“Could you sit down? You’re making me nervous too.” Milly checked the time. “Why hasn’t he called? It has been four hours. He said he’d call and update us.”

“Probably means it has all gone horribly wrong.” Nicole sat down for two seconds, but it was impossible to relax so she stood up again. “We shouldn’t have asked him to do this. It wasn’t fair.”

“Don’t say that.” Milly threw her a look. “It was my idea, and now I’m doubting myself.”

“What are you two worrying about now?” Joel walked into the room carrying a plate of sandwiches and a jug of ice water.

Milly blinked. “Sandwiches? It’s eleven in the morning.”

“The day started early. I’ve adjusted mealtimes accordingly. Also, eating stops me from falling asleep.” He put the sandwiches down on the table.

“Maybe I should call and tell him not to do it.” Milly stared at her phone, as if she was willing it to ring.

“You two are overthinking this. If he didn’t want to do it, he would have said no.” Joel topped up Nicole’s glass of water. He caught her eye briefly and smiled, and she smiled back.

He was so attentive, and Nicole was having to make a real effort not to watch him the whole time. He’d been such a good friend to her.

Fortunately Milly didn’t seem to be paying much attention to them. “I didn’t exactly give him much of a choice. He probably hates me now. It will be the end of a short but beautiful relationship.”

“And you hadn’t even had sex.” Nicole gave her an apologetic look. “Next time, seize the moment. Life is too short not to grab fun whenever you can.” She saw Milly turn scarlet, and Joel raised an eyebrow.

“There don’t seem to be a lot of secrets left between the four of us, so don’t worry.” His gaze slid to the garden. “But if you want us to clear the room and leave you and Brendan alone, you need to tell us. Because he’s here.”

“Definitely don’t clear the room.” Milly turned an even deeper shade of red and smoothed her hair.

Brendan tapped on the doors, and Joel opened them.

“Welcome. You took so long we were worried you’d been devoured by the press pack.”

“I got lost trying to find the trail.” He glanced at Milly. “For the record, your directions are terrible.”

“I told you to turn left at the outdoor shop.”

“Yes, but you omitted to tell me that after that I had to climb a gate and dodge a herd of cows. Hi, Nic. Good to see you.” He crossed the room to Nicole, and she hugged him.