Of course it wasn’t possible to arrange it that soon, but she got another lovely surprise the next day.
‘I’d like to show you and Trent something,’ he said the next morning after breakfast. ‘We’ll take his pram.’
‘What is it?’
He studied her. She was feeding Trent and she looked voluptuous, languorous and completely serene. As if she had most satisfactorily been made love to recently, which, indeed, she had.
As have I, he reflected, and I will never let her go again.
‘Wait and see.’
‘There’s a surprise in the air, honey-child,’ she told Trent, and Jack grinned.
But her astonishment at his surprise was huge.
‘Jack,’ she said uncertainly as they stood in the house on the property that had first brought them together, ‘how did this happen?’
The house was no longer neglected. It wasn’t furnished, but it had been renovated exactly as Maggie had suggested. It was clean and sparkling and the smell of new paint lingered on the air.
‘You told me what you wanted,’ he reminded her.
‘Yes, but you never mentioned it again!’
‘I wanted to do it as a surprise. I thought it might be the perfect place for Trent to grow up.’ He took her hand and led her to a window. ‘The garden has been cleared and is all ready and waiting for you. I thought you might even like to see if you could grow some Guettarda Speciosa here and harvest their perfume.’
‘Oh, Jack.’ She stood on her toes and kissed him. ‘Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.’
He held her close. ‘Happy?’
‘Yes, very happy. Almost happier than I can bear.’ They turned as Trent made a protesting sound from his pram, as if he was taking exception to being ignored.
They linked hands and walked over to the pram.
‘We’re here, kiddo!’ Jack said and they both bent over the pram.
Trent wriggled ecstatically, then he smiled a blinding, toothless smile at them.
Maggie gasped. ‘Did you see that—did you see that? Do you agree that was a smile and not wind?’
‘Sure do. What’s wrong with it?’
‘He’s only two months old! I didn’t think it was supposed to happen so early.’
‘Maggie—’ Jack tossed her a laughing look ‘—perhaps he’s divined that we’ve got the message and are doing everything by the book now, so he can relax and please himself occasionally?’