He held up the two fortune cookies which had been tucked into our Chinese takeaway last night and swapped one for the silver rose in my hand. ‘Open yours while I pour the tea.’

The shiny wrapper crinkled as I turned it over in my palm. Jensen lifted the teapot lid, a frown of concentration on his face as he stirred the contents before pouring us both a mugful.

It was so lovely. He was so lovely. But I’d lain awake and watched him sleep for hours last night and I’d come to a decision. My stomach twisted; this was so hard.

‘Jensen,’ I began hesitantly.

He held out my tea. ‘Hurry up and read what your cookie says, then you can take this mug off me.’

Reluctantly, I tore open the wrapper, broke the little horseshoe-shaped biscuit in half and unfurled the slip of paper inside.

‘What does it say?’

I swallowed, not daring myself to speak. If I’d needed a sign that I’d made the right decision, this was it. The motto in my cookie couldn’t have been clearer.

There is no greater pleasure than seeing your loved ones prosper.

I held it up for him to read.

‘True,’ he said with a grin. He handed me my mug. ‘Now let me read mine.’

But before he’d even picked up his fortune cookie I set my mug down and took hold of his hands.

‘Promise me something.’

He blinked at me. ‘What is it?’

‘Just promise.’

He shrugged and gave a soft laugh. ‘Sure, fire away.’

I took in a deep breath. ‘I want you to take this job in Cape Town.’

‘But Lottie, that would mean not seeing each other until next April?’ he said, frowning.

I nodded and with a huge amount of will-power managed to blink away the tears. ‘But it would also mean you taking the promotion you deserve. I don’t want to be the one who stands in your way.’

His eyes shifted sideways to the spot in the bed he’d vacated less than fifteen minutes ago. ‘What’s changed?’

I shook my head. ‘Nothing. If anything I love …’ The word stuck in my throat, I was setting him free, the last thing I should be telling him is that I thought I loved him. ‘I’ve loved the time we’ve spent together. But I want you to go. Your gran has told you her plans?’

‘To move in with Marjorie, yes, but—’

‘So then you can go off and do amazing things with your water project, safe in the knowledge that she’ll be okay.’

His lips twisted to one side and I could almost see the cogs whirring in his brain; he knew I was right.

I gripped his hands tighter. ‘Don’t you see? This is the perfect opportunity for you to take your career to the next level. And you must. Do it for me. Please?’