Page 25 of The Hidden Daughter (The Lost Daughters #7)

Amalie’s heart ached as Oskar held her hand in both of his, pressing kisses to her knuckles. She’d been preparing for this day, but still, it didn’t make it any easier.

‘This is only for a few weeks,’ he said.

‘I know,’ she whispered, leaning into him so that their foreheads were touching.

They were standing by the water, their favourite place to be, but summer was coming to an end, which meant that the wind blowing off the fjord was cooler now, making the little hairs on her arms stand on end.

Or perhaps it had nothing to do with the weather at all.

‘When you finish here, you make your way to my home in Oslo,’ he said. ‘I’ll be waiting for you.’

She nodded. They’d gone through every detail of their plan and his address was in her pocket, but it was still comforting hearing him say it again.

‘Everything will be all right, Amalie, I promise you,’ he said.

‘We’re going to be our own family, and no one can stand in our way, do you hear me?

It doesn’t matter what anyone says.’ Oskar placed a hand on her stomach, still flat, not showing any hint that their baby was already growing there.

‘I think it’ll be a little boy, as strong as an ox. Our own little Viking,’ he teased.

‘Or a girl, with dark brown eyes just like her father,’ she said, already imagining a daughter. From the day she’d found out she was expecting, she’d felt in her heart that she was carrying a girl.

His smile warmed her heart.

‘What if they don’t approve though, Oskar?’ Amalie asked. ‘What then? What if they never accept me?’

‘Then we go to see my brother, Alexander,’ Oskar said. ‘He’ll help us, I know he will, and he’ll love you just as much as I do.’

Amalie wasn’t convinced about that, but she didn’t voice her concerns to Oskar. She’d already imagined that his older brother would be like his parents—cold and unimpressed by her lineage—but if he was anything like Oskar, then maybe he would be different.

‘Come here,’ he murmured, drawing her into his arms. Oskar held her close, kissing the top of her head and then cupping her face in his hands so that he could kiss her lips. His mouth was warm and familiar after an entire summer of being wrapped in each other’s arms.

‘I have something for you before I go,’ Oskar whispered against her lips, gently pulling away from her.

She caught her breath as he reached into his pocket, and when he took out a velvet ring box she gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

‘Oskar,’ she began, looking from him to the box and back again.

He dropped to one knee and took her hand, and she began to cry as he gazed up at her. ‘I know I’ve already asked you, but I have a ring this time, and I want you to know that even without the baby, I would have asked for your hand. Amalie, will you marry me?’

When he opened the ring box, the diamond inside was only modest, but it was more than she’d ever imagined a ring could be. It sat on a shiny gold band, and as he moved it, the small diamond caught the light and glinted brilliantly.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she said, holding out her hand and letting him slide it onto her finger. ‘And it fits like a glove.’

He grinned up at her, and it was then she realised that she hadn’t given him an answer. ‘Yes, Oskar, I will marry you, a thousand times over. With or without a ring.’

He stood and kissed her again, and she held out her hand to stare at her diamond, loving the way it twinkled as she moved it. Her mother and sister only had plain gold bands, not engagement rings, and she couldn’t imagine how excited they’d be for her when they saw it.

‘Tell me again what you’re going to do,’ he asked, gathering her into his arms and holding her against his chest, his chin resting on her head.

‘I’m going to go home to my family after I finish here, and tell my father that you’ve asked for my hand,’ she said. ‘I’ll share our secret with my mother, if I feel that she’s open to it, and then I’ll make my way to you in Oslo.’

‘You have the money I gave you?’ he asked. ‘It’s somewhere safe?’

‘Sewn into my coat,’ she said. ‘I’ll be fine, Oskar. I’m well used to looking after myself.’

‘But you’re not just looking after yourself now, Amalie.’

There was a call from the hotel, and she felt Oskar’s body stiffen. It was time for him to go.

‘I’ll see you soon,’ he murmured, lifting her hand to his lips again and holding it there, before finally letting go and turning to walk away.

‘Oskar,’ she said, calling after him.

She committed the image of him to memory; his soulful dark eyes, the way his slightly too long hair moved in the breeze, the hint of a smile on his face when he looked at her.

‘I love you,’ Amalie said.

He pressed a kiss to his fingertips and then blew against them. ‘I love you, too.’

And just like that, she was left standing with the fjord behind her, their most special place in the world, as the man she loved walked away from her, headed home to his family.

She only hoped that he was right about them coming to accept her, because if they didn’t…

Amalie placed a hand to her stomach. Heaven help us.