A sudden brightening of the sky made us both look up. The clouds had parted and a shaft of sun beamed down on us briefly before the clouds covered the sun again.

‘I think they approved,’ Jemma said. ‘All three of them.’

‘I think they did. I’m glad you suggested this. Are you okay?’

‘Sad and happy at the same time.’

‘Me too.’

We stood for a moment, holding onto each other, until the rapidly approaching tide chased us and we beat a hasty retreat up the beach.

Standing on the promenade, leaning against the sea wall, we watched the tide drawing the sea ever closer until all the rock pools disappeared from sight and the waves lapped against the wall.

I turned my gaze up and down the shoreline, a feeling of contentment swelling inside me to have returned to where I belonged. It was hard to believe that I’d ever left this beautiful place but it had been the right thing to do. I’d needed the time and space to find myself … and to find Jemma. How funny that we were from the same small seaside town yet we’d found each other in the third largest city in Europe.

We’d been naïve to think we could keep our fledgeling relationship low-key. It was Christmas after all, which meant lots happening with friends and family. My parents and Jack and Millie adored Jemma and she was an immediate hit with my nieces, especially when she presented them each with a soft teddy bear

It was great getting to know Julie, and Logan already felt like a little brother. When I first met him on Christmas Eve, he announced that I needed to give him and Eden surfing lessons in the summer. On Christmas Day, it had escalated to me taking them away camping in Thor and, on Boxing Day, he declared that I should buy the cottage next door and live there with Jemma. Stomach churning, I’d hardly dared look at Jemma in case all the talk about the future terrified her but she didn’t seem fazed by any of it, even when Julie tossed her the keys to Mrs Denholm’s cottage and suggested she give me a tour.

‘It’s worth a look inside,’ Jemma said, smiling. ‘It’s like stepping back in time but you might need to wear sunglasses.’

What an understatement! It was like an assault on the eyes of clashing colours everywhere from the swirly orange and brown carpets to the loud patterned wallpaper, from the avocado bath suite to the moss-green kitchen units. But look past that and what an amazing home it could be.

‘What do you think?’ Jemma asked as we stood in the master bedroom overlooking the sizeable garden.

‘Décor aside, I absolutely love it. It could be a dream home.’

She took my hands in hers. ‘Your dream home perhaps?’