Behind The Proposal novel Chapter 28

"Soph!" her sister's voice had Sophie's head snapping up. She'd been listlessly staring at Tom's back as he filled in paperwork at the hire car desk at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport.

"Kim," Sophie frowned, dragging herself to her feet to put her arms around her sister. "What are you doing here?" She'd purposely told her sister that they'd catch a taxi so she wouldn't have to face this conversation just yet. All she wanted was to go home, have a cup of tea and a hot shower before climbing into bed with Tom to sleep for a few hours. But it looked like that wasn't going to happen now.

"Do you really think I'd let you catch a taxi home from the airport?" Kim scolded light-heartedly.

"Aunty Kimmy!" Jasmine jumped up and down with the energy of a three year old that had had a good sleep and threw herself at Sophie's sister.

Kim picked the little girl up and looked Sophie over from head to toe. "How was your holiday? You're looking... a little tired, but good. How was the hotel? I need to see the photos," her sister babbled in that excited way she had.

"Great holiday, long flight," Sophie nodded, forcing a tired smile, she had hardly slept on the ten-hour flight, despite being in business class. Sleep hadn't been easy with Jasmine lying across their laps. Or with Tom trying to make out with her - he'd been trying to distract her from worrying about facing her family, but it hadn't worked very well. God, she probably looked like something the cat had dragged in, with her clothes all crumpled and her oily hair plastered to her head. She just felt grimy and had that stale airplane taste in her mouth. She needed a shower.

"Well, you can tell me all about it on the way home," Kim gushed and turned to the two trolleys overflowing with bags and things next to her. There were four suitcases in total, plus a suit bag, laptop bag, two backpacks, a camera bag, and Jasmine's little pink bag. Sophie was sure that one of the suitcases Tom had packed was full of toys for Jasmine. The little girl had him wrapped around her little finger already.

"That's a lot of luggage," Kim frowned and turned to her, letting Jasmine slide to the floor.

"I have a bit of a surprise for you," Sophie shrugged and felt warmth flood her face. She still had no idea where to start.

"You bought me lots of presents?" her sister asked still frowning at her and eyeing off the suitcases.

Kim spluttered and did a double take. "I'm sorry, who are you?" She first stared at Sophie, then her eyes went back to the gorgeous man beside her.

"Um... Kim, this is Tom," Sophie waved her hand in his direction.

Kim stared for a few moments, her eyes moving between the two of them, finally landing and staying on Sophie. "You went on holiday to Hawaii, and brought home a guy?" she laughed incredulously.

Sophie exchanged a look with Tom and it was one of the most amazing moments of her life. She'd never known a connection like she felt with Tom. His dark eyes held hers and she knew in that moment that she had his total support. He'd go along with whatever she wanted to tell her family. And he'd stand by her whatever their reaction was. It was something she'd never felt before in her life. She stood up and brushed a kiss on his lips as he smiled down at her. "I did," she murmured, still gazing into his dark, caring eyes, getting lost in them for a few moments, before Tom snapped his attention back to Sophie's sister.

"Nice to meet you too, Kim," Tom joked, holding out a hand for Kim to shake, which she did, reluctantly. "Anyway," he scrubbed a hand over his whiskers before turning back to Sophie. "I'm going to go try to fit this luggage into the car. At least they had the SUV I asked for." Tom took the phone from Jasmine's fingers gently and the little girl protested loudly. "We've got to go home now, Jass."