A/n: Oh my gosh, it's all finished! I would like to thank everyone who reviewed this story as without you I would never, ever have finished! I hope you are all satisfied with the end-cheesy HEAs are always a good mid-week pick up. I really loved writing this and so thank you for all your support. Please review just once last time (it would be mean not to). Thanks.

Six months after Danielle’s arrest, it was Chase’s birthday. We’d decided to spend the day alone, just the two of us, and so, when we woke to glorious sunshine, the heath seemed the obvious place to go. Hampstead Heath is one of London’s hidden gems, a glorious green space covering 791 acres. We went swimming in the ponds first, a shock of cold water that had all the breath rushing from my body as I leapt in. Chase, surfacing beside me, smirked as I shivered.

‘Baby,’ he bent to give a brief kiss, ‘cold?’

I rolled onto my back so the sun could warm my face,

‘Only you would want to swim in icy water on your birthday. Other guys would just be happy with a gadget to play with-anything with a remote.’

Chase laughed, swimming towards the rope that sectioned off the swimming area,

‘What did you get me?’ he paused, turning to eye me suspiciously, ‘usually you’re much easier to break.’

I pressed my lips together and shook my head,

‘I’m not telling you, Chase.’

Chase looked intrigued by the challenge,

‘Do the guys know? Antonio, Vik…’

‘No one.’ Not even Saul.

‘All right, chere. Am I allowed to know where we’re going for dinner, at least?’ he swam back to me, treading water as I floated.

‘I can tell you that,’ I said, with some relief. Keeping a secret from Chase was nearly impossible, ‘I got a reservation at West.’

‘Is Greg coming?’ Chase’s voice was deliberately casual as he scanned the bank, pretending interest in the people walking past. Although Julia’s house was only five minutes away and we still saw him daily, I knew he was still struggling to accept that Greg had moved out.

‘Of course,’ I rolled in the water to face him, ‘of course he is. He and Julia will meet us there.’

‘Good,’ Chase swam lazily around me, ten strokes one way, ten strokes back. I flicked water at him,

‘Greg wouldn’t miss your birthday for anything. Have you thought about your best man speech?’

Chase made a disgusted face,

‘Stupid,’ he muttered something in French, ‘I didn’t make people speak at my wedding.’

I had already tried explaining-gently-to Chase that Julia’s family was rather conventional. They wanted bridesmaids and ushers, toasts and flower arrangements. But this was beyond Chase’s comprehension-and he was mortified about standing in a suit and making trite remarks about Greg and Julia. I swam behind Chase,

‘I hear one of the bridesmaids is pretty hot. You could always just hook up with her.’

Chase shrugged disinterestedly,

‘Maybe. How hot is hot?’

I stopped swimming, huffing a little,

‘Hot enough for you. She only hopes she doesn’t drown before the wedding. Her husband has super-human swimming strength.’

Chase didn’t even bother to conceal his grin as he turned to look at me. He tugged me close so that I could wrap my legs around him while he kept both of us afloat,

‘This bridesmaid is married?’ he sucked his teeth, ‘that could make things difficult. Her husband the jealous type?’

I smiled, laughing against the skin of his neck,

‘A little. But he’s pretty damn perfect so she might be a hard sell.’

Chase lifted me onto the jetty,

‘I guess you’re ready for food?’

‘Famished,’ I leaned forward to kiss him, marveling at the warmth of his skin and mouth despite the freezing water, ‘why don’t you do some proper swimming, birthday boy? I’ll get dressed and try to get some of the leaves out of my hair.’

‘Okay,’ Chase kissed my forehead before he pushed away from the jetty, ‘deal. I’ll meet you by the exit in twenty minutes.’

It didn’t take me too long to dress and brush my hair. I left it down, hoping the sunshine would dry it quicker than the tiny little hairdryers they had in the women’s changing area. I went to stand by the water, watching Chase finish his long laps across the width of the pond. Two middle-aged women were watching Chase with undisguised admiration, nudging each other whenever the sunlight glanced off his body. Chase pulled himself easily onto the jetty, muscles rippling. The women tittered when he winked and then scowled when they realised it was directed behind them-at me. I smiled, perhaps a little dizzy myself,

‘See you by the exit, stud.’

Chase gave me a look that told me I’d pay for the stud comment later and disappeared into the men’s changing booth.

Afterwards we spread a blanket and lay in the autumn sun, drying off and munching on the food we’d picked up on our way to the heath. I dozed off, my head resting on Chase’s chest, his hand stroking my hair. When I woke up, Chase had shifted from underneath me and was sitting on the edge of the blanket, his back to me. I rolled onto my stomach,

‘What are you doing?’

Chase glanced over his shoulder, squinting in the sunlight,

‘Putting a kite together.’

‘A kite?’ I crawled over, nuzzling his neck as I rested my chin on his shoulder and peered at what he was doing.

He had large hands, rough and scarred, yet he fitted the kite together with gentle precision. I had a flashback of those hands moving over my body, cupping my breasts…my hips. I suppressed a shiver of satisfaction and reminded myself that we were in a very public place.

‘When did you buy a kite?’

‘While you were buying food,’ Chase said patiently. ‘It’s the perfect day for kite flying.’

‘You know how to fly a kite?’ Every time I learnt something new about Chase and his past it felt like I’d gained a precious gift, something to think over and ponder for weeks to come. He nodded, still focused on his task, ‘Francois and I used to play on a hill behind our street.’

He handed the end of the string to me, wrapped around a spool,

‘Okay. Up you get.’

‘Wait?’ I scrambled to my feet, ‘me? I thought you were flying the kite. I don’t know how to…’

‘Just do as you’re told,’ he grumbled, ‘now, stand a little further down the hill.’

I kicked off my shoes and walked to where he had indicated, wriggling my bare toes in the warm grass. Chase stood a short way off, holding the kite. He was wearing battered jeans and an old white t-shirt, long enough to cover the gun I knew he had at his hip. He looked devastatingly handsome and I scowled at two women as they passed, gaping at him openly. He waited tolerantly until I’d scowled my fill then gave a little nod.

He laughed as he joined me, squinting as he looked up at the little yellow diamond, fluttering in the sky. I could suddenly picture Chase before he was a bad ass, a small boy with black hair, green eyes, already gorgeous. A boy with bruises from a furious father’s fists and yet helping his younger brother as he had helped me, with a gentle hand to guide. He was the most beautiful man I knew, inside and out-and I was going to spend the rest of my life with this man. I turned my head suddenly and kissed the skin of his arm, firm muscle, just beneath the sleeve of his t-shirt. He glanced down at me, his eyes amused and questioning. I thought about telling him that I was pregnant, that in eight months we’d have a baby. That the birthday present he was so curious about was wrapped and waiting for him at home-a tacky ‘You’re going to be a daddy’ T-shirt. But there was time enough for that later, so, instead of explaining myself, I just smiled back enigmatically and tilted my head to watch the kite. After a moment, his arm came around me and we just watched the kite together, as it dipped and soared, as it danced around other kites, all without saying a single word. And it was the best silence of my life.