Suddenly he drops down on one knee. ‘Fern Emilia Slater, will you marry me?’

I start laughing as he pulls a little box from his pocket. The look on his face is priceless.

‘No. But this is a vast improvement on your first proposal. The packed day room wasn’t the best idea, was it?’ I chide him.

His face drops a little. ‘Ah. Well, no, I guess it wasn’t. But I rather hoped I was upping the bar a little.’

‘Good try,’ I admit.

Nico hauls the champagne bottle out of the cooler and reaches out to grab two glasses. ‘That’s a definite no, then?’

‘It is. And is that stuff going to taste anything at all like the real thing?’

He sits down next to me, popping the cork, and we laugh as it flies across the studio, as impressively as if it’s the finest champagnes. Holding out the glasses in front of him, he begins pouring.

‘Probably not. The alternative was orange juice. How’s the bump doing?’

‘She’s fine. Although we’ll struggle a bit when it’s time to get me back up off the floor again.’

‘Sorry. I thought it might be romantic, you know, reminding you of the night you posed for me. Naked. With no clothes on. And I resisted the temptation to take you in my arms and show you how much I was in love with you.’

‘Now that’s sort of romantic. But being seven months pregnant, all I want is to paint for an hour or two and then get my feet rubbed, after a long soak in a warm bath.’

Nico looks disappointed.

‘The upside is that when you ask me again, we can have real champagne to toast as I turn you down.’

His smile grows, as we chink glasses. A quick sip confirms it doesn’t taste quite as bad as I thought it was going to, but it’s an acquired taste, for sure.

‘I really thought you’d humour me and say yes this time around.’

‘You keep asking and maybe one day I might. Anyway, are we decided then – we’re going to call our daughter Olivia when she puts in an appearance?’

Nico nods as we glance at each other and my heart begins to pound in my chest. Every single time he looks at me that way, I feel as if I’m drowning. The look in his eyes takes my breath away. I don’t want to formalise what we have and I know Nico doesn’t, either. He’s just making sure I haven’t changed my mind with the baby on the way. Our love is deeper and so much more than a marriage certificate. Instead of joining hands and having a blessing in front of a gathering, we stood by the lake one sunny afternoon and declared our love for each other.