This abrupt switch surprised Sophie and she couldn’t think how to respond, then decided on the truth. ‘My daughter.’ By the time she’d finished telling the tale, she was in tears. She didn’t notice him move to sit beside her but suddenly his arms were round her and she melted against him in a way she had never done with anyone except Bill.

And when Jez kissed her – so gently, so delicately – she didn’t pull away because she wanted him to. It felt right, wonderfully right.

It was he who drew back. ‘Do you mind?’

‘No. Should I?’

‘I don’t know. I’ve wanted to kiss you since we first met. Your skin is so soft, and you’re not wearing make-up, which makes it a pleasure to touch.’

His next kiss was much more passionate, but he was still holding back and she was glad, because the warmth and urgency of her own response had surprised her and this was one area where she had little experience. She’d met Bill at eighteen, had only had a couple of boyfriends before him, and she’d been with him till he died. They’d been comfortable and happy together, but her life with Bill was the sum total of her sexual experience with men.

She didn’t object, though, when Jez shifted to sit more comfortably. She nestled against his side with his arm round her. Sitting like this was another thing that felt right. Which shocked her rigid. ‘I – um, don’t know what to say.’

‘Do we have to say anything?’ He looped a lock of her hair round his finger, studying it. ‘I love your hair.’

Even that slight touch made her senses swirl. ‘If people are attracted, they usually talk, get to know one another.’

His smile was a caress in itself. ‘Let’s talk about ourselves, then. How did you come to be a novelist? And your family. I already know about your problems with your daughter. But you have a son as well, don’t you?’

‘Yes. He was very disapproving about my helping you.’

‘And he’d disapprove of us too, I suppose.’

It was out before she could stop herself. ‘Is there an us?’

‘I hope so. Who can tell at this stage? I warn you, I’m not a good risk. I don’t seem to be able to sustain relationships. My marriages were both disastrous, that’s the only word for them.’

‘Why?’

‘The first time it was drugs, on both sides. I was – unheeding of anything else except gratifying my senses. The second time, well, the papers called her a gold-digger and they were right. She’d have stayed married, though, if I’d let her, because she loved the celebrity life. Only she slept around and that upset me. Whatever rumour says, I don’t sleep around when I’m with someone. It’s one of my few good points as a lover.’

His laugh was so bitter, she asked lightly, ‘Should I run for my life?’

‘Probably.’

She cuddled against him. ‘Sadly, I have this dreadful curiosity. It used to get me into trouble as a child, and although I control it better now, it’s still there.’