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A YEAR LATER

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    The envelope sits on the side, waiting for him to come home, along with the small box. Initially, Cameron had one present to come back to, but now he has two. As usual, plans change. Sounds like fucking normal these days, in a good way, I suppose.

The front door opens, and in he walks, a bunch of pink roses clearly from the nearby florist in his hands. His cheeks look flushed, and his dark hair is ruffled and he's out of breath. "I'm sorry I'm late – I know you had plans." He breathes as he approaches me. "I had something – not these – to pick up on my way home and they were running late. I'm sorry, Kenna."

I laugh as he hands me the roses. "You don't need to be sorry, you idiot. It's fine. Thank you for these. They're gorgeous."

They smell so fresh; the scent overpowering the air freshener I have in here. I take them through to the kitchen and immediately put them in water to cut and prune later.

"They're just because I wanted to, and I love you." He approaches me after taking his coat off and pulls me into an embrace.

"I love you too." I cuddle him back, inhaling the scent of the baking and chocolate on him from the shop. My shift finished four hours ago, but he was on a later shift so I could get the stuff done I needed to in secret.

"Everything okay at the shop?" I ask.

He nods. "Yeah, all good. We tripled target today."

"Holy fucking shit, Cameron. How?"

"Well, cruise ships in today. It's a Friday, and we're popular these days."

I whistle and pass him a beer from the fridge. The cake shop is doing crazy well now we're down here, it's a real hit, and the London branch is booming even more, too. Especially now Dad is Prime Minister – he won the election by a landslide, and the country seems to love him even a year on. Well, of course, he has the haters, but every minister will. He's doing good for the country, though.

"How's your afternoon been?" Cameron asks once he sits down on a bar stool on the other side of the kitchen.

I take a breath and grab the envelope and box from the side. "Well, I did the schedule today like I did for a reason."

"You mean you planned this afternoon off?" He raises his eyebrows. "Kenna Taylor, you've been up to something?"

I nod. "I have. Well, one thing, and then a second thing. Sounds like you have too, though. What did you have to pick up?"

"It's a secret."

Yeah, I'm onto him. He's been acting shifty for a week; in a good way. He's got a surprise up his sleeve, and I can't work out if he's going to either propose or buy a house. My money is on a house, I think. Though he's now got me questioning everything I've been theorising by 'picking something up'. I want to know, but I also love surprises.

I drop it and pass him the things. "Well, here are my secrets. The envelope first."

He puts his beer down and starts opening the envelope. "What the fuck have you been up to?"

I say nothing as he takes the paperwork out and begins reading. He clearly doesn't quite understand, which I knew he wouldn't.

"Might not make much sense now, but basically, I bought the building down the road at the marina. It's in my name, but I've put the deed in our name."

He gasps and reads the deed. "What the fuck, Kenna? The building we saw ages ago?"

We went for a walk down by the marina where we saw this retail hospitality building for sale. It's got glass walls, a massive inside, a modern kitchen and a brilliant patio area overlooking the water. It's gorgeous, and Cameron mentioned how he'd love to have the dessert restaurant he talked about last year when we got together.

"Yeah, that one. The success of the shops... it's more than I ever imagined. I remember telling you how we'd do the restaurant you mentioned with the desserts and cakes if it worked. Well, it worked. I've got the building, and the numbers of the people you need to fit it however you want in the documents. I'll be the business partner and I'd like to do it under the Kenna's Kakeology brand, but it's yours, Cameron. If you want it, it's your dessert place; you can manage it, be the head chef. Whatever you want, it's yours."

He stands from the chair and stares at me for a few moments in shock. "You bought it for me?"

"Well, for the business, but yeah, it's your business as well."

"Holy shit, thank you so much."

"Before you kiss me so hard we'll end up in the bedroom, there's one more gift." I laugh at his enthusiasm.

"You spoilt the fun now," he jokes.

"Trust me, this one might," I retort. "This surprise was unexpected."

He takes the box and opens it up to reveal the pregnancy test I took this morning with its positive wording blazoned on the screen.

"You're pregnant?" He questions.

I nod. "Period's two days late, boobs hurting like crazy. Didn't want to get your hopes up, so I said nothing till I knew either way."

He laughs. "How would this ruin the fun? Kenna, this is amazing! After three months, that's crazy! Most people take a year."

I scoff. "When you try as much as we do..." I trail off, leaving him to the rest of that thought.

"Well, that's ruined my surprise, because I'll have to show you now."

I arch an eyebrow until he appears in front of me. Not a house, then.

"I love this life, and I love you so much, I can't quite describe it. I tried, actually, when practising this speech, but I couldn't find the words."

I laugh.

He carries on. "Back when we were, well, kids, I guess, life was just... shit. But you helped me wade through that shit to be in a state of okay. When you fled, genuinely, it broke me, but I also found meaning in it, matured, and found my way, but my life was still dark. Then you came back, and through yet more shit, somehow we found each other. I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. Kenna, you're the light in the dark, the thing that pulled me out of the shit so many times – despite me saving you –" We both laugh at that. "—and this life is the best thing to happen. I'm absolutely, deeply in love with you. Will you marry me?" He dips to one knee and shows me a diamond ring in the black box he pulls out of his pocket.

Definitely not a house.

"Of course I will." I wipe my eyes as he stands up and grabs me in a tight embrace. "I was wondering whether you'd bought a ring or a house."

Cameron grins as he lets me go. "Well, about that—I'm joking!"

"Idiot."

"Would you have preferred a house?"

I scoff. "Absolutely not. Put that on my finger now!"

He fits the ring on my ring finger with a laugh. It's an aquamarine diamond with clear ones on either side – an ode to the beach where we grew up, and where he saved me from.

"It's gorgeous, thank you. I love you."

He kisses me. "I love you, too."

It's strange how life turns out; a year and a half ago, I was standing on the beach in Bournemouth where Cameron saved me, and where Elliott and I used to spend so much time together, wondering how to get away, hoping I wouldn't run into Cameron at all. Then I did, and everything was feeling bleak. I was about to marry someone who was cheating on me with my sister. My mind was stuck in the past and not over Elliott's death and secrets.

Yet now, here I am, engaged and expecting a baby with the man I wanted to avoid for so long. I was where I wanted to avoid, and not able to say the things I needed to say to move forward. My life was stuck in the deep end. But those very things I was avoiding, I managed to face. None of it's painful to think about anymore, and it's partly because of Cameron and how we moved forward together. It's all now just a part of my past that may have shaped who I am in a bad way by hurting, but it's also made me stronger because of how I found the way through.

Elliott may be gone, but he's still here in spirit and everything we're doing with the business. Patty and Leo even come into the shop now and again to see us, and they love what we're doing. They've even become part of the charity and helping raise awareness. They still don't know the truth, and never will if I can help it, but it's for the best, and I know Cameron agrees now. He's no longer painful to think about or talk about, but someone to look back on with fondness. The memories are no longer defined by what happened to him. He's a good thing and because of him, we're raising awareness and being together.

They say home is where the heart is, and for me, or, as my mum would say, 'Kia mau ki te tokanga nui-a-noho', 'there is no place like home' in Māori. I used to think my home was on the beach because it's where I used to think of Elliott and Cameron, except I was struggling there, beneath the surface and drowning in the past. My home is now wherever my heart is, and right now, that's here with Cameron and now our to-be family.

I'm no longer beneath the surface fighting for my life and the past to be reality; I'm not fighting those waves, but swimming with them and embracing them, and enjoying every moment.

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THE END

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Author's Note: Thank you SO MUCH for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story! 

If you like this story, you'll probably like another book on my profile, My Blossoming Redemption! 

Check out the premise: After being forced into a marriage by her devoutly religious parents, Aspen's husband is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, and she must find her purpose as well as fight feelings for her husband's nurse.