The kisses grew deeper, and as Charlie felt Holly’s warm hand raking through his hair, the back of his neck been to tingle. Drawing her closer to him, feeling that quick, white heat of arousal, her body against his felt instinctively right. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to do. Her lips were warm, and soft, her mouth sweet-tasting. Charlie had the sensation, right then, that he’d come home.

The insistent ring of Holly’s mobile on the kitchen counter brought them both out of the moment. Holly, regretfully, broke free from Charlie and, with an apologetic smile, wandered on unsteady legs to answer it.

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I keep the phone on because Harry’s having a bit of a tricky spell at the moment.’

‘No problem,’ Charlie said. He finally sat down on the sofa, but, realising that his suit trousers left very little about his arousal to the imagination (not that Holly could have failed to notice when she was in his arms and pressed against him), he grabbed his wine glass again and rested it in his lap. The cool glass took the edge off things a little bit.

‘OK… No, that’s fine… I’ll drop it over to you as soon as I can… No, don’t worry.’ Holly threw an apologetic glance in Charlie’s direction. ‘I’ll see you in a bit.’ Tapping to end the call, Holly wandered back to the sofa. ‘I’m really sorry,’ she began. ‘I’ve got to dash out and pick up some Creon granules from the late-night chemist in Stavenham for Harry. Mum and Dad are away visiting friends in Bristol tonight and Harry’s been quite poorly.’ She smiled regretfully. ‘He needs it to help him digest his food properly, so it’s kind of an essential. I’m not sure what time I’ll be back here. Can we, you know, pick this up another time?’

Charlie, stung with disappointment, but knowing there was little else to be done, smiled back. ‘Of course.’ He drew her to him as they both stood up. ‘You’ve given me a lot to think about, Holly Renton.’

Holly laughed nervously. ‘In a good way, I hope!’

‘Definitely.’ Charlie dipped his head and kissed Holly lingeringly on the lips. ‘This is the kind of kiss I desperately wanted to give you, all those years ago on that dance floor. But I was so scared you’d run away. You looked absolutely terrified when we did actually kiss.’

‘I was,’ Holly admitted. ‘I’d only had one serious boyfriend when I met you, and I guess that’s why I was so nervous that night.’

‘You looked so gorgeous. I can’t believe I didn’t realise it was you.’

‘I look a whole lot different now,’ Holly smiled as they broke apart. ‘And so do you, Lovely Charlie.’