Read Online How To Marry Your Husband by Anne Brooke - Free Book Online Page A

actually been compiling a present list anyway! How long have you been doing that without telling me?”
    He has the grace to blush a little. “For a few days. Like I said. And I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”
    “I know! I was just teasing you. I’m glad you’re getting involved. It’s your wedding too.”
    He smiles at her. “Really? I thought weddings were all about the women, and the men were just along for the ride.”
    Olivia knows he’s joking – his smile tells her so – but what if underneath he truly means it? She knows she can be – or rather definitely is – a loud-mouthed kick-ass tyrant, but she loves him, and she desperately wants him to be happy.
    “Oh darling,” she hugs him impulsively, all but causing his glasses to fall off. “I don’t want you to think that, not even if you didn’t really mean it! I honestly don’t want you to think it’s all about me. I know I’ve got an ego the size of Manhattan, with a voice to match, but this wedding is about you and me, and nobody else. And I want you to be happy with what we do. I love you so much.”
    Kieran pushes his glasses back on, and hugs her back. He isn’t a natural hugger but he’s got used to it over the time they’ve been together.
    “I know,” he says, “and I love you too. And you don’t have a big ego. You just have a huge lot of enthusiasm, and I love that about you. But, yes, it’s nice to do things together so let’s start from scratch now when it comes to posh china. Why not look at what we both like and see if we can compromise?”
    Now this sounds like a plan.
    Half an hour later, the two of them have a pretty good compromise. It’s a Wedgwood option, and combines just the right amount of plainness for Kieran and floral touch for Olivia: it’s a white pattern with a dark blue floral trim which looks even better than the one Olivia has chosen with her mother. Who needs Royal Doulton anyway? It’s so last year! Wedgwood is the way to go.
    However, what makes Olivia happiest – and in a way that surprises her – is how delighted Kieran is with their crockery choice. Maybe their engagement course was right; this is what marriage is about in the long run – less to do with togetherness or romance, and more to do with having discussions together and thrashing things out in as decent a manner as possible. Though obviously, having both is the best way!
    “There,” Olivia says, writing their first present choice down on the list. “Go, us! We’ve begun.”
    An hour or so later, they have a full list. It isn’t the usual run of wedding lists, but it expresses them, who they are and all their oddities. It includes the crockery, a Wellington boot holder, a subscription to the Penguin classic library collection, a book on photography, a set of tablecloths with non-matching napkins, a doorstop, and two hot-water bottles. Kieran is against electric blankets on some kind of moral grounds, though Olivia is never sure what these moral grounds are.
    One thing the list doesn’t have is any kind of kettle or toaster. They both have a perfectly good kettle already, plus a spare. And neither of them likes toast. Such a quirky list will probably raise some eyebrows, especially from Olivia’s wider family (not known for their liberal minded attitude at any level) but they will just have to get used to it.
    When Olivia shares the list with her mother on her next visit, her mother glances at it and then turns it over.
    “Is that it?” she asks, lips pursed. “No toaster, no kettle, no towels?”
    Oh. Towels. Now there’s a thought. Olivia will add those to the list as soon as she’s spoken to Kieran – once they’ve decided on a colour. But she laughs at the other items her mother assumes are missing.
    “We already have several kettles,” she protests. “There’s no need to make people buy another one, and we don’t like toast, so we would only hide it away in a cupboard.”
    “Yes, I know, dear. I’m not completely