Man of the Match: hot celebrity romance (FULL NOVEL)

30. Epilogue

The Cotswolds, ten years later

The dappled shade under the old apple tree was a comfortable place to study while the children played on the lawn. Poppy and her brother Finn were already keen cricketers and little Rose, a few years younger, was trying hard to keep up.

Cara was hoping she would manage to finish the final draft of her PhD thesis in time. She rested her hands on her stomach, so big and round now that she was sure it must arrive any day now.

Across the lawn the Cotswold stone of their ancient farmhouse glowed golden in the sun. Upstairs she still had to finish preparing the nursery. Thank goodness these old houses had plenty of bedrooms.

She and Matt hadn't planned this pregnancy so most baby things had been given away after Rose no longer needed them. Three children had seemed the perfect family size for them: trust Fate to have another blessing in store. As well as other surprises.

Matt had retired from cricket shortly before Rose's birth to become a writer, hoping it would give him more time at home with Cara and his young family. But success saw him constantly dragged onto book tours and celebrity appearances by his more commercially minded agent. He'd also been in demand as a cricket commentator.

One of the reasons Cara had returned to academia was so that she had more freedom to travel with her husband. Sometimes the children travelled with them, at other times they stayed with their adoring grandparents.

It was an idyllic life. Some days she had to pinch herself to believe things could really be so perfect. Just one thing niggled at her. It was something she needed to tell Matt but he was already concerned about how they would manage a fourth child. Rose started school in the autumn and they had imagined getting some more time to themselves.

It was the one thing Matt regretted: that he hadn't been able to have Cara to himself for at least the first couple of years of their marriage. Not that Poppy hadn't been the light of his life from the moment she came red-faced and screaming into the world, but he treasured the time he did get alone with Cara.

"Daddy!" There were wails of delight from the children as Matt arrived home. Bat, ball and stumps were cast aside as three small bodies flung themselves at him.

Cara felt her heart flutter as she watched, just as it had when she first met him. Despite retiring from professional cricket he had maintained the lean, muscular body of an athlete.

Matt kissed the children and shook them off as he approached Cara. He greeted her gently, always concerned how fragile she might be when pregnant. No matter how much Cara reassured him she was as strong and capable as ever he had a tendency to treat her like rare porcelain.

"I thought we might go and visit your parents this weekend. We can go and visit that artisan woodwork place in the village and see if there are any cots," Matt said.

"About that..." Cara was cut short by a sudden twinge.

Matt was instantly concerned. "Are you alright?"

She was fine. It was just one of those things that happened when your stomach had turned into a watermelon.

Matt loved how Cara looked when she was carrying his child. She was so rounded and full and glowing, and yet somehow she seemed more slim and delicate than ever behind the pregnancy.

"If you're feeling tired we could go and lie down?" he suggested, having no intention of letting her have any rest. For now, anyway. They currently had a housekeeper-come-nanny, a kind elderly woman from the village, who helped supervise the children. Matt had insisted on it so he could at least enjoy some of Cara's undivided attention.