Her late husband had been a whizz with investments and stocks and shares and all that sort of thing, and had left her very well off indeed, not only with sizeable bank accounts, but also with a steady and regular income that barely touched the sides of her capital. Bless him.

She frowned uneasily and pushed the thought of George away. She’d loved him and been a good wife to him, given him the twins and entertained his business friends over the years, even though she’d found them mind-numbingly boring. So she really had nothing to feel guilty about. And he had been gone for nearly five years now. A woman who was still young and had much of her life ahead of her couldn’t mourn and live alone forever, could she?

And Terry was so nice. She was sure that George would have approved of him. Of course, George had been born to well-off parents, as had she, so he might have raised his eyebrows a bit that Terry was, to some extent, a self-made man; but George was no snob, and he’d always admired get-up-and-go. And Terry was part-owner in a thriving and glamorous business!

No, she was sure she had nothing to reproach herself for, no matter what others might think! She shook her head, again angry with herself for letting negative thoughts invade her happy mood. She must let nothing spoil this special time. Today was going to be a great day – she just knew it! It was the last day of the old year, and 1963, which started tomorrow, was going to be just wonderful. Especially if, as she thought he might, Terry finally plucked up the courage to ask her to marry him.

She didn’t think she was fooling herself to hope for a proper engagement ring soon. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have an ‘understanding’, after all. They’d been seeing each other for nearly a year now. And she wore the lovely gold heart-shaped pendant that he’d given her for her birthday all the time. Surely that was a big enough hint about how she felt? But if not, then tonight she’d be sure to encourage him even more – leave him in no doubt whatsoever that she was ready for him to get down on one knee. It would be so romantic – with snowflakes falling outside and the bells ringing out for a brand-new year and everything …