Bloody hell, he wasn’t going to propose, was he? Not that marrying Harvey was such an awful proposition, obviously, I corrected myself, feeling my face heat up. He was hard-working, good-looking and so in love with me that he liked to keep me all for himself. How many women would love a bit more attention from their men?

‘Save?’ I said weakly, aware he was waiting for some sort of response.

He nodded. ‘For a holiday later in the year. I thought maybe Scotland?’

‘That’s a lovely idea! And so romantic,’ I said, a little over-eager with relief that wedding bells weren’t on the cards after all. ‘I’ve always wanted to see the mountains and the lochs.’

‘Great.’ He nodded as if that was settled. ‘I can go fishing and you can, I don’t know, read or something.’

No way was I going all the way to Scotland to witness my boyfriend standing up to his nether regions in a lake getting more and more angry when he didn’t get a nibble. I’d gone fishing with him once and never again.

‘Or,’ I said slowly, ‘why don’t I help save up and we might even manage a holiday abroad?’

Harvey’s face fell. ‘So you don’t want to go to Scotland?’

‘It’s ages since I’ve been on a plane,’ I said. ‘And we’ve never been abroad together. And from Monday, I’ve got the chance to earn a bit more too.’

‘How come?’ He frowned. ‘You said that other woman was coming back.’

‘I’ve been offered a promotion to supervisor!’ I said brightly, despite the quiver from my insides. ‘Isn’t that good news?’

He clenched his jaw. ‘Management? You’ve only been there five minutes. You’re not even a qualified gardener. Who did you have to sweet talk to get that?’

‘No one! Paula just offered it to me; I was as shocked as you on Monday when she—’ I gulped as he narrowed his eyes.

‘You’ve known for three days?’ He looked down at his plate and pushed it away with a bark of laughter. ‘Nothing says guilty conscience like a posh dinner and a bottle of wine. Trying to butter me up, were you?’

‘Harvey, I don’t need to butter you up.’ I straightened my spine. ‘I’ve been selected for this job – which, I hasten to add, I haven’t accepted yet – based on my performance. I’m not the least bit guilty and it would be nice if you congratulated me instead of accusing me.’

‘Well, congratulations,’ he said sarcastically.

My gaze softened. ‘Thank you. It came as such a surprise, nothing had been advertised and—’

He raised a hand. ‘Sorry, but have you thought about how this makes me feel?’ He stared at me. Both his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white. He’d never laid a finger on me, not really, but now he had a look of fury in his eyes and I was worried he could erupt at any second.