He shrugged. ‘Money’s not really important to me and I know it’s harsh, but Dad and I aren’t close, so what he does with his personal life doesn’t affect me. Guess ’cos I also don’t have kids I’m not so worried about leaving an inheritance, but Gem and Ben do care about all that and, well, I care about them.’

‘Fair enough,’ I said.

Despite the differences in our upbringings, neither of us had felt particularly cherished or happy in our home situations and had longed to create better ones as adults. I felt sad that Dan hadn’t ever had the family he clearly craved.

‘I’m sorry you couldn’t have children,’ I found myself saying. ‘I think you’d have made a great dad. I can’t imagine how I’d have felt if I wasn’t able to have my three.’

Dan frowned. ‘I thought you only had two?’

Whoops. I swallowed and then told him something I rarely told anyone I didn’t know at the time because talking about how I lost my little boy always ripped me apart. I hadn’t even told Jedda.

‘I had a son five years before Saxon.’ My voice cracked as I spoke. ‘Leo was born sleeping at twenty-eight weeks.’

‘Oh, Ashling.’ That’s all Dan said but his voice was full of warmth and understanding as he reached out and covered my hand with his, squeezing it gently. A tear slipped down my cheek, but I suddenly didn’t know whether I was crying because of my first born or because without him I might not be in the predicament I was now.

‘Adrian all but told me recently he only proposed because I was pregnant.’

‘I’m beginning to think “dick” isn’t a strong enough term.’ Dan leaned across the coffee table and grabbed a packet of tissues. ‘Here.’

‘Thanks.’ I put my glass down, then sniffed as I took a tissue and swiped at my eyes. ‘Sorry, I think exhaustion has made me overly emotional.’

‘You have nothing to apologise for,’ he said.

I opened my mouth to thank him again when a large ginger ball of fur sprang up from behind the couch and landed between us.

‘Oh my God!’ My hand rushed to my chest.

‘Ashling meet Lion.’ Dan chuckled, reaching out to run his large hand over the scruffy orange cat. It was the biggest one I’d ever seen and did look rather feral as the volunteer on the island had inferred, but once my heart stopped racing and I stretched my hand tentatively towards it, I discovered he was really quite affectionate.

‘He’s adorable,’ I said as Lion purred loudly under my touch. He was exactly the kind of medicine I needed. ‘How’s he settling in?’