Christmas with her Boss (16 page)

‘Meg,' she said sharply.

‘Meg,' he said, suitably chastened. ‘My love.'

‘That's much better.' She was smiling mistily down at him.
‘My love
is way better than Meg.'

‘Hey!' It was a piercing shout and he turned, groaning. But the shout and the associated rumble couldn't be ignored.

For it was Letty and Scott, bouncing over the paddocks towards them on the ancient farm tractor. ‘Don't you dare propose until we get there,' Letty yelled in a voice that was truly scary.

‘Am I so obvious?' he demanded of his love and his love chuckled and behind them Steve laughed and Killer started barking.

‘My love…' he started urgently, but Meg put her finger on his lips and hushed him. She tugged him up and she smiled.

‘I wouldn't have it any other way,' she whispered. ‘In front of witnesses.'

‘You have to be joking.'

‘You've been a loner all your life, William McMaster. No more.'

So he waited. With a promise like that, a man could wait. He waited until Letty and Scott were in full earshot and they'd introduced themselves to Steve and they were holding the dogs back and then Letty said, ‘Okay, get on with it.'

And William, who was feeling absurdly self-conscious, suddenly thought no.

‘No,' he said.

‘No?' Meg said.

‘Steve, how many does that chopper hold?'

‘Six,' Steve said.

‘Three people and five dogs?'

‘At a push.'

‘Then there are free chopper flights on offer,' he said. ‘Starting now. You guys can watch, but from above. Take it or leave it. Witnesses from above, but not right here.'

‘Oh, cool,' Scotty said, high with excitement. ‘Come on, Grandma, who wants to listen to a soppy proposal when we can ride in a chopper? And it is,' he added conscientiously, ‘their business anyway.'

So, before Letty knew what she was about, her grandson had bundled her into the chopper. The dogs were tossed up after. The doors were clanged shut and the chopper rose into the night sky.

But not very far. William might have intended that Steve take them far away. Steve had other ideas.

The chopper simply hovered. Its downlight nailed them.

‘You were saying?' Meg yelled at the top of her lungs,
laughing, and William thought he was never, ever going to be able to do this better than he could right now. He was standing in the middle of a hay paddock. A helicopter was practically blasting him to bits with its down-draught. The moon was high in the night sky, and over at the house Santa's legs moved steadily back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

‘Happy Christmas,' he shouted, and he tried again for the third time. Third time lucky? ‘Will you marry me?'

‘What?' The sound of the chopper was deafening.

‘With this ring, I thee wed?' he shouted back and he placed the tag on her finger and he scooped her up and lifted her high into his arms, holding her hard against his heart. And finally he kissed her as he needed to kiss her, as she needed to be kissed, as he intended to kiss her for the rest of her life.

‘I'll give you diamonds,' he yelled when they could finally bear to pull apart.

‘Who needs diamonds?' Meg said lovingly. He could barely hear her words but he knew what her lips were saying. It was what his heart was saying.

‘Merry Christmas, my love,' she told him. ‘Diamonds or not, I just need you.'