He pressed one further lingering kiss on her lips. ‘I think we have the basis for a very happy life partnership, Megan, and if you try to wriggle out of marrying me, I shall kidnap you and spirit you away to a gloomy castle where I shall force you to submit to my wicked lusts until you beg for mercy.’

She swallowed hard. ‘I don’t think that would take long. I – Ben, I didn’t know it could be like that, just with a kiss!’

‘It isn’t always.’ Even for him this desire that flared between them was something very special, a hunger dancing through him, but with tenderness twisting through the need.

You didn’t ride roughshod over a woman like Megan. He’d guess she was quite inexperienced, that she’d only had one or two lovers, and that they hadn’t really roused her. But there was passion beneath the freshness and honesty. And the thought of awakening it was the biggest turn-on he had ever experienced in his whole life.

But now wasn’t the time for that. Now he needed to reassure her, make her realise that he really did want their marriage to be a success. Not for some reason as nebulous as being in love but because… He hesitated, finding it hard to put his feelings into words and in the end had to be satisfied with telling himself it was because they were so well suited.

He sighed and leaned back, her head cradled against his shoulder, not saying anything. It was another of the joys of being with her that you didn’t have to fill each moment with meaningless chatter.

He saw her try to smile, then her lips quivered again.

‘What is it?’ he asked softly. ‘There’s still something wrong, isn’t there? It’s not me. Tell me what it is.’ And he would fix it. Whatever it was.

She stared at him, feeling enormously reassured by the tenderness on his face. ‘It’s what you said in Brighton, Ben. You were absolutely right. It’s this hole in the corner stuff with my family. I w-wish we had invited my aunt and uncle to the wedding.’ Tears spilled down her cheeks. ‘They’ve been like parents to me. I just – I can’t hurt them like this.’

She could see the relief in his face even before he said, ‘Is that all? I was afraid you’d taken a dislike to me.’ He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘The problem of your family is quite easily remedied. The wedding’s not until two. Ring them up now and invite them.’

‘But they – I – how? Ben, my uncle and aunt don’t even have a car.’