After the warmth of the train, I shivered as I stepped on to the platform. The Indian summer of the first three weeks of September had vanished overnight and autumn had arrived in all its shades of gold and red.

When I’d left home first thing this morning, the air had had a chill to it and a stiff breeze had scattered leaves like faded summer confetti along the country lanes between the vineyard and Fernfield station. Even now, hours later, it was still cool and I was glad I’d accepted Betsy’s gift of one of her cosy old cardigans in soft navy cashmere. It added a touch of elegance to my denim smock dress. The dress skimmed my waist and was one of the few smartish things I owned which wasn’t uncomfortable to wear; I didn’t even show in this. Not that it was a secret any more, but travelling alone with bottles clinking in a cool bag had drawn a few curious looks from my fellow passengers and that was without them knowing I was pregnant.

Suddenly my stomach swooped; there he was, waiting for me on the other side of the ticket barrier.

Jensen spotted me and grinned. I drank in his dark blue eyes, his open friendly smile which lit up his face and that lovely floppy bit of hair over one eye. He was more tanned than he’d been last time I’d seen him and looked very handsome in a suit and tie. In fact, although he didn’t seem to notice it, he was attracting quite a bit of attention from other women.

He opened his arms and I walked straight into them, inhaling his scent and thinking that if every train journey could end like this, I’d travel every single day of my life.

‘Wow.’ He kissed my cheek.

‘Double wow,’ I replied and then smiled to myself remembering that that had been my first thought on the day I met him. ‘You’ve missed me then while you were living it up in Cape Town?’

‘Working fourteen-hour days, you mean?’ His eyes sparkled. ‘But yes, I thought about you a lot while I was there. I kept thinking Lottie would like this, Lottie would love to go there … Pathetic, aren’t I? You look great, by the way.’

He looked genuinely pleased to see me. I felt myself blush and hoped the cardigan was covering any neck rash, although thinking about it, I hadn’t felt its presence for a while, perhaps pregnancy had banished it. There had to be some benefits, after all, seeing I was heavier than I’ve ever been in my life and couldn’t fit into most of my clothes, had toothache on and off, and a brown patch of pigment on my forehead, which my midwife said was very common and would fade after the baby was born.