Flora watched them go, part of her wishing she could join them. Her skin was stinging from the cold water and her heart was racing. She felt bedraggled but euphoric.

She’d swum. She’d done it. It was amazing what it had done to her confidence and belief in herself. Right now she felt invincible.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw you in the lake.” Jack wrapped a towel round her and rubbed her arms. “I can’t remember when I last panicked like that.”

“It was a few hours ago, when you discovered Izzy had gone to the station.”

He gave a laugh. “It’s been a day of drama, that’s for sure.”

“I’m assuming your conversation went well, as you all arrived together.”

“Yes. We talked about a lot of things. Things we should have talked about a long time ago. And I did the same thing with Clare.” He took her hand and tugged her down onto one of the sunloungers. “The only person I haven’t been honest with is you. I don’t mean about the whole Izzy thing—I was being truthful when I told you it’s something I simply don’t think about. But Becca—I didn’t tell you about her, and I owe you an explanation for that. You deserve to know it all.”

“Jack—”

“All I ask is that you listen to what I have to say before you speak, and if at the end of it you decide this isn’t for you then that’s fine. Well, it’s not fine, but I’ll try hard to accept your decision and not pester you to change your mind.” He tugged the towel more firmly around her. “I met Becca in an airport. We were both waiting to board the same flight. We dated for a month before she told me she was pregnant.”

“She pretended it was yours?” No matter what he said, she wasn’t going to be shocked or overreact.

“No.” He shook his head. “Becca was always straight. I think she expected me to walk out. Almost everyone she’d encountered in her life up until that point had walked out at some point or another. She didn’t know consistency or security. She hadn’t known love.”

Flora felt a flash of sympathy. Her childhood had been different, of course. In many ways she’d been lucky, certainly luckier than Becca. But that didn’t change the fact that she understood how it felt to know you were on your own, with no one in your corner.

“She had you.”

“Yes, and I had no intention of walking out. But I’m not sure she ever felt entirely sure of me. She never found it easy living as part of a family. She kept expecting it to fall apart, and when it didn’t she was ready to sabotage it herself.”