Chapter Thirty-Six

                                    

                                          
"Tom, how am I supposed to get this made if you keep distracting me?" It was early afternoon and I was in the kitchen trying to make a chocolate log. Tom was hovering around me, stealing kisses whenever I turned to reach for a utensil or ingredient - which I loved, of course, but it was taking me twice as long as usual to prepare the dish.

                          
He snuck another one in when I turned to tell him off then grinned at me. "Special fiancé privileges. I get to kiss you any time I want."
                          
"Is that so? I wish someone had warned me before I accepted your proposal." I teased him. He pouted so adorably I had to kiss him. "Now who's being a demanding little number?"
                          
His giggle was almost my undoing.
                          
Needing to concentrate, I handed him a spatula covered in gooey chocolatey goodness and sent him to sit at the dining table. I poured the mixture into a lined tin, tipping it to spread the mix into the corners, before putting it in the oven and setting the timer. As I prepared the things I'd need for the next stage I caught sight of the ring on my left hand and stopped to admire it again. 
                          
Tom had given me an antique style oval cut ruby surrounded by diamonds and set in delicate gold scrollwork. It was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen and I loved it, telling Tom he could not have chosen anything more perfect. It fit my finger exactly, of course - I knew it was Davey's handiwork and that he knew my size. I would be able to thank him later, as we would be seeing Our Gang tonight at Davey's house.
                          
Once the log was cooked and decorated we sat in the lounge; me perched comfortably on Tom's lap with my head tucked into his neck. He smelled of chocolate and mint and had a few days stubble on his chin that was soft and fuzzy against my forehead as I nuzzled into him. He had introduced the topic of wedding dates, pointing out that it was sure to be the first thing his mother and sisters would ask us the next day once we told them of our engagement.
                          
"Do you want sooner or later?" I asked.
                          
His arms tightened around me as he answered. "Darling, if it were up to me I would marry you tomorrow. Do you want to wait?"
                          
"No, not especially. You haven't got many gaps in your schedule for the first half of the year though." He was going to be filming back-to-back movies for most of February through to August with barely a breather in between. "What date do you have to be in LA?"
                          
"February twentieth. Most of January is the promotional tour; we're back February sixth I think, so there's a couple of weeks there, then nothing again till the end of May. Would you prefer a large or small wedding?" 
                          
"Small please - you, me, family, closest friends. No paparazzi." I shuddered at the thought of a media circus and was pleased when Tom agreed wholeheartedly to a small wedding.
                          
"Sophie and Ben already did Valentines Day, so we can't do that." I said. "Earlier in February?"
                          
"Is it too soon? I'll be gone almost all of January darling, you'd have to do most of the organising yourself." I kissed him to take away the look of distress and guilt on his face.
                          
"You're forgetting, love, I'll have Max and your mother helping - I doubt I'll have to do much at all!" Which made us both chuckle, knowing how accurate that would probably turn out to be. 
                          
Suddenly an idea struck me and I sat up a little in his arms. "Tom, your birthday! You're turning 35, we could say we're organising a special birthday party for you to throw the paps off the scent and have the wedding then!" 
                          
He got excited at that idea. "That's brilliant love! ... We could announce a wedding date for May ... maybe make a booking somewhere as a decoy."
                          
"I like the devious way you think Hiddles." I dimpled at him.
                          
"You're pretty devious yourself darling!" Which apparently was a bit of a turn on for him, because the kiss he gave me soon turned into something much more. Who knew the man likes bad girls?
                          
Davey and James both met us at the door that evening; James took the chocolate log from me and headed to the kitchen, Tom following him after putting his coat on the hook. I hung my coat and scarf as well then removed my gloves and put them in my coat pocket, knowing from Davey's gasp that he had seen the ring. I turned to him with a smile and he pulled me into a bear hug. 
                          
"About bloody time!" He exclaimed, kissing my cheek. "I'm so happy for you Katie."
                          
"Thanks Davey. And thank you for such a beautiful ring." I kissed him back and hugged him again.
                          
"Tom picked it love. I showed him a tray of rings I knew you would like and he went straight to that one. The man has good taste, got to give him that!"
                          
We went to join the others in the lounge - Rich, Ravi, Sue, Seth, Sophie, Anika and Paul, Jack and Ling - everyone had made it. As soon as I appeared at the door Tom came over to me, took my hand and made the announcement, his face wreathed in a breathtaking smile. We were inundated with congratulations and well wishes; hugs and kisses, handshakes and backslaps - we'd always been a touchy-feely lot. 
                          
"This calls for champagne!" James cried and wouldn't listen when I protested that eggnog was fine. Bottles of Grand Cuvee appeared and once glasses were full and the chatter died down, Davey proposed a toast.
                          
"To our Katie and her Tom; do all Shakespeare geeks just naturally gravitate together?" There was a great deal of laughter and good-natured teasing at that. "But seriously, we only have to look at the two of you together to know you are perfect for each other. We love you guys and we wish you all the happiness in the world. To Kate and Tom!"
                          
"To Kate and Tom!"
                          
As they raised their glasses and drank to us I gave my Shakespeare geek a kiss I hoped was full of promise and commitment, knowing he was indeed perfect for me.
                          
"Thank you everyone." Tom responded and looked at me. "I promise to take great care of this amazing woman and do my utmost to see she is happy, always." 
                          
Of course he deserved another kiss for that. "Special fiancé privileges." I told him with a grin.
                          
We drank champagne and a little eggnog, ate too much festive food and laughed together as we always did. My friends oohed and aahed over my ring and of course someone asked about a wedding date, so we explained the whole secrecy and subterfuge plan to them and told them to mark the two dates on their calendars. 
                          
As midnight approached we all bundled up in our coats again and walked to the church around the corner for the midnight service, our voices muffled in the cold night air, Tom's arm holding me close. It was the perfect beginning for our first Christmas together.
                          
---
                          
"Happy Christmas darling." I put the small package in Tom's hand, kissed him and got back into bed.
                          
"Sweetheart, I thought we were doing gifts later with family. Yours is packed in my bag ..."
                          
"I know. This one is just for your eyes only though ... well, your ears only." 
                          
He looked at me then at the package, prettily wrapped in blue paper with silver snowflakes and topped with a huge silver bow. Slipping his finger under the paper join, he pulled off the wrapping carefully and set it aside then looked at the CD in his hands.
                          
"It's only six songs, but I thought ... when you're away ... you could listen to them and be reminded how much I love you."
                          
"Kate ... how ... when ..." He was lost for words.
                          
"Hugh put me in touch with a music producer he knows and I went along to his home studio to record them." When Bernie had sent me a copy of the recordings I'd done with Hugh I had thought of the idea to make a CD for Tom and asked Hugh for his help. The songs I'd chosen were beautiful love ballads, including the one I had sung for him my first night in Toronto. 
                          
"Darling ..." He looked at me with tears in his eyes then got up and left the room, coming back a minute later with his laptop. Setting it on the dresser, he inserted the CD before coming back to bed. As he made love to me I sang the songs to him along with the recording, until I had no breath to spare for singing.