She’d spent far too long allowing bitterness and regret to dominate her life and perhaps this was the time to start to forgive Gabe. She’d also decided to try and contact Ryan again. Her recent ‘imagined’ sightings of him had encouraged her to make a renewed effort to search for him. Even the thought of healing old wounds had given her a sense of peace and hope that had been missing from her life for years. So, maybe she and Gabe would ‘talk’ tonight, but she also had other plans in mind that didn’t need any words. Tomorrow or the next day would be soon enough to start building the emotional bridges.

They moved along to the beat of the music, accidentally on purpose bumping shoulders with each other. To be in such close proximity was a kind of delicious agony that she was glad to suffer. They kept exchanging glances, safe in the knowledge that amid the swaying, singing, clapping crowd, no one would notice their looks and secret touches. A hand on the small of her back; a brief brush of his forearm. Gabe was in jeans and a faded blue linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He’d been able to ditch the bandage.

With the harbour and slowly sinking sun as a backdrop, the smell of delicious food in the air and the sounds of lively people and music, Sam gave herself up to happiness. For the first time since she’d heard Gabe was coming back to Porthmellow, she felt she could truly relax and look forward with optimism to a new future.

Drew and the band launched into a cover of ‘I Will Wait’ by Mumford and Sons with a young woman who worked in a local florist playing the banjo furiously. Everyone was already standing up, stamping and singing along. Some people were dancing. She caught hold of Gabe’s good hand.

‘Come on, let’s dance!’ she shouted.

Gabe hesitated. ‘I’m hopeless at dancing.’

‘Rubbish! No one will care. No one’s looking at us.’

He nodded and took her hand and they swayed along and jigged as the banjo played faster and faster.

Suddenly, Sam felt someone jostle her. ‘Sam!’ She turned, but it was only Troy. He put a hand on her arm. ‘Oy!’

Gabe let go of her, pulling a face because they’d had to separate. People around them carried on dancing and waving their arms in the air, knocking into them.

‘Whoops, sorry, Troy!’ She laughed then saw his face. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘You’d better come over to the harbour office.’

‘Now? Can it wait?’ She had to shout above the music. She knew from the look on Troy’s face that she had to go, but she’d hoped that for a little while at least, she could relax and enjoy the close of the festival – and some time with Gabe.

‘No. It can’t.’