The Life Daisy Devlin Designed

CHAPTER 59

Daisy stepped into the marquee and took a moment to admire her surroundings. The tented room seemed deceptively larger than her parents’ garden, its high ceiling strung with hundreds of tiny, coloured fairy lights that threw rainbow colours onto the pale wooden floor.

Narrow tables, covered with bright, old-fashioned cotton cloths in florals and stripes, and dotted with jam-jars containing wildflowers and tealights, ran the length of the room. It was the perfect backdrop for their celebrations.

She was walking over to the trestle counters along the far wall to deposit the sweets, when the opening bars of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Lego House’, strummed on a guitar, filtered through the silence. As Daisy glanced around to locate the speakers, somebody started to sing, and it took Daisy a few moments to realise it was James. She spun, searching for him, and spotted someone in the far corner of the marquee. Was she hallucinating? Why was he here? How was he here?

He finished the first verse and stopped singing, but continued to strum through the chords.

“Hey.” He tipped his head to one side.

She swallowed hard, remembering the first time she’d heard him play the song.

“Hey, yourself.” Had Rosie asked him to come? Or her mother, maybe? Daisy had told him about Kayley but he hadn’t said very much. Alma had been the real fan, she supposed. “I haven’t heard you play that in years.”

“I know, yeah.” He shrugged. “I’m a bit rusty.”

“No, it sounded lovely. I don’t understand, though – I thought you had meetings about a new job?”

James’ mouth tightened. “There weren’t any meetings. Look, if you prefer, I can go.”

“No! You just got here.”

“Do you want me here?”

She was starting to feel exasperated. “Of course! I’m just confused: you said you weren’t coming.”

“Yeah, I know.” He put down the guitar. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“You did.” She gave a hesitant smile.

“I’m sorry I’ve let you down, Daisy.”

She closed the gap between them, and took his hands. “You haven’t let me down. You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but my job ...”

“I don’t care about that. You’ll get another one when you’re ready.” She looked at him. “What you said before about me always going on about work – ”

“I’m sorry – ”

“No, you were right.” Daisy scrambled for the perfect words. “I know I’m a bit intense. I think it’s because it’s just me and Laura, and I need to make things work. But I never meant you to feel that was all I cared about.”

He nodded. “I know I locked you out, Daisy. I didn’t want you to know how bad things were. There was no point in both of us worrying.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “Maybe I should have asked my parents for help – they’ve been offering for long enough.”

“We’d have managed, James.” He seemed to have aged these past few months. How had she not noticed? “I’m not telling you what to do, but I think we’ll be grand.”

He glanced down at their hands. “Actually, I think I might have been a bit harsh on my folks.”

Daisy waited as James met her eyes again.

“I saw Daniel and Fiona when I went to London. Apparently, Mum and Dad are always going on about how well I’m doing!”

Daisy looked at him. “Did you tell them that – ?”

“It’s all I hear about them? That I’m such a complete twat, I thought our parents were comparing us?”

“Why don’t you have a family WhatsApp group?” Daisy said.

“Fiona just set one up.” He frowned. “I’m not sure why we didn’t have one. Not that it’ll make any difference to my folks – they’ll still phone us all regularly. But I might phone them a bit more too. And go see them.”

Daisy nodded, and they stood in silence for a moment.

Finally, James said, “Tell me about Matt.”

Time to tell the truth, she thought. “I thought it was some sort of sign that he was back in my life. Which sounds really arrogant, but things had been so crap between the two of us ...”

“So you thought that was a sign as well.” A flicker of hurt crossed his face.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, so am I.”

Neither of them said anything for a few moments, and Daisy realised she wouldn’t blame him if he just left.

“For what it’s worth, James, I’ve been an idiot about Matt. But I’m completely over him. I’m just sorry he ever came between us.” She took a breath. “Not just in the last couple of months – in the whole time we’ve been together.”

He nodded. “I guessed.”

“You couldn’t have.” Daisy swallowed. “I never talked about him.”

“I know.” His voice was dry. “You remember, when we first met, I didn’t want to rush things between us?”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “You kept me in the friend zone for so long, I didn’t think you were interested.”

“I was, Daisy! I knew you were special. And I didn’t want us to be a rebound relationship, so I waited. But that whole time, you didn’t once mention Matt!”

“Wait, you wanted me to talk about Matt?”

“It would have been normal! We were friends, remember?” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I always got the feeling he was still there, between us.”

He was right! Matt had taken up enough room in her head – and her heart – to keep James at a distance all these years. And while she’d been hurting after the break-up, James had been wondering all this time if he’d ever live up to him. She’d been so stupid, wasting so much time and energy on the memory of someone who wasn’t half the person James was!

“Now what?” she said, quietly.

“That depends, Daisy.”

She sighed. “All I know is that I don’t want things to go on like before. You know, us living together but not really – ” She stopped and pulled away from him. “Sorry, I’ve no right to pressure you, especially right now.”

“You’re not pressuring me, Daisy.” He slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and took out a small, green-velvet box, identical to the one her vintage earrings had come in for her birthday. “I wanted to give you this.”

More earrings, she thought. A noise behind her startled her, and Daisy spun to see Rosie pass by the door of the tent.

When she turned back she saw that James had dropped to one knee, the now-open box held up. Nestled inside was an emerald ring, set in tiny diamonds.

“It’s vintage,” he said.

For a moment, she couldn’t speak. “Are you ...?”

He nodded. “Marry me, Daisy. I love you, and I don’t think you really knew that. I want to try to make things right.”

Her eyes travelled back to the ring. “It’s beautiful!”

James got to his feet. “Do you not want to marry me?”

She blinked hard, determined to hold it together. “I’m just worried that it’s not what you really want. I don’t want you to think that this is a quick fix.”

“You’re right, it won’t be.” He hesitated. “I bought this the same day I heard the news about the app. But I wanted to wait until the deal was done before asking. And now ... look, maybe the timing is crap because I’ve just lost my job but – ”

“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.” Daisy swiped away the tears that had started to roll down her cheeks.

“Yes? Are you sure? I mean, I’d understand if you wanted to –”

“I’m sure, James.”

He slipped the ring out of its box and slid it on to her finger.

It was a perfect fit, she thought, smiling as she carefully dabbed at her wet cheeks.

“Full disclosure?” James said. “Alma saw it too.”

“Alma?”

“I wanted another woman’s opinion.” He looked a bit sheepish. “She thought you’d love it.”

A fragment of a conversation drifted back. “That day I got in from work, when you and Alma were hugging, was that …?”

“Yeah.”

Daisy stared at him. “You hadn’t told her about the app.”

“Of course not. I’d just showed her the ring, and she was really happy for us. I think she would have liked if I’d proposed while she was still renting from us.”

“Right.” The pieces were rapidly dropping into place. “So when I saw her put something in her pocket –”

“It was this.” James shrugged. “She couldn’t give it back to me in front of you, so she put it in my coat pocket on her way out.”

“Oh God.” She’d thought the worst!

“I’m sorry about me and Alma,” James said.

“I thought –”

“There was nothing between us, that’s the truth. But I was wrong to game with her the whole time and ignore you like I did. Give me another chance, Daisy?”

“I don’t expect you to stop gaming,” she said.

“Maybe we should take up something together,” James whispered.

Daisy wrapped her arms around his neck, and he tugged her closer. “Can I ask you something?”

He smiled. “Anything.”

“Do you think you might like to be a fireman sometime?”

James’ smile widened. “I assume you’re not suggesting a career change?”

Daisy shook her head. “I was really thinking how clothes might maketh the man!”

James leaned his forehead against hers. “I think I could arrange that.”

“Excellent.” She beamed. “I’ve got something a bit more PG in mind, too. It involves socialising with other people.”

“So it doesn’t involve this?” He leaned closer and kissed her.

When he released her, Daisy giggled. “Pretty sure it doesn’t.”

“Will I like it?”

“I’ll be doing it!” she said.

“I’ll like it then.”

She gave him a serious look. “Does this mean that you’ll finally feel like part of my family?”

James nodded. “I’ll be there at every kids’ birthday party.” He tucked a finger under her chin and met her eyes, his gaze as serious as hers. “And I’ll never make you feel like you don’t matter to me, Daisy. Speaking of families, Miriam and Eric invited my folks to this thing. Rosie insisted they stay with her.”

Rosie was endlessly surprising, Daisy thought, snuggling as closely as she could to him. “Promise you’ll dance with me tonight, James?”

“All night, Daisy.”

She smiled against his chest. “I love you so much.”

His voice rumbled over the top of her head. “I know this isn’t very romantic, but thank fuck for that.”

She looked up at him, feeling a rush of pure happiness. “Actually, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”