She didn’t see a lot of her neighbours, though they waved as they passed or stopped to talk about the weather once in a while.

‘You shouldn’t come to stand outside until we get here, Sophie,’ Kevin chided in his deep voice.

‘I was enjoying the fresh air.’ She lifted her face to the sky, where the sun was sliding down towards the horizon. ‘Look at how long the shadows are at this time of the evening. I’m glad they left some of those horse chestnut trees when they built this development. These two are magnificent.’

Jez took her hand and they went back through the gate. Once they were near the house, Kevin vanished and Jez took her to sit at an outdoor table on the other side of the house. There was a gas outdoor heater to keep them warm and a bottle of champagne was standing in a silvery wine cooler, another bottle in a second cooler.

‘Shall we?’ he asked.

‘You don’t need to open a bottle of champagne for me. I’ll share yours.’

‘You’ll have proper champagne tonight. It’s more appropriate. Truly, it doesn’t worry me.’

‘Why is it appropriate? Are we celebrating something?’

‘Meeting one another, I hope.’

‘That seems an excellent reason to celebrate.’ She accepted a glass, clinked it against his and sipped, enjoying the astringent taste and the feel of bubbles in her mouth. ‘What time is Tom due back?’

‘About nine o’clock, I think. Gives us a few hours together, for once. Don’s left a casserole and some salads. He said to tell you he’d thickened the casserole with potato flour. Do you want to eat now or a little later?’

‘Later. It’s nice to relax with a friend.’

But as they raised their glasses to one another again, the air was suddenly charged with that strange electricity that seems to hum around two people who want one another. She realised her hand was shaking slightly as she put the glass down. And she could find no reason to deny the feelings inside her.

But she was still nervous of making love to him. Jez had said he didn’t mind the scarring, but what if he did? What if he found the idea of her reconstructed breast repellent?

‘What put that look on your face?’ he asked, setting his own glass down.

‘Just thinking.’

‘You looked frightened for a few moments.’

‘I was. Jez, I haven’t made love to anyone since Bill died, and …’

‘Do you want to set the demons at rest, or wait a little longer?’

‘I want you so much and … I want to feel like a woman again.’

He put special stoppers in the bottles, then pulled her to her feet. ‘Let me take you to my bedroom, after which’ – he grinned wickedly – ‘we’ll play show and tell.’

She couldn’t help shivering a little as they reached his room, but his kisses and caresses made her forget her worries, and all she could think of was the joy of being with someone you loved, someone who wanted to give you pleasure, someone who reacted to your lightest touch …