And in the final window:
PLZ
Her heart slammed against her ribs and when she turned to Luke she found him staring at her, his heart in his eyes. ‘Stan told me I was mad doing it this way. That you might run off.’ He reached for her hands and grasped them in his. ‘You don’t need to say yes, but remember you promised me once you wouldn’t run. That you’d stay and argue. So if we need to do that for a bit, if you need me to go through the long list of reasons why this is the best idea I’ve ever had, we can do that.’ He heaved in a breath. ‘Now would be a good time for you to speak.’
Oh my God, she’d never been so utterly overcome. The proposal, the way he’d done it. The fact he’d asked her parents to witness it. Tears welled in her eyes. ‘I don’t want to argue.’
‘Yeah, that’s good, but right now I need an answer…’ he trailed off, his eyes widening. ‘Wait, does that mean you’re saying yes?’ His hands tightened around hers. ‘Or that you’re about to run away?’
Laughing now, happiness flooding through her, she reached up on tiptoe and kissed him. ‘You goof, I’m saying yes.’
A loud whoop went up around them and everyone started clapping. Beside her Luke’s face was no longer green but flushed and beaming. ‘Thank Christ for that.’ To her surprise he grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it up. ‘If you hadn’t, I’d have been left with a problem.’ Tattooed next to Grace’s name, she saw her own, and felt tears spill onto her cheeks as she remembered his words: The only names I’ll ever have tattooed on my skin are those of people I want to keep in my life permanently.
As she wiped her face, he pointed up to the flats. And now Mia could see how he’d done it. Chloe, Tanya, Donna, Mateo, Bill, Gary, Tony … others she recognised from the bar. They each stood in one of the windows, waving down at her. ‘Wow, this has taken some organisation.’
He laughed. ‘I want to say it was nothing, but I’ve been a basket case all morning. Would the gang turn up, did they have the right letter in the right window, would they put it up too soon, not soon enough, not at the right time?’ He held her gaze. ‘Would you hate me asking you so publicly, being put on the spot like this?’
Just when she thought she couldn’t love him more, he showed her the vulnerability that was usually so well disguised. ‘I love that you did it this way because this is us.’ Wrapping her arms around him, she smiled into his eyes. ‘A bit geeky, a bit flashy, a lot crazy but totally wonderful.’
It wasn’t long before they were bombarded by family. Her mum had tears in her eyes, her dad couldn’t stop smiling. Elle was a wreck. When she glanced over to Luke she saw he was being clapped on the back by his brother and hugged by Grace. He caught her eye over her shoulder and the small smile he gave her fizzed down her spine. I can’t wait to get you alone, it said.
‘My little gumdrop, going to get married!’
Mia turned to her mum, who was wiping her eyes with a tissue. ‘I’m waiting for you to tag on a finally.’
‘Oh hush you, I always knew it would happen.’
‘Next she’ll be waiting for you to produce little gum-babies,’ her dad added dryly, a glint in his eye.
As Elle snorted with laughter, Mia shook her head. ‘One step at a time, please. Besides, you’ve got enough grandchildren to be getting on with for now.’
‘I knew he was the one for you, I just knew it, right from that first message he put in the window.’ Elle let out a long, dreamy sigh. ‘I mean, who thinks to do that?’
‘A guy who was besotted right from the start, and fell deeper in love, the more he saw her.’ Mia turned to find Luke staring down at her. ‘It took a few months, and a forest of paper, but thank God she finally got the message.’
THE END
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Acknowledgments
My first big thank you is to the fabulous One More Chapter. This is my fourth book with them and from concept to finished book, they have been a joy to write for. Charlotte Ledger, editor extraordinaire, is the most inspiring person to work with. The messages in the window were her brain wave and I absolutely loved the challenge of figuring out how to use the idea to build the relationship between Luke and Mia. Such a romantic concept, but fun, too. At least I hope you’ll find it fun when you read it! While the messages in the window were a joy to write about, I’m sure they weren’t a joy to actually put into print, so a big thank you too, to Bethan Morgan for patiently (painstakingly?) sorting them out, along with the edits. Finally, I adore my One More Chapter covers and I think Mr Right Across the Street is my favourite so far. So thank you Lucy Bennett for yet another gorgeous creation.
I chose Manchester for Mia’s new home because I’ve spent many happy times there, so my next big thank you is to my dear friend Charlotte England. And please excuse me while I use this opportunity to warn her I’m looking forward to many more visits, including checking out some of the new places I found when researching this book!
While writing is a solo affair, I’m lucky to be part of a writing community that ensures I never feel alone, so thank you also to the amazing bloggers and fellow authors out there who do so much to support each other, and me.
Speaking of support, thanks to the following people who are kind enough to still show an interest in my writing; my in-laws, Anne and Keith, cousins Shelley, Karley, Kath, Kirsty and Hayley, my sis-in-law Jayne, friends Laura, Sonia, Jane, Carol, Tara and Priti. And of course I can’t forget my own lovely mum. I suspect she thought I’d stop after a few, but here we are, 15 books later and, at the age of 86, she’s still managing to keep up to date.
My husband and sons put up with endless bizarre questions from me when I’m writing a book, whether it’s for ideas, for cool names, or in this book odd computing questions for my youngest who’s studying computer science. Thank you for putting up with having a romantic fiction writer as a wife/mum.
Finally, I want to thank you, the reader, for buying Mr Right Across the Street. If you’ll forgive the terrible pun, I sincerely hope it’s right up your street!
Thank you for reading…
We hope you enjoyed Mr Right Across the Street!
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Don’t miss The Beach Reads Book Club, the next irresistible romcom from Kathryn Freeman…
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And catch up on her previous books by clicking on the links below!
The New Guy follows the story of Sam Huxton, who doesn’t do one-night stands, especially not with men she’s just met!