Her nerves were on edge and fizzed just like the liquid that was being poured into delicate long-stemmed champagne flutes. The hum and chatter of the guests assembled in the next room made her feel giddy. So giddy that she downed the better part of her glass of bubbles in one go, prompting her mother to warn her to slow down.

‘But, Mum,’ she said, ‘I’m really, really nervous. What if everyone hates it? What if it bombs and the only reviews that come are one-star assassinations? What if not a single person buys it?’ A strange feeling of déjà vu washed over her. This felt very much like a dream she’d once had – but this was actually happening.

Her mother put down her own almost empty glass. ‘Jo, you are spiralling. Everyone will love it. Why would they not? It wouldn’t be published if it wasn’t any good.’

‘But it’s different having everyone you know read it!’ she protested.

‘Yes. Yes, it is,’ Lorcan said, as he took her champagne glass from her and started to gently massage her shoulders to ease her tension. ‘But I am also someone you know, and I’ve read it and it’s brilliant. And Libby and Noah have both read it. And Mags, and Grandad, and Erin.’

‘And me!’ her mother piped up.

‘Me too!’ her father said as he beamed with pride. ‘You’ve done brilliantly. Your mum and I couldn’t be more proud.’

Jo looked at her parents, who had become even closer since he had returned from Dubai and had stuck with his decision not to go back. He had thrown himself into retirement with gusto, and even enjoyed pulling a few shifts at The Ivy Inn and getting involved in walking Paddy. He was currently campaigning with her mum to get their very own rescue dog. When he finished his shifts at the Inn, he would often come upstairs to Noah’s old flat – which Jo was now resident in, along with Lorcan of course. As the wedding approached, Noah had decided to move across the street to Libby’s flat – although there was some talk of them buying a house if only they could bear to live anywhere but on the lane.

Jo had made the flat her own, redecorated it with gusto and created a perfectly girly guest room reserved just for Clara and her frequent sleepovers. While there had been a few tearful moments when Jo moved out (mostly from Jo herself), she and Clara had adapted well to the new arrangement, and Lorcan and Clara had grown very close. It was possible this little girl with the red hair had saved Lorcan just as she had saved Jo herself.