Down London Road (47 page)

As fiery as the disagreement had been, once it was done, it was done. We settled into our routines quickly, and so far, I would say the moving in thing was an absolute success. The following Saturday we were having a little flat-warming party so all our friends could visit and make sarcastic comments about how sickeningly in love we were.

I couldn’t wait!

Eyeing Cam suspiciously, thinking his behaviour very odd as he sat there on the end of the bed, I asked, ‘What are you doing? Where’s Cole?’

‘At McDonald’s with his friends. I said he could.’

‘That’s fine. Maybe we should order in food instead of cooking, then.’

‘Sounds good.’

He seemed off. ‘You okay?’

‘How was the first day?’ he countered, suddenly grinning at the state of me.

‘Brilliant. I mean my neck and back hurt and I have paint on my eyelashes, but it was brilliant.’ I sidled into the room and slumped down beside him, pressing a soft kiss to his mouth.

When I pulled back, Cam gave me a half smile. I studied him, definitely getting the impression something wasn’t quite right. Did he look nervous? ‘Seriously, what’s going on?’

‘I have a present for you.’ He pulled his hand out from behind his back and held the gift-wrapped rectangular package out to me.

I grinned at him. ‘What’s this for?’ I took the proffered gift and ran my fingers over it, wondering what it could be.

Cam’s lips curled up at the corners at my excitement. ‘It’s just something to commemorate your first day as one of M. Holloway’s painters and decorators.’

I laughed, giving him another quick kiss, before turning to my present. I slowly unwrapped it, tucking the paper behind me as I turned the gift over. It was a paintbrush – and not just any paintbrush. It was one of the best, most expensive, professional paintbrushes.

‘Oh, Cam.’ I sighed at his thoughtfulness as I pried open the plastic to get to it. ‘You shouldn’t –’ The words abruptly stuck in my throat as the light caught a sparkle on the end of the brush. I shot him a disbelieving look before
zeroing in on the handle. Gently I pulled the brush out of its plastic and my jaw dropped at the sight of the object that had been placed through the tip of the handle.

It was a diamond ring.

A white gold ring with a simple princess-cut diamond set in raised prongs in the middle of the band.

My heart racing like mad at the implication, I slowly turned my head to gaze at Cam in stupefied wonder. He casually took the brush from my hand and pulled the ring off the handle. He rose from the bed and went down on one knee in front of me.

‘Oh, my God,’ I breathed, my right hand fluttering against my throat as my pulse throbbed at super speed.

Cam took my trembling left hand in his, his gaze sincere as he looked into my eyes. ‘Johanna Walker, love of my life, I never want to spend another day not waking up beside you.’ He held the ring up to my hand. ‘Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?’

I realized now, after years of waiting for the men before Cameron to ask me that question, that saying yes to any of them would have been absolutely the worst decision I would have ever made. There was one certainty I’d learned in the last few months: when a man asked you that question, there was only one thing you had to ask yourself.
Could I live without him?

If the answer was no, then the answer was yes.

I nodded, my mouth quivering as the tears started to fall. ‘Yes. I’ll marry you.’

With a groan of exultation, Cam pulled me towards him for a kiss so deep I was literally breathless when he let me
go. I panted against his mouth, smiling crookedly. ‘You know what this means?’

Cam’s eyes glittered, and I was overwhelmed by the happiness in them. ‘What does it mean?’

‘We’ll never be able to live with Joss after this. She’ll think she’s Mrs Matchmaker.’

‘I’ll have a word with Braden. He’ll keep her in line.’ He grinned boyishly. ‘We’re good at that.’

‘You two think you’re in charge, don’t you?’

He shrugged but his eyes said,
Yes – yes, we do
.

Cupping his face between my hands, I gave him a condescending yet sympathetic smile. ‘Oh, baby, your naïveté is so endearing.’

Laughing, Cam wrapped his arms around my waist and as he stood up he lifted me and threw me on to the bed. ‘Tonight at least, I’m in charge.’ He began to undress slowly as I sat up, braced on my elbows, to watch him, my body already coming alive in anticipation. ‘Now tell me again that you love me, Mrs Soon-to-Be-MacCabe.’

I sighed happily at the simultaneous sound of my soon-to-be surname and the zip on his jeans tugging down. As I prepared to give him what he wanted, it amazed me how easily those words came after having taken me so long to find the courage to say them to him in the first place. Just like I did with Cole, I promised myself there and then that Cam wouldn’t live a day of his life without knowing how I felt about him.

‘I love you, Cameron MacCabe.’

With a cocky grin, Cam dropped his jeans to the floor.
‘I love you, too, Miss Walker-Soon-to-Be-MacCabe.’ And I knew then as I was lying on our bed staring up into his familiar and handsome face that I had something I’d never had before. I had someone who wasn’t going to let me spend a single day of my life without knowing how much
I
was loved.

I think one of my favourite parts of it all was the fact that finding what we had together hadn’t cost either of us a single penny.

Well … with the exception of an engagement ring and a new paint palette for our flat.

Writing
Down London Road
has been one of the best times I’ve ever had. The process of writing the book, and all the exciting things that were taking place in my life during it, made the entire experience wonderful and unforgettable.

Through it all my fantastic agent, Lauren Abramo, has helped me navigate these new waters. Thank you, Lauren, for your kindness, your sound advice, and for being absolutely brilliant at what you do.

Kerry Donovan: It’s been a dream working with you. Your unbelievable enthusiasm, great insights and support are so appreciated. You see into the souls of my characters, you understand my writing and where it comes from, and then you help make it better. Thank you.

I also want to say a massive thank-you to Claire Pelly. Claire, thank you for your support, for believing in this world I’ve created, and for braving the harsh Scottish weather for me. I know that couldn’t have been easy!

Nina Wegscheider: Thank you for embracing Joss, Braden, Jo and Cam and for introducing them to my German readers.

A lot of hard work has gone into reaching new readers and delivering these characters and the streets of Edinburgh to them. For all the interviews, the Twitter and Facebook Chats, the articles and guest posts, I want to thank Erin Galloway at New American Library and Katie Sheldrake and
Kimberley Atkins at Michael Joseph. Ladies, you have been phenomenal, and I want you to know, despite my grumbling about getting my photo taken, I appreciate all the hard work.

An extra wee thank-you to Katie for also braving the cold weather in Scotland and enduring an almost fatal toe situation to be by my side and support me through the wonderful madness of introducing my characters to the UK.

The buzz around the series in Scotland has been crazy, surreal and awesome, and I have the kind, enthusiastic, indefatigable Moira MacMillan to thank for much of it. Thank you, Moira. You’ve gone above and beyond, kept my nerves company, and been a very good friend to have through this transition. Anyone who can make me laugh when I’m nervous as hell is a keeper!

To the teams at New American Library and Michael Joseph: Thank you to every single person who has contributed to this series. You’ve helped make a dream a reality.

I’ve always had so much respect for book bloggers and how much time and creativity they put into the love of a book. I want to say a massive thank-you to the ladies at Heroes & Heartbreakers, Smexy Books Romance Reviews, the Christian Grey Fan Page, and the SubClub Books for helping spread the word about these characters. You might just be better than chocolate!

There are also readers out there whose support blows my mind. I wish I could list them all, but if I did, we’d be here forever (and that in itself is an awesome thing that I am so grateful for), so I’d like to thank one in particular who has really touched me with her enthusiasm for my
work. Trish Patel Brinkley: Lady, you freaking rock! Thank you for your kindness, generosity and consideration. I love my Keep Calm and Kiss Braden mug and will cherish it always.

Life is hectic these days, and it’s nice to be able to turn to people who understand. To my fellow authors Shelly Crane, Amy Bartol, Michelle Leighton, Georgia Cates, Quinn Loftis, Angeline Kace and Rachel Higginson, thank you for your friendship, insights, advice, genuine support, love and appreciation. To Tiffany King, you are awesome. Your tweets of support are a highlight of my week. And a huge thank-you to Tammy Blackwell. Tammy, it’s brilliant to find someone who shares the same weird sense of humour and enjoyment of numerical lists, but rare to really ‘get’ someone when all you have to rely on is words on a screen. Your friendship and support have meant a lot to me, and I can’t wait to meet you so intonation can finally play a part in our exchanges.

Last but by no means least I want to thank my family and friends for having my back always.

Mum and Dad: Your unwavering belief in me astounds me. I feel lucky every day to call you my parents and two of my best friends. I love you lots.

David: I’m glad we made it through those argumentative childhood years only to come out great friends at the end of it. When you tell me you’re proud of me, I feel ten feet tall. I probably don’t say it enough, but I love you, big bro.

Deeanne: Thank you for being a friend through all this craziness. I appreciate it more than you know.

Shanine: You, my oldest friend, are one of the most
genuine people I have ever known. I’m
proud
to know you, and I can’t tell you how much your love and unbending support have meant to me over the years.

Kate McJ: My beautiful, intelligent and wonderfully mad friend. Thank you for being you and thank you for allowing me to be me. I’ll be forever grateful to that Ong Bak poster we bonded over.

And to Ashleen: We tend to see the world the same way, you and I, and there’s nothing more magical or reassuring than that. Moreover, I think you just might be the busiest person I know, and yet you somehow manage to make time to be there for me. Thank you, hon. It means the world.

To you, my reader: You’ve changed my world, and for that, I am eternally grateful to you. Thank you.

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First published in the United States of America by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2013
Published in Penguin Books 2013

Copyright © Samantha Young, 2013

Cover Image © Ilina Simeonova / Trevillion Images

All rights reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted

ISBN: 978-1-40-591305-8