."

As we walked from the stage, again hand-in-hand, there were calls for an encore, but I decided it was better to leave them wanting more. The D.J. thanked us and kindly gave us a good plug for our album. When we sat down, the others congratulated us.

"Nicola/Cara whatever, you were fantastic," Barbara gushed.

I laughed and waved a hand at her. "Now stop that, you'll give me a complex."

Craig spoke with a wistful-sounding voice, "You two are great together. It's so obvious you're meant for each other."

I patted his hand and smiled. "Thanks Craig."

At the end of the evening, there was a mega-round of hugs and kisses. We said our goodbyes and there were a few tears, well from the girls anyway. Jon and I walked back to our condo, his arm around my shoulders. We had decided to head back to Denver and get the next plane back to the U.K. It was time to re-enter the real world.

----------*----------

As we approached Cardiff, I began to fidget more and more.

Jon noticed and chuckled. "Nervous?"

I laughed. "Yeah, too right I am. I've never ever brought a girlfriend home to Dad, let alone a boyfriend… or even a fiancé."

He grinned. "Worried that I might not be up to scratch?"

I shook my head. "No chance of that. At least he's already met you. I shouldn't even be nervous since you told him what you were planning, but I can't help it."

We had landed in Gatwick the previous morning and had each gone to our own houses to get some rest. It had been so strange to be apart from Jon after having spent so much time with him. The way my heart ached for that short time that we were apart only served to confirm that what we were doing was right. I'd received a near-royal welcome from Gareth and Mrs. Pantridge. I had been evasive as to what I had been doing. I simply told them that I had been enjoying a relaxing holiday in the Rockies.

Jon had picked me up early that morning. With it being a Saturday, we expected to find my father at home. Jon pulled into the drive in front of my father's house. He leant over and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "Ready?"

I nodded and we got out. Before we even got to the door, it swung open and my father came rushing out. He threw his arms around me and nearly knocked me off my feet. "Nicola, honey, are you OK?"

I could hardly breathe. Eventually he loosened his grip on me sufficiently for me to draw breath. I chuckled. "I'm fine, Dad. Pleased to see me?"

He shrugged with some embarrassment at his display of emotion. "I missed you and I was worried about you," he said. He turned to face Jon and extended his hand. "Hello again, Jon."

"Hello sir," Jon replied politely, shaking my father's hand.

We went in and sat down in the living room. For a few moments we sat there in an awkward silence. My father gave a wry grin. "I'm assuming that there's something you have to tell me, given the way you're holding each other's hands and from that little something I see sparkling on your finger, Nicola."

I blushed and smiled. "Yes… Daddy… Jon and I are engaged to be married."

He sat for a moment without speaking. He nodded slowly and smiled. He got up and walked over to me. I stood with some uncertainty. He hugged me tightly again and murmured, "Congratulations." He loosened his hold on me and held my elbows. "Are you happy? Are you sure about what you're doing?"

I nodded. "Yes, I've never been happier and I'm absolutely sure this is what I want."

He took this in and grinned. "Good." He turned to Jon and after a somewhat stiff handshake, he awkwardly hugged Jon. "You take good care of her, son, do you hear me?"

"Yes sir, I will," Jon assured him.

My father chuckled. "It seems that after losing a son, I'm to get a replacement by marriage and I've gained a beautiful daughter too."

After a short phone call to Claire, my father informed us that she was driving up immediately. All he had told her was that I was home. Apparently she hadn't known about Jon's full intentions.

Her arrival after lunch was like a whirlwind striking the house. She rushed in and hugged me fiercely. I felt sure that my body was going to be broken in two with all this hugging. As girls do, she immediately noticed the ring on my finger. My sister was too sharp to have to even ask what the explanation was, she knew. She squealed and hugged Jon and I. The look of surprised fear on Jon's face was priceless.

After she calmed down and had extracted as much of the details from me as I was prepared to share, she turned the topic of conversation to another item.

"So Nicola… you're now complete?"

I knew what she was asking. I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am. It's all done. I feel good. I do have one question for you Claire."

"What?"

"Do you fancy being a bridesmaid?"

Her response was predictably over the top.

----------*----------

We spent the rest of the day with my father and Claire. That night, Jon stayed with us. I bunked in with Claire and Jon took my room. On Sunday morning, we all went to church. I think Jon felt a little uncomfortable, but Llandaff Methodist was a welcoming little fellowship and he soon began to relax. My father was proudly telling anyone that would listen that his youngest daughter was engaged to be married.

After the service, Jon and I took Nathan aside and I asked him if he would do us the honour of conducting our marriage ceremony. He initially showed some reluctance and expressed concerns regarding the legality of our proposed marriage. I could understand this. I assured him that if he took things at face value, there was no legal contraindication to us proceeding. He was somewhat reassured and began to come round to the idea. The date was set for Saturday the twelfth of June and Nathan confirmed that the church was available.

After church, Jon and I set out for Merthyr Tydfil. This strange-sounding little town in the north of the Taff Valley was about a forty-five minute drive from Cardiff. It was also the town in which his family were currently living. Jon's father was the headmaster of the local comprehensive school, which had a name that, despite my Welsh heritage, I could barely spell let alone pronounce. We had arranged to join them for lunch and to spend the rest of the day with them.

I was nervous, incredibly nervous. Jon commented on my fidgeting as I sat in the passenger seat beside him, but there was nothing I could do to stop myself.

"I can't help it," I complained. "What if they hate me? What if they think I'm disgusting, taking their son from them and so on?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Firstly, they will think no such thing. Yes, sure they may be a little uncomfortable at first, but when they meet you; I know they will like you. Secondly, if they did take such exception to you… then it's their loss and we'll carry on regardless. Relax, it will be fine."

"How do I look?" I asked distractedly as I checked myself out in the vanity mirror. I was wearing a simple red dress that came to just above the knee.

"You look gorgeous, trust me."

I grinned at him. "I think you're biased."

He chuckled. "You've got that right, but I'm also correct."

We pulled up outside Jon's family home and as I got out of the car, I thought I was going to be overwhelmed by the apprehension I was feeling. This was worse than going on stage before thousands of screaming fans. Jon sensed my discomfort and gently took my hand and held it in his as we walked to the front door.

After one ring of the doorbell, the door opened. It was Mrs. Peters. I hadn't seen her for years. As a child, before Jon's family moved away from Pembroke, I had often visited their house to play with him. I still recognised his mother. I had always liked her as a child.

She looked a little flustered but gave us a nervous smile. "Oh hello, Jon. This must be… Cara?"

I gave her the best smile I could manage. "Hello, Mrs. Peters."

"Call her Nicola," Jon said. "She's not on stage now and she prefers her real name."

"Alright then, Nicola," his mother said. "Err… come in, both of you."

We followed her in and were shown into the sitting room. Jon's father, a tall thin balding man with a salt and pepper moustache, stood up from where he had been sitting. He moved awkwardly towards us.

"Jon," he said, shaking his son's hand.

"Dad, this is Nicola, my fiancée," Jon said, looking him in the eye.

His father flinched a little at Jon's words, but regained his composure. He turned to me and gave a half-smile. "Nicola, it's a pleasure to meet you. Jon has… told us so much about you."

I resisted the urge to wince and managed to give a wan smile. "Hello, Mr. Peters." We shook hands awkwardly.

"Now, why don't we sit down? Dinner will be ready shortly," Mrs. Peters said cheerily.

We sat and there was silence for a few moments. Jon's mother spoke into the void. "So… you're getting married?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, Jon asked me to marry him when he came to see me in Colorado."

She nodded and I saw her face twitch a little. "Yes, he had told us about his intentions. I'm assuming you said yes… you really love Jon, then?"

"Mum," Jon protested.

I put a hand on Jon's arm. "It's OK." I turned back to Mrs. Peters and regarded her honestly. "Yes, I love him more than I can say. I've been in love with him for about nine months now, but we were only able to admit this to each other recently."

I noticed Jon's father's eyes narrow a little. I continued, "I know this must seem very strange for you, but I want to assure you that I'm not here to steal your son or to do anything strange. There are a few things that I am sure of: one is that I am a woman, and another is that I love your son. When I was… when I was held captive recently, the thought of telling Jon how I really felt about him and the possibility that he might feel the same way was one of the few things that kept me going." My voice trailed off and Jon squeezed my arm.

I saw his mother's expression soften a little. She spoke gently, "Jon told us about what you went through. It sounded awful. You've been through quite a lot, even leaving aside your kidnapping, and although I find much of it hard to understand, I admire your fortitude."

"Thank you," I said and flashed her a warm smile.

She gave a half-laugh and shook her head. "My, this is so strange. Jon, this… girl… obviously loves you, do you feel the same way?"

I looked up at Jon. He grinned at me and slipped his arm around my shoulders. "Mum, you have no idea how much I love her. I can't believe the feelings I have for her. I used to ask you how I would know when love was the real thing. You used to tell me that I would just know, remember?"

She smiled. "I remember. You were always frustrated when I said that."

He nodded. "I was, but you were right. I just know: Nicola is the one I love and I couldn't think of living without her."

Jon's father spoke up, "I can't get my mind round this. Can't I just pretend I don't know what you told me about her and take things at face value?"

"What do you mean, Dad?" Jon asked.

He sighed. "She's a beautiful woman, there's no denying that. You two love each other and want to get married. If I think about this too much, it will drive me round the bend. You love her and she loves you. I want you to be happy, son, and if this girl is the one that you think will bring you that happiness… well, that's good enough for me." He paused and grinned at me. "Welcome to the mad Peters family, my dear."

I smiled at him and, following a strange impulse, got up from where I was sitting and walked over to him. He stood up, looking a little puzzled and I opened my arms. He chuckled with embarrassment, but opened his arms and we hugged gently. "Thank you, Mr. Peters."

He shrugged. "You're welcome, Nicola. I may be an old-fashioned man, set in my ways, and your story may be the strangest that I've ever heard, but who am I to deny you two the joy you're obviously finding together?"

I turned to Mrs. Peters who stood up and smiled as she opened her arms. "Come here, Nicola."

She hugged me warmly and I reciprocated. I blinked hard and felt a few tears escape. "Thank you so much," I murmured.

Jon joined in the round of hugs and we had all just regained our composure and sat down again, when we heard the front door opening.

"Ah, here comes trouble," Jon's father remarked good-humouredly.

The sitting room door opened and a young man breathlessly asked, "Is she here yet…" His voice tailed off as he saw Jon and I sitting together.

He grinned bashfully. "Uhh… that's a yes, then."

I smiled and stood up. "You must be Michael, I presume?"

He stood there, rooted to the spot, his eyes fixed on me. "Uhh… yeah, call me Mike."

I walked over to him and opened my arms. "I'm Nicola Evans, your soon-to-be sister-in-law."

He looked dumbfounded, but managed to open his arms for me to hug him. I planted a little kiss on his cheek. "It's great to meet you at last," I said with a coy smile. "Jon has told me so much about you."

"He has?" he said with bemusement, his face colouring.

Jon spared him further embarrassment. "Good to see you, little bro."

The brothers hugged and I saw Mike give Jon a subtle high-five as he winked.

Mrs. Peters turned to me. "Our Michael has quite a high opinion of you, Nicola."

"Mum," Mike protested. He shrugged awkwardly and murmured, "I just said that Jon had all the luck."

Mr. Peters chuckled. "I think I remember words to the effect of 'how come my brother gets to marry the most gorgeous girl in the country'."

Mike raised a hand to his eyes and groaned. Everyone laughed. I put a hand on Mike's arm and he almost jumped at my touch. "Thanks, Mike," I said. "I think you've exaggerated a lot, but I'm flattered."

Jon slid his arms around me. "Exaggerated? Nah, he's just telling it as it is." Jon turned my face to his and planted a soft kiss on my lips. I was shocked at this display of affection in front of his family, but I think that Jon wanted to show them the depth of our feelings for one another.

"If you two can prise yourselves apart for a moment, perhaps we could eat dinner," Jon's mother said dryly.

I felt a little more at ease, and the conversation over dinner was more relaxed. I was aware of Mike stealing surreptitious glances at me when he thought I wasn't looking. I tried not to smile. Mrs. Peters, having gotten over her initial discomfort at meeting me, had slipped into true mother mode: she was dying to know what plans we had for the wedding and insisted that we keep her in the loop.

Jon and I set out for London after tea. I felt a lot happier and the earlier tension had faded. I curled my legs underneath me on the seat and lay back.

"I think that went well," Jon said.

I grinned. "It did. At first, I thought it was going to be awful." I paused. "Your folks are good people."

He chuckled. "Of course they are. They raised me, didn't they?"

I swatted him lightly on the arm. He laughed and continued, "Mikey has such a crush on you. He was practically green with envy."

"Jon!" I protested. "You shouldn't embarrass him, and me, like that."

He shook his head. "I'm enjoying it. Mikey always used to go on about how his girlfriends were far prettier than any of mine and how he was the good-looking one in the family." He grinned. "I think I've shut him up forever now."

----------*----------

The next morning, Jon picked me up and we drove over to Jools' place. I hadn't spoken to her since we had arrived back in the U.K., as I wanted to surprise her in person.

She opened the door. "Cara!" She flung her arms around me. "It's so good to see you again. I was beginning to think that you would never come back from wherever you were."

We went upstairs and sat down on the sofas. "So what have you been up to all this time?" Jools asked.

I grinned and waved my left hand airily. "Oh this and that, you know."

She spotted the ring and gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

I looked at the ring as if seeing it for the first time. I feigned confusion. "I don't know - do you want to take a closer look?"

She scuttled over to sit beside me and took my hand in hers. She looked up at me and then to Jon. "Well?"

Jon grinned and slid his arm around my shoulders. He said, "Jools, are you doing anything on the twelfth of June?"

She smiled. "No, do tell me why though."

"Nicola and I are getting married and we were hoping you would be able to join us."

Jools squealed and practically jumped on top of both of us. She put her arms around us and pulled us close to her. "Is this for real? This is awesome. I knew it. I knew you two were made for each other."

I laughed. "Yes, Jools, as much as it pains me to say it, you were right… again."

She kissed me on the cheek and looked into my eyes. "Are you happy?"

I beamed at her. "You have no idea."

We talked about how Jon had found me and gave her the censored version of what had happened. She drank it all in and kept prompting for more and more details. I told her about my surgery and she nearly flipped again. I thought for a moment that she was going to ask to see the results, but I think she caught herself just in time.

Jools filled me in on what she termed the comparatively boring details of my career – the things that had happened whilst I was away. U.S. sales of my album were steady and, although it hadn't taken the States by storm, it had certainly made an impact. Sales in the U.K. and Europe had been pleasing and the financial benefits were certainly nothing to be sneezed at.

Jools winked slyly. "You poor little lovebirds. However will you manage to pay for your wedding with the paltry joint income and assets you have?"

I laughed and tickled her. "I've a more pressing concern regarding the wedding."

"What's that?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Claire's agreed to be my chief bridesmaid. Jon's brother, Mike, is going to be best man, and we're going to ask Brian to be Jon's groomsman. That means that we need another bridesmaid…"

Her eyes widened and she looked like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Eventually she managed to squeak, "And?"

I grinned and put her out of her misery. "Jools, would you be a bridesmaid for me?"

Her earlier reactions to the news I had already told her paled into insignificance. She jumped all over me and hugged me furiously.

I managed to fight her off. "I take it that's a yes, then?"

She laughed, tears rolling down her cheeks and said, "I'd be honoured."

She managed to calm down and we sat down at the table to enjoy a cup of coffee.

"Ca… Nicola," she began. I had told her about my preference of names. "If you are organising a wedding it will be a big undertaking. I was thinking that you might need some help. Say from someone who has a certain flair in the realm of organisation…"

I laughed. "Jools, like most things in my life, I couldn't imagine how I could do it without you."

Jon winked and with a sly grin said, "There certainly are things you will be doing without her." He nuzzled on my neck and then looked up and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

 

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