Reach for the Stars Read online

  She responded to his infectious smile. ‘I love you too.’

  ‘Wait. There’s more.’ He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a sparkling ring – a glittering trio of diamonds. ‘I had this engagement ring made especially for you. Let’s set a date for our wedding.’

  She choked back her emotions. He’d overcome his barriers, he’d chosen her, but what if she couldn’t be what he needed. She felt all flummoxed, doubted he’d fully left behind the damage of his past. What if she couldn’t be the right wife for Nick?

  A cloud obscured the sun and a sudden strong contraction sent a spasm of pain banding around her middle and spreading out from her backbone.

  ‘Crikey O’Reilly!’

  They all laughed, the baby twins included.

  ‘That’s not the answer I was hoping for.’

  ‘Help me up Nick. I need to go back. Now!’

  ‘Are you …? It’s started?’

  ‘Yes, I think so. She’s on her way.’

  Maggie quickly handed Phoebe to Alex and helped get Layla up from the blanket on the ground. ‘I’ll call an ambulance.’

  Layla breathed deeply and calmly and with the help of Nick started to walk. After only a few paces a second contraction stopped her in her tracks.

  ‘We should get the coastguard,’ Nick said.

  The contraction ended. ‘I’m having a baby, I’m not a sinking ship.’ Holding tight to his hand she resolutely fixed on the Kandy Shack’s bright sign in the distance and walked towards it.

  Abandoning the picnic things Maggie and Alex bundled the babies into to the stroller and hurried along behind.

  ‘They’re sending an ambulance but it’ll take at least forty-five minutes to get here. That’s an hour and a half round trip. The contractions are getting closer together. I don’t think you have that long.’ Maggie whispered the news to Nick but Layla heard it too in a blur of breathing and walking and focusing on the sign that was slowly but surely getting nearer.

  Another agonizing contraction rooted her to the spot. Nick supported her, his hand pressed to the base of her spine and she breathed through it, stoically walking on when she was ready, until the next one and the next.

  ‘This baby’s a contrary little madam,’ she stammered between gritted teeth. ‘She’s kept us waiting and all of a sudden she’s in a hurry to get here.’ Maggie held her free hand and she desperately clutched it.

  ‘Look,’ Nick spoke calmly. ‘We need a plan, in case the ambulance doesn’t get here in time.’

  Only a few feet further on Layla bent forward, debilitated by the feeling that her legs were made of lead, she couldn’t move any further, and her waters broke. She sank down onto the sand. Maggie gave her a drink of water and smoothed her hair back off her face. ‘It’ll be okay,’ she soothed, ‘Nick’s going to think of something.’

  He felt useless, a hulking great waste of space, hit by a wave of panic he could barely control. He turned to his brother, ‘Alex, give me your car keys. You’re the best one to stay.’

  He took off across the sand, running like he’d never run before, overwhelmed by a flood of worry and guilt. Fear speared his gut, he’d done this to her, the abseil had given her a fright, started labour. He ran on, determined to make it alright. Every particle of emotional remoteness had fallen away months ago. But a part of him had remained turned in on himself. Not anymore. He focused on Layla and what she needed from him. All he wanted was for her and the baby to be safe.

  Panic on lockdown he went into overdrive. With the hospital miles away and things moving fast, driving there wasn’t an option. They’d have to go home. Heart beating wildly, he stopped at the Kandy Shack and asked Shelly to call the midwife and meet them at the house. Then he sprinted to the car park and drove Alex’s four-by-four to the slipway and down onto the sand. Luckily Mervin had stopped by the kiosk to see Shelly, so he directed proceedings, asking the day-trippers on the beach to move and make a safe corridor for Nick to reach Layla.

  Shelly acted fast and she and the midwife from the local surgery were there when Nick pulled the car up to the front door at Cliffside. He’d made the right decision because no more than fifteen dramatic minutes later the baby’s first cry stopped the world from spinning for a split second.

  Epilogue

  Exhausted and elated, Layla cradled their beautiful newborn daughter in her arms. Mesmerized by her baby girl, their seven-pounds-and-seven-ounces marvel with tufty auburn hair, Layla sat propped up on pillows in her king-size oasis of a bed. Happily, the impromptu home birth was problem-free. The speedy labor had left her shaken, but relieved and delighted to be holding her baby at last.

  As soon as the news was out, Alex and Maggie, Ralph and Jasmine, and Mervin visited. Everyone agreed to stay to dinner, including the midwife and a local GP who’d swung by to check on Layla and the new arrival.

  Shamefully it wasn’t until the delicious smells of food whipped up by Alex from his brother’s selection of spicy ingredients filled the air that anyone noticed the dog was missing. Alex, Ralph and Mervin offered to search the beach, insistent that Nick stay with Layla and the baby.

  ‘Don’t worry, we’ll find her, she won’t have gone far,’ Mervin said reassuringly.

  Just as the three men were about to set off there was a knock at the kitchen door and Nick opened up to find Joe with Ophelia and the discarded picnic hamper.

  A cheer went up in the kitchen and the scruffy little dog looked at the room full of people as if wondering what all the fuss was about.

  ‘I found her guarding the picnic from seagulls, although to be honest she wasn’t so much protecting it as polishing it off. You won’t need to feed her for a week.’

  Nick laughed. ‘Thanks for bringing her home.’ He shook Joe by the hand.

  ‘How’s Layla?’

  ‘Good.’

  ‘And the baby?’

  ‘Fantastic, a bit over-cooked, but otherwise, great. Would you like to come in? We’re opening a bottle of bubbly. You’re welcome to join.’

  Joe smiled. ‘I won’t, thanks. I’m helping my parents at the restaurant tonight. Lots of last minute customers because of the good weather.’ He handed over the forgotten engagement ring. ‘Ophelia was also looking after this.’ Moving to walk away, he turned back, ‘Tell Layla I said congratulations.’

  Later, when all their guests had left, Nick sat on the bed and circled his arms around Layla and the tiny bundle. Washed out but content with her newborn daughter in her arms, she inhaled the sweet baby scent, the rush of unconditional love a big contrast to the surge of inadequacy she’d felt earlier. She adored the baby’s little hands and tiny fingers.

  ‘She’s a little doll.’ She touched the pad of one finger to baby’s soft cheek, getting to know the scrunched-up pink face. The newborn wriggled and one of her tiny baby gloves popped off. Layla patiently put it on again and carefully rocked her as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

  ‘I’m sorry about the abseil. I was selfish. I should have cancelled.’

  She shook her head. ‘The timing was a bit off. But I love that you did it. I still don’t believe it.’

  Nick seized the quiet moment. ‘And if a wedding isn’t what you want, I respect that. I won’t push you again.’

  She read a ton of emotion in his eyes. ‘You were amazing today. I didn’t panic because you were there. I trusted you to know what to do. Without your quick thinking I’d have given birth on Porthkara beach.’ She pressed a kiss to his irresistible lips. ‘I love you. You know how even on the greyest of days the sun is up there shining in the sky behind the clouds? Well that’s what you are to me.’

  Your love is the brightness in all my tomorrows.

  Lightly he returned her kiss, murmuring against her smile, ‘That’s good to know.’ He touched her chin and tilted her face to look at him. ‘I want you to know you can rely on me. Always. Forever. I’m here to stay.’

  ‘I can’t describe how happy I am right now. Let’s not
wait any longer. How about we set a date for the wedding? Get married this summer, before you start work on the next movie?’

  ‘You got it.’ He hit her with his smile and she burst with joy as he took the ring from his pocket and slipped it onto her finger. He lowered his head to kiss the baby’s crown. ‘She hasn’t got a name.’

  ‘I’ve been thinking. How about Evie?’

  Together they quietly considered the sleeping baby. Nick glanced over at the dog lying obediently just outside the bedroom door. ‘What do you think O? Does she look like an Evie to you?’ Ophelia gave a hushed yelp. ‘I think that’s a yes.’

  ‘I chose it because my grandmother’s name was Eve. The question is, do you like it?’ Layla whispered.

  ‘It’s perfect. Beautiful little Evie.’

  Instinctively Layla knew she’d be forever besotted with their daughter. One day she’d tell Evie about her great-grandmother, and how she’d wished for Layla to be lucky in love.

  She passed the baby to Nick, loving the awe on his face, her apprehension gone.

  ‘Hi Evie, I’m your dad. And this extraordinary woman right here, she’s your mum, and I love her and you with all my heart.’

  Confident that they’d be together forever, happy tears pricked behind Layla’s eyes. She blinked them back. Once upon a time she’d convinced herself that Nick hadn’t any love to give. She’d been wrong on that oh-so-important point. She smiled at him and moved her hand to cup his face, the brush of his stubble touched her palm and her engagement ring sparkled in the soft lamplight. Her heart skipped as she kissed him, more than anything she wanted to be his wife.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to my stellar editorial director Charlotte Ledger. Thanks also to my editors Laura McCallen and Dushi Horti. I take my hat off to the wonderful cover designer! Thank you so much!

  And last but not least, thank you to publisher Kimberley Young, and all the talented people at HarperImpulse.

  Also by Kathy Jay

  What If He’s the One?

  About the Author

  Kathy Jay lives in Cheshire with her family, which includes a large dog and a cute cat. She loves the changing seasons, pyjama days and cosy log fires in winter. In summer, her top favourite things are strawberries and walking on beautiful beaches in North Wales.

  Kathy started writing her first romance on a vintage typewriter, although writing got put on hold while she studied for a degree in Drama and French. Kathy has been an office temp and a bilingual PA in London. She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and thrilled to write fun, flirty romance for HarperImpulse.

  @akathyjay

  www.facebook.com/Kathy-Jay-446501032148321

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