Chapter Text
Early September, 2024 — London
The air was finally getting crisp, Kate thought with glee as she turned the corner, back on her own block at last, just steps away from home. The sun was shining, the sky a brilliant blue, and Kate had stepped on no fewer than five crunchy leaves on the pavement during her walk home.
Fall was on the horizon.
And September had finally arrived.
This particular month had been given a very auspicious welcome in the Bridgerton-Sharma household.
Kate had been woken up on the first of September by an absolute barrage of kisses pressed to her hair, her neck, her face. She’d been grinning before she’d even opened her eyes, her arms winding their way around Anthony’s neck, pulling him even closer, enveloped by the heat of his body above hers.
“It’s our wedding month,” he’d whispered into her ear, sending shivers all the way down her spine.
And when his mouth had begun to wander down the length of her body, she hadn’t complained.
Now, as she turned her key in the lock, she could already hear Newton’s frantic barks, his claws clicking on the tile as he ran toward the door. A moment later, he was wrapped up in Kate’s arms, jumping all over her in his excitement at her return, presenting his snout to her for kisses.
“Do I get a kiss, too?”
Kate looked up to see Anthony leaning in the door frame.
“That depends,” she said with a wink. “Have you been a good boy today?”
“I’ve definitely been a better boy than him,” Anthony gestured to Newton. “If he deserves kisses, then so do I.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Kate teased as she rose to her feet. “But I’ll give you kisses anyway.”
“I don’t want your pity kisses,” came his cheeky reply. “First, let me show you what I’ve done. Come with me.”
She began to follow him out of the entryway. “You haven’t torn up the curtains, have you?”
“No, Kate. You’re thinking of Newton.”
Newton, for his part, was innocently trotting ahead of them, clearly on a mission to reach the living room first. But it didn’t stop him from turning around to glare at Anthony from the corner of his eye.
When Kate crossed into the room, she saw a massive parcel leaning against the wall where their couch usually sat. The couch itself had been pushed toward the centre of the room.
Kate raised an eyebrow at Anthony. “Redecorating?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Anthony was practically buzzing. He couldn’t stand still if he tried. Kate hadn’t seen him this excited since the day he’d proposed.
“You’ve been wanting to hang up a new piece of art above the sofa, right?” Anthony asked her.
“Yes. But I haven’t found the right one yet.”
Anthony’s dimples deepened as his smile grew impossibly wider. “I’ve found the right one.”
“I’m excited to see what you’ve decided is worthy of the space,” Kate laughed. His joy was infectious. “I must have taught you a lot about art since I’ve been living here.”
“I think you’ll be pleased,” was all he said, eyes twinkling.
She began to carefully peel back the brown paper packaging, revealing the colourful work of art beneath.
It didn’t take her more than a moment to realise what he had done.
“But—” Kate’s breath caught in her throat. “It wasn’t for sale.”
“Of course it was.”
Kate gaped at him, and Anthony was forced to shrug, his smile never wavering.
“The gallery just didn’t know it was for sale until I talked them round.”
Kate turned her gaze back to the half-unwrapped watercolour painting in front of her.
“I can’t believe it’s here… In our home… It’s mine?”
“It’s yours,” Anthony said, stepping closer to her. “I thought we could hang it up in here togethe—”
He never finished his thought. Kate had all but leapt into his arms, claiming his mouth in a crushing kiss.
“You can’t keep doing things like this,” she whispered in his ear when she finally pulled away. “My heart’s going to explode if you make me love you any more.”
She felt his laugh rather than heard it, only vaguely aware of Newton’s tiny paws against her legs as he tried to join in their embrace.
***
It wasn’t long before they were sitting on the floor beside each other, their backs against the relocated couch, Newton nestled between them, staring at the unwrapped — and still unhung — painting.
“You know,” Anthony said while his fingers danced over the back of Kate’s hand. “I’ve been thinking about your Amma’s list.”
“Her list of things to do in London?”
Anthony nodded. “I was wondering if you’d like to take a day and go exploring in the city? Maybe this weekend. We could check out all those spots. You could take pictures of them and add them to your scrapbook.”
Kate smiled. “I think that sounds really nice, Ant.”
“Big Ben and the British Museum are easy enough. We can stop on the way and get you a decent cup of chai.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to locate a really cool chandelier?”
“I actually happen to know of a casino with a very cool chandelier. They also make an excellent martini.”
“Sounds like a perfect last stop. We should see if Simon and Daph want to join us. Ben and Colin too.”
Anthony was nodding. “I’ll invite Francesca, as well. Maybe she can come down for the weekend and bring John. If she can coax him out of Scotland, that is.”
Kate looked sidelong at Anthony, sizing him up. “Yeah, I think it’ll be better if you have a martini in you before you meet poor John. Well planned, you.”
Anthony chuckled a bit at that, and Kate turned her attention back to the painting, even as she resumed scratching Newton behind his ears.
“This is a truly incredible gift,” she marvelled, her voice soft. “Thank you, Ant.”
“I think it’ll look perfect in here. This painting belongs here. It belongs with you.”
“I can’t believe you bullied that gallery into selling it.”
“I would hardly call it bullying,” Anthony scoffed. “It was just simple negotiating.”
“No wonder you’re such a brilliant businessman,” she giggled. “Who could dare refuse you anything?”
“I simply refuse to let go of the things that matter to me,” he returned, smiling. “And nothing matters to me more than you.”
Kate reached out and squeezed his hand. Then she contemplated the painting in front of her, and the empty space on the wall above.
“If I’m being honest,” she said out loud, more to herself than to Anthony. “There’s still something not quite right.”
“What’s wrong?” Anthony was already frowning. Kate could practically hear his brain whirring into frantic problem-solving mode. “What is it?”
“Relax, please. I was just going to say that the painting is a bit too small for this wall all by itself. The space needs something else to complete it.”
“You mean like another painting to go beside it?”
Kate was nodding slowly. “That’s exactly what I mean.” Now it was her mind that was racing toward a plan. “Good job, Ant. I think you’ve solved it.”
But Anthony was just blinking at her. “What? What have I solved?”
“We need another painting to go with this one. And I know just what I want.” And without elaborating any further, she turned to Newton. “Are you interested in a walk in the park, my love?”
Newton leapt up in an instant, prancing around the room with so much energy that Anthony had to shield “Twin Compass” from his claws.
“The— the park?” Ant stammered, trying desperately to catch up. “Our park?”
Kate loved that he still called it “our park.” The park near Ant’s flat, which was much less crowded than Hyde Park, was a favourite spot of theirs. It was the spot where Kate first knew she was in love with Anthony. It was also the spot where he’d proposed.
It would always be their park to her, too.
“Yep. Just as soon as I’ve collected my art supplies.” Kate straightened up and helped to pull Anthony to his feet. “We have this beautiful painting of the spot where my parents felt most at home together. I think it needs a companion piece. Another painting, the same size, to hang beside it.”
Comprehension was dawning in Anthony’s eyes. “And you want to—”
“I think a painting of the park where we got engaged, where we first fell in love, is just the thing to balance it out, don’t you?”
It would be more than perfect, Kate thought. A painting of one of her favourite spots in London — the special place she shared with her love — hanging next to her mother’s painting of the place she’d shared with hers.
A representation of Kate’s past and future, her childhood in India and her life with Anthony.
“I’ll get our jackets,” Anthony said. “I want to watch this masterpiece come to life. And when we get back, we can hang them up side by side.”
Newton was already waiting by the door, his lead in his mouth, his muffled barks telling his humans to hurry up!
“Oh, and this means we can already check one of the items off of your Amma’s list,” Anthony was saying. “Any park that’s not Hyde Park — that’s an easy one for us, isn’t it?”
Kate stopped him when he started to pass by, pulling him close by the collar of his shirt, feeling his laugh against her own mouth as she kissed him. She wanted to tell him everything she felt. To somehow put into words how much she adored him, how grateful she was to be loved by him.
But when she looked into Anthony’s eyes, she knew it wasn’t necessary. He understood everything her heart was feeling.
There really wasn’t anything else to say.