'It's time.' David's words interrupted Ethan's musings. 'The women want you there at 7.00pm.'
'Then I guess I shouldn't disappoint them.'
'If you did life probably wouldn't be worth living, not with them anyway.'
Life wouldn't be worth living without them or more specifically Maggie, he conceded ruefully. In the end it was a no brainer. No matter what the future held tonight he would let everyone know exactly what Maggie's place in his life was, his other half, his love. He wondered whether he should let her know first.
'So where are all the cars, David?' Ethan asked as they pulled up in front of his house.
'Parked in a guarded area on the local primary school grounds. The girls organised a fleet of taxis to ferry guests to your house.'
'Ingenious.' This was the last of a long line of questions that Ethan had asked since leaving the house. 'Bigger than Ben Hur', Ethan muttered.
'Just wait 'til you see the stripper.'
'What?…Now hold on a minute…my Mother and her friends will definitely not appreciate that sort of spectacle.' Ethan then caught the wicked glint in his driver's eyes and sighed.
He was losing his touch.
Dam that woman. Ever since she had met his gaze that first time in hospital she was never far from his thoughts, invading board meetings, distracting him in negotiations and tempting him in his sleep. His brain had become so addled that even a so obvious tease from his employee caught him 'Leg Before'.
'Maybe next year.'
'Maybe never.'
Unless of course it was a private party and Maggie was the star. Ethan reluctantly got out of the car and squared his shoulders in preparation for whatever faced him in the silent, dark house in front of him.
'Showtime.' He muttered quietly as he took a deep breath, pasted a smile on his face and slowly pushed open the door.
'Surprise…surprise!' chorused the sea of smiling faces that met him.
He didn't have to paste on a look of shock as the sea surged up and surrounded him and swept him into the heavily decorated lounge.
A few friends they had said. Yeah, right!
A drink was pressed into his hand as numerous slaps of hearty congratulations were delivered onto his back. His smile became genuine as he began to recognize faces he hadn't seen in years. There were friends from uni, from his early days estimating for a major civil engineering company to more recent connections. There were family friends including distant cousins.