Jack moved out to the patio and stood away from the smokers to enjoy the view of the stunning grounds of this five-star Richmond hotel. Maggie had been right to book it. Turning, he could see her chatting to a group of people he didn’t know, work colleagues from the hospital, he guessed. Penny was by the gift table peering through a tiny rip in the paper on one of the presents, trying to work out what it was. And Ridley . . . Ridley was surrounded by cooing women, being force-fed Pimm’s as he cradled a sleeping Hannah in his arms.

An hour later, DCI Simon Ridley, the stiffest man on the force, was attempting to sing a lullaby that he only knew half the words to.

Hannah was riveted by Ridley’s out-of-tune rendition. And, although he was surrounded by ladies, he only had eyes for the one in his arms.

In the far corner of the room, out of Jack’s eyeline, Laura was being chatted up by a doctor giving her the full ‘their beating heart was in the palm of my hand’ story, but although she was smiling in all the right places, she wasn’t listening to a word. Instead she was listening to Ridley singing.

Laura, like many people who worked all the hours God sends for the emergency services, had been single for a long time, and every married police officer she knew, male or female, was with someone else from the emergency services. Not surprisingly, since there was no time to meet anyone outside of the job. She even went to the pub with people from work, so how on earth was she ever going to meet anyone new?

Her life was full and exciting, but it was repetitive. She’d been out with paramedics, firemen, policemen, so perhaps this handsome but boring doctor was going to be next? There was a time when Laura would have begun a relationship with an attractive man like this in a heartbeat, but today she felt like walking away.

She turned and, right behind her was Ridley. He put a sleeping Hannah into her arms and said, ‘Just have to nip, you know.’ He smiled his thanks, put his hand on Laura’s elbow and, as he walked away, his fingers slid down her bare arm and to her fingertips before he walked out of reach. Goosebumps immediately broke out over her entire body and she could feel herself blushing and heart palpitating.

Sadly, she knew that Ridley would not have had the same reaction from her touch. Laura looked down at Hannah and took advantage of the fact that a woman close to tears in public was perfectly acceptable if she happened to have a gorgeous baby in her arms.

On the patio, Penny had appeared by Jack’s side. ‘Hannah’s been given four cot quilts and three mobiles. You’d think people would confer.’