Cock & Bull - Laura Barnard Page 0,95
a great listener.’
'You knew her?’
He nods. ‘After that whenever I needed to think she’d find me down there.’
I smile, loving how she helped him through a difficult time in his life.
‘In a way I think she brought you to me.’ He shakes his head. ‘Anyway, sometimes just looking at this tattoo brings me back that peace. I never knew that it would also come to mean more to me because of you.’
‘Really?’
‘Look… I know you contemplating any kind of relationship with me is a major risk, but the truth is that you’re my new addiction.’
I sigh. ‘Clooney, you can’t replace gambling with me.’
He smiles. ‘I know that and I still haven’t gambled in a hell of a long time. But I can imagine life without gambling. I can’t imagine it without you. You’re it for me, Phoebe. I know I’m far from a catch. I’m jobless and in debt. And, well, I know it’s really selfish of me, but I’ve still got to ask.’
‘Ask what?’ I look into his eyes, immediately knowing this pub isn’t my home. He is. Wherever he goes I’ll follow.
He bites his bottom lip. ‘Will you take a gamble on me? On us?’
I wrap my arms around his neck, my smile so big it hurts my mouth. I crush my lips to his, finally feeling at home.
‘I’ve always been all in, baby.’
Epilogue
Four Years Later
I clutch onto my dad’s arm as I walk down the aisle to “Blackbird” by the Beatles. We decided to get married on the pier at the lake. It means so much to both of us, it just felt right. It’s early evening, dusk just setting around us, an added glow from the string lights overhead. The lake looks beautiful, all the more for the light fog settled around us.
I smile back at my sisters as we pass them. Yes all seven extra ones. Ella didn’t only find them, but integrated them into our family. It’s weird, but I couldn’t imagine life without them now. It’s nice to belong to a big blended family.
I smile at Clooney dressed in a dark grey suit his dad had made for him. Yeah, we’re kind of on okay terms with Fergus now. I know, I wouldn’t have believed that four years ago, but little by little we’ve come to some sort of unspoken agreement where we’re civil for Clooney’s sake.
It helped that he wrote off his thirty grand debt, on the condition that Clooney still attends his support group every Tuesday night, and encouraged people to visit our pub. We seem to attract a younger crowd to Cock & Bull while he’s kept the over fifties at The Dog and Duck. It’s a fair compromise that found us fairly naturally.
It’s funny to think there was a time when Clooney wouldn’t even tell me about his tattoos. There’s no secrets between us anymore. I know every little detail about his life, not because I’ve forced it out of him, but because he chooses to share it with me.
I know that the rose tattoo and the dove is to signify his and Orla’s lost baby. They’d talked about calling their baby Rose, had she been a girl.
I know that the song verse on his arm, ‘And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make,’ is the last lyric in the last song of the last Beatles album. Yep, who knew he was a Beatles fan? He’s even converted me, hence the music playing.
Ella takes my bouquet at the end of the pier smiling proudly. I turn to face the gorgeousness that is Clooney Breen. He takes my hand, his butterfly tattoo now having a tiny P on the other wing. He winks at me, and I swear, I still go weak at the knees.
‘You look stunning,’ he whispers into my ear under the rustic arch covered in greenery.
I beam back at him, never feeling more beautiful. Not because I’m wearing the most beautiful champagne and gold gown, unlike any other bridal style I’ve seen. I could be wearing sweat pants around him and I’d still feel the most stunning girl in the room. That’s just how Clooney’s love makes you feel. Like you’re on top of the world.
Two layers of buttery, stretch silk skims over my hips like a second skin, cascading into a flared hem and train. Over it I wear a cape and gown overlay. Two tiers of rich 3D floral hand embroidered gold and champagne tulle cascades over my