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She didn’t answer, not at first—just nodded her head ‘Di desperately to keep her voice froe s you don’t mean’

‘But I do ht from here’ And he placed his hand over his heart

‘Will you stop it?’ she hissed ‘Everybody’s looking at us’

‘I don’t care’ He took her left hand between his palers felt How stiff her body language was as she sat there facing him ‘Just tell me that it’s not too late,’ he said ‘Tell ht in Russia Tell me that you’ll marry me and spend the rest of your life with me’

Erin are that prettyEven if they couldn’t hear—and Di no attely obvious, because he was digging into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulling out a small box

He flipped open the lid and she could see the dazzle as the light caught the glittering band of diamonds in the centre of which was one enormous and flawless stone, and froasp

‘I have had this ring fashioned from the very finest dia or too flashy, we can get you so antique and special in Moscow or Paris, if that’s what you’d prefer I’d just like you to wear it in the er Because ironically, despite having run all reatest advocate That is’ he stared at her ‘if you’ll agree to marry me?’

Erin saw the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes—so brief that she ined it—and somehow it made her love hiht it? It was so such a public and romantic proposal in an East End café She had tried to stop loving him, but somehow it just wouldn’t work and now she had accepted that it was never going to He was complicated, there was no doubt about that He was brilliant at sos and es he liked to hide away—at least until now But now she understood why And didn’t he need her love just as badly as she wanted to give it? ‘Oh, Dimitri,’ she whispered ‘Of course I’ll marry you I—’

But her words were drowned out by his laugh of pleasure as he rose to his feet and walked round to her side of the table, where he lifted her to her feet He stared into her face for what see time before he started to kiss her, and all the customers—except for the blonde—burst into a spontaneous round of clapping and cheering

In the co until Leo and his friends ca around on their hands and knees until it was located underneath the skirting board They were rewarded with ice cream and cola and the promise of a trip to watch Chelsea play, and Erin overheard Leo saying to his best friend, ‘That’s my daddy’

She blinked a little at that, because she didn’t actually re him that And that hen it all becaan to slide down her cheeks

EPILOGUE

LEO GOT HIS snowhts and the realisation that having a Russian father and an English mother meant he could actually celebrate two Christland, with Di Erin’s parents in fro down the café for a whole fortnight Dimitri booked an entire floor of the Granchester Hotel for the festivities, which faest tree in London—if you didn’t count the one in Trafalgar Square

And soot ed their vows and, for those heartfelt moments, felt like the only two people in the world Outside, the ground glittered with frost and Erin wore a hooded white cash, silk dress With Leo at her side as proud ring bearer, she carried camomile daisies—the national flower of Russia—mixed hite freesia, which were her mother’s favourites Chico was invited but had flown back to Brazil to tell his parents he was gay and no longer intended to live a lie Saladin was also invited but his favourite and most valuable horse was injured and he was at his wits’ end