Well, not really, Adam, I thought, but didn’t type, given that last year he’d bailed on me for a gig. Before I had a chance to come up with an actual reply, another message appeared.

Will you be at Charis House or are you working?

I have a job interview but I’ll be home on Christmas Eve.

That’s great! What’s the job?

I didn’t know if entering into a conversation with Adam was a terrible idea. This was how we’d ended up getting back together every other time we’d broken up, one of us tentatively reaching out with a message, the other replying in the guise of a friendly chat that both of us knew would soon lead to us tumbling back into a whirlpool of passion.

My trembling fingers kept on typing anyway.

He responded to the news that I could be moving to London with an immediate invitation to meet for a drink. I ignored the hope fluttering in my stomach and made a bland comment about how that would be nice, at the same time knowing he wouldn’t be fooled for a second by my innocuous answer.

‘Brace yourself!’ Henry barked, jerking me away from the screen as the car screeched to a halt, coming to a stop about a foot away from the huge tree trunk blocking the road. After blinking a few times, which was probably about as panicked as Henry Fairfax got, he switched off the engine. ‘I’ll see if there’s any way we can get past. Can you check for an alternative route?’

Nodding, I waited until Henry had got out of the car before quickly sending one last message.

I have to go

Okay, hope it goes well!

I held back from opening the map app up when three dots appeared signifying that Adam was sending something else. After an agonising wait as they disappeared then almost instantly reappeared again, the message finally pinged through.

Just be yourself and they won’t be able to resist loving you x

The interior light flashed on, causing my eyes to automatically screw shut as Henry opened the door and climbed in. ‘Any joy?’

‘Um…’ I hastily clicked open the app. ‘Not yet. The signal’s rubbish.’

‘We’re going to have to turn around and go back the way we came. Hopefully it won’t end up wasting too much time.’

The story of my life, I thought. Yet again, one brief conversation with Adam felt as if it had flipped my heart inside out.