But she didn’t know what she really wanted. She only knew she couldn’t think with him holding her. ‘Yes, I do.’

When he’d gone the room seemed empty and perversely she felt like rushing after him. But she didn’t. Instead she walked slowly into her own bedroom and got ready for bed, taking refuge in her familiar routines.

What would life be like if she said yes? It could be – glorious, exciting.

What would life be like if she said no? If she let him go?

Dreadful! She couldn’t bear the thought of it. A line from Hamlet jumped into her mind ‘How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world.’ Trust the Bard to express it so vividly.

Her cousin’s taunt came back to her. Was she the sort who’d remain in a quiet rut for the rest of her life? Wanting more, being given an opportunity for more, but not daring to risk reaching for it? She shivered, though not from cold, and wrapped her arms around herself. For the first time she began to seriously consider saying yes.

Marry a stranger! It was the craziest thing she’d ever heard of. Only he wasn’t quite a stranger now. He was – Ben. Kind, intelligent, sexy, good-looking. Every girl’s dream.

Whose dream would he become if she let him get away?

Oh, this was madness. Why was she even considering it?

Then the solution came to her. She’d offer to go out to Australia with him, live with him for a while, get to know him. Of course! Obvious.

Before she could have second thoughts, she flung open her bedroom door and went across to his. There was a light on inside, so she knocked. If there hadn’t been a light, she’d have knocked anyway.

‘Come in.’

She opened the door and took a deep breath. ‘We don’t need to marry. I can just come out to Australia and live with you for a while. That’ll give us time to get to know one another.’

He looked at her, his gaze steady. ‘I’d rather we got married and committed ourselves to one another. And it’ll make everything so much easier. The Australian immigration people can be very fussy about issuing visas.’

‘But we’re – strangers.’

‘You don’t feel like a stranger to me, Megan. Do I really feel like one to you?’

She looked at him in exasperation. ‘No. Well, not exactly. Look, I’m trying to be sensible here.’

‘I’m not. I’ve spent too many years being sensible and responsible.’ He leaned back against the pile of pillows, hands crossed behind his head. ‘You’re half way there, Megan. Why not go the other half? Why not take a risk and marry me?’