Tom wasn’t given to delving deeply into his emotions. He had always thought that too much introspection wasn’t good for the soul, and on the whole he took things as they came. But as he sat opposite Louisa in their favourite Indian restaurant, watching her scoop up chicken tarkari onto a torn piece of paratha and pop it into her mouth as she rolled her eyes in ecstasy, he knew this was how being in love should feel. With Louisa everything was a pleasure. She enjoyed life and did nothing merely for effect, nor did she pretend to be anyone other than the person she was.

Tom had been in love before, but it had never felt as easy as this. Behind him was a failed marriage and a relationship he’d had great hopes for which never quite made it. He had begun to feel that he was destined to be alone, but then, with Becky’s help, he had started seeing Louisa. It had been so easy since their very first date.

There was only one dark cloud hanging over Tom’s head, and that was Jack.

As he smiled at Louisa, both of them with mouths too full to speak, he decided that tonight he was going to tell her about his brother. He would wait until they were in bed, facing each other, lips inches apart, the cool, soft skin of her body lying against his. She would lift one leg and wrap it around him, as she always did, smiling at the thought of what was to come, and then he would tell her.

It was time to show her that she meant everything to him. The burden of carrying his secret alone would be gone, and he felt a flood of relief.

They left the restaurant earlier than usual, and Louisa seemed to have sensed a difference in Tom’s mood. She had given him a few puzzled looks but said nothing until they were nearly home.

‘I enjoyed that,’ she said, reaching out to touch his thigh.

‘I could tell.’ He smiled as he drove, grateful that he had drunk no more than one glass of wine so they didn’t have to bother with a taxi. He needed to think about the words he was going to use to explain all that he had been holding back for months.

‘You’re quiet,’ she said. ‘But you’re smiling, so I guess you’re not unhappy about anything.’

‘Not in the slightest.’ He glanced sideways at her. ‘But I do have something to talk to you about.’

‘Ooh, that sounds interesting,’ she said.

That was typical of Louisa. So many women would have assumed it was something they didn’t want to hear, or would demand to know immediately what he was thinking. Louisa was content to wait until he was ready to tell her.