When I next drifted into consciousness, the first thing I became aware of was a jarring pain where the cushions had slipped apart leaving my hip resting on the floor. Squinting my eyes open, the second thing was an exposed patch of skin on the side of Henry’s neck, a mere inch away. I breathed in carefully, not wanting to wake him, inhaling the now familiar trace of coconutty shower gel mingled with his natural scent. While not yet light, the inky darkness had lessened to a greyish hue that promised dawn was on its way. I snuggled deeper into the duvet, closed my eyes again and, suddenly, my nerves began to prickle, alerting me to the fact that I was lying beside the warm, solid body of A Man.

It’s not A Man, it’s Henry! I ordered my now accelerating heart to stop being so silly. I pulled away to remove the ridiculous temptation to press my lips against that smooth patch of neck and decided that the best thing to do was turn around and wriggle far enough away that I could pretend he wasn’t there.

Only, for reasons that sent my mind spinning in all sorts of unexpected directions, my body refused to cooperate. Every sense had sprung to life in acknowledgement of this other person in such close proximity. I should have felt awkward, on edge. Maybe even a bit icky.

That was not how I felt.

I felt alarmingly, incomprehensibly attracted to Henry Fairfax.

Before I could allow that thought to develop, I slithered out from under the covers and clambered to my feet, scuttling off to the bathroom without checking if he was awake or not.

We’d left a full saucepan in the sink and I didn’t hesitate in splashing the frigid water over my face, rubbing off the remnants of sleep and the unnerving feelings that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

I glared at myself in the mirror, straightened my hat, and jabbed my finger to emphasise the point.

‘Don’t even go there!’ I whispered. ‘Pull yourself together! It’s Henry!’

Ah, but that’s the real point, my traitorous heart whispered back. It’s Henry. And he’s not who you thought he was… and once upon a time he was attracted to you, too…

The only way to shake this off was to keep moving so forcefully I couldn’t think. I clattered out of the bathroom, flicked on the kettle and paced up and down alongside the table while it took forever to boil.

‘Are you okay?’