Tears sprang into her eyes. To go from utter despondency, when she’d thought Trent was about to get rid of her, to euphoria in the space of a few hours made her sob uncontrollably. She covered her eyes with her hands.
He gently prized her fingers from her face. “Surely it’s not that bad?”
She shook her head and sniffled. “Trent, it’s the most wonderful thing to ever happen to me.”
“Is that a yes?”
She flung herself into his arms and showered kisses all over his face. “Of course it’s a yes. I love you, and I always will.”
“And I’ll always love you, my beautiful Scandinavian princess.”
Epilogue
One year later
Mia stood back and admired the finishing touches she’d made to Studio Utopia. Tomorrow was opening day, and she’d finally managed to get everything in order. It amazed her how far she’d come in the past year. Yes, it had been an uphill struggle to even consider opening a gallery, but with Trent’s help, she’d finally managed it.
Her gaze was drawn to the artwork taking center stage in the double height gallery. The Hans Vergen mural took pride of place, displayed to perfection in the confines of the sweeping staircase. It had quadrupled in value in little more than a year, and Trent had given it to her as a wedding gift. Mia would never sell it though, it was priceless to her. After all, it was the painting that had brought them together.
So much had changed in the last year. They now spent six months of the year in St. Lucia, and the rest of the time in New York. Trent was now on speaking terms with his father. It had thrilled her to be introduced as his fiancée, when she’d finally met his parents. Within a few hours of their meeting they’d all become great friends as if nothing untoward had ever happened. That was the thing about family. There was always room for forgiveness. Her most precious memory came when they’d both flown over to Sweden, and she’d presented Trent to her parents. Of course, they’d loved him straight away, especially when he tried to converse with them in Swedish. She giggled as she remembered his pronunciation of the language.
When the door to the gallery opened, Mia looked over her shoulder and smiled at the love of her life. Trent walked across to her. He nodded his approval at the progress she’d made without him.
“Good job, Mia, but I don’t want you doing too much. Not in your condition.” As if to emphasize his words, he wrapped his arms around her and smoothed his hands over her pregnant stomach. “Mmm, you feel so womanly. Maybe we could get pregnant every year.”
Mia giggled. “Just how many children do you plan on having, Trent?”
“At least ten.”
She snuggled into his warmth. “Sounds like bliss.”
“Mmm, especially if they all look like my beautiful, flaxen-haired Mia.”
She turned into his embrace and kissed his lips. “I love you, Trent.”
“I love you, too, princess, and I always will.”
THE END