ARWYN
Four months later
T he June day was warm, and by the time Zaki arrived with the RV, it was nearly stifling.
The Edge had lost in the Stanley Cup final to the Miami Ice Cats for the second year in a row, and now Zaki and the girls would be moving back to Montreal. His agent was hopeful the team there would sign him, and he’d found an apartment near Viki’s parents’ house to live in until I flew up there and we could go house-shopping.
House-shopping. I looked around my front room. Could I really leave? I still hadn’t decided on when I’d join them in Canada or what to do with my house.
This was my family’s home. It was where I grew up, where my dad grew up. Where his dad grew up. I’d never sell it.
With the money I’d earned from taking care of Isla and Amelie—which Zaki wouldn’t let me refuse to take—I’d fixed it up, repainted it, and let Beck and Liam have a field day redesigning the interior of the garage. When I moved to Montreal, what would become of my wedding dress library?
I still had so much to sort out.
Instead of flying, Zaki decided it would be fun to drive to Quebec, stopping along the way to see the US. Flynn and Meggie were getting married in Maine at the end of July, and I planned to meet them up there.
From my sewing machine in the front window, I watched the girls and pups go inside the RV. This would be a fun adventure for them. Amelie had been making lists for weeks. What to see, what to pack, what to do.
I lost track of how long I stared at the RV. When the girls exited it and headed for the house, Zaki was right behind them.
“Wynnie!” Amelie was first in the front door and almost tripped over her green princess dress running to me. “Come see it!” She opened the doggie gate and let Isla in, then ran over to me.
“Yes, come see.” Isla took my hand and pulled at it.
“Okay.” I looked up at Zaki, and he waggled his eyebrows.
Silly man.
With an almost-six-year-old tugging each of my hands, I let them pull me out of the house and to the RV.
Then they let go and ran up the steps, disappearing inside.
So much for my tour.
I looked back at Zaki, and he shrugged.
I walked the remaining distance and ascended the stairs slowly. Amelie was waiting between the front seats. “This is where the driver sits”—she pointed to each in turn—“and where the navigator sits.”
I turned toward the main living space, where Isla stood by the sink. She gestured to the loft over the front seats. “Up there is where me and Amelie will have our quiet time. And here”—she pointed to the table and booth-style benches—“turns into our beds!”
“Very nice,” I said approvingly.
“But,” Amelie said, “we can sleep up there, too. If we have a guest. ” She looked at her sister.
“I see. Like your aunt Sofi,” I filled in.
Amelie grinned. “Sure. Follow me.”
She led me past the bathroom and to the main bedroom at the back. “This is Daddy’s room.” She walked around the bed to the side wall, which featured a freestanding closet and a built-in set of drawers under the window. “These are fake drawers. Pull here.”
I approached the small dresser and pulled at the side as instructed. It swung open, barely missing the corner of the bed.
“The top is fake, too.” Isla joined us and lifted the surface upward and over to the left side.
I gasped. It was a sewing machine table.
“But—why?” I asked.
“We won’t need a nanny anymore,” Zaki said. I spun around. I hadn’t heard him enter. “But we need you. Will you come with us?”
Amelie pulled at her braids. “It’s a bend in the road, Wynnie. Like when Anne had to leave Green Gables, the place she loved the most in the world, to follow her dreams.”
Her perception and wisdom were right on.
A bend in the road, indeed.
“I—don’t know.”
“We got you a gift!” Isla opened the closet and pulled out a small blue leather box and lifted the lid. Inside was a beautiful cameo brooch.
I ran my finger over the smooth faux ivory silhouette and coral base. “It’s beautiful. Zaki Marsch, are you bribing me with jewelry?”
He shrugged. “It was their idea. I told them you couldn’t be bought, though.”
I laughed. “I do love it.”
He smiled. “What if I throw in the bed and sleep on the benches? This whole room would be your space.”
“Zaki, you’re six-foot-three.” I looked around the room. “And it would be selfish of me to take all this space.”
He shrugged. “It’s selfish of us to try to steal you from your home. The floor works, too. Wynna-bun. I’ll sleep outside in a tent every night if it means you’ll come with us.”
I stared at him, mouth gaping. “You want me to come with you that much?”
“Yeah. I do. I mean, we do. Right, girls?”
“Daddy. Stop messing around!” Isla shouted. “It’s secret weapon time. Ugh.”
I held back a laugh as she handed the blue box to her father and ran to the bed. She and Isla climbed up and held hands, then began jumping up and down and giggling.
I turned back to Zaki, and for the second time, I gasped. He was down on one knee and was lifting the velvet that held the cameo from the box. He set it on the bed.
Underneath was the most beautiful daisy-inspired antique ring I’d ever seen. A pale yellow center was framed with petal-shaped diamonds, with more diamonds set into the band.
“Daisies represent innocence, loyalty, and a fresh start. In England and Scotland, they represent the sun. And that’s what you are to me, Wynnie—my sun. Shining brightly, casting your light on my world. I love you with all my heart and promise to do everything to make you happy. I’ll always fall short of Gilbert Blythe, but I’m better-looking and taller. And I passed your mom’s extensive background check. What do you say? Will you marry me?”
“And will you be our stepmom, Wynnie?” Amelie asked. “We made a list of all the requirements of a super stepmom and you check all the boxes!”
“And could you be our tour guide? And navigator, too?” Isla asked. “Daddy is not an expert on America.”
“Hey now!” Zaki protested. “I’ve been to every major city dozens of times.”
“Hockey arenas don’t count, Daddy,” Amelie huffed. “We want an adventure. We want to see the sights!” She turned to me with pleading eyes. “And I need you to hold me tight when it’s too much.”
Amelie hadn’t had a full-on panic attack since they moved in. I’d adopted Monty’s I-let-go-first hug policy the minute I’d learned of it. To think I’d made a difference touched my heart in ways I couldn’t fully process.
“Yes, I’ll go.” I smiled at the girls. “And yes, I’ll marry your dad.”
“Yay!”
Engaged. What a prophetic Word of the Year that turned out to be.
The girls cheered as Zaki stood and folded me into his arms and we sealed our new promise with a kiss.
Our new adventure.
Thank you for reading Zaki and Arwyn’s book! It would mean the world to me if you left a review and tell me what you loved about their story.