‘I don’t expect you to. I won’t try to persuade you to. I don’t know how I feel about him – him and Ryan – myself. It’s more complicated than that …’ She’d managed to separate the Gabe she’d loved and was still drawn to physically and emotionally from the harm he’d done her family. She’d found a key and started to turn it, and seen into his reasoning, his point of view. Last night it had seemed a grown-up thing to do, a mature way to proceed, but now she wasn’t so sure. Had ‘mature’ simply been an excuse for sleeping with him and giving in to her own selfish desires?

‘Samphire?’ Zennor used her name. Such a hesitant, fragile word. Sam knew that her sister wanted comfort, reassurance that Sam hadn’t changed and wasn’t going to leave her, like their mother had done, like Ryan had done. That she wouldn’t abandon her for Gabe. Zennor was grown-up but she was also, still, the kid sister who’d relied on Sam for guidance and support. They’d ended up parenting each other, Sam realised. Love flowed both ways.

‘There comes a time when you have to move on,’ she said. ‘Life is never going to be perfect … Stop looking at me like I just served Harry and Gareth up for dinner.’

Zennor gasped. ‘Cover your ears, Gareth,’ she said to the pig and put him back in his palace where he shot into his shelter to hide. Two eyes peered out at Sam from the shelter. ‘That’s not funny. It’s horrible. I care about you, sis. I love you. We were doing OK. You were doing well and you’d worked hard to build your life, and I don’t want Gabe Mathias to ruin that.’

‘The business was doing well but as for the rest of my life … I know I talk a good talk but I have been lonely, Zen. I’m ashamed to admit it. I’ve missed the buzz of being in love.’

Zennor flew on her and hugged her. ‘Don’t say that.’

‘It’s true. I tried to hide it. I tried to convince you, Gabe, me most of all, that I didn’t miss him and I didn’t care. I was lying because I had to hold this family and myself together.’

‘We knew you were putting on a face. Even Ben did.’ She paused. ‘So you and Gabe. You’re A Thing again? Will you be going public?’

‘No! We’re not a “thing” and we’re not going public. We’re not ready for that. Hell, I don’t know about any of the other stuff myself yet. I don’t know if last night changed the way he feels. Hell, I don’t even know how I feel. Last night might be a one-off.’

Zennor snorted. ‘We both know it won’t be. Look at you.’