Lily choked on her mouthful of brandy again. ‘Arse-hat?’ She laughed, and Henry was relieved to see it, the gentle tinkle cutting through the tension in the room in a much-needed way. ‘Yes, I totally understand what an arse-hat Alistair was. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that—’

‘That you were betrayed by someone you loved. And it made you doubt yourself, when you’re the last person in the world who should do so. You’ve done such incredible things, Lily,’ he said, still not able to fathom how she couldn’t see it.

‘Says the man who has apartments in Singapore, New York, London …’

‘Says the man who doesn’t have a home. Who hadn’t spoken to his father for over ten years. Who may have a load of money—’

‘Which is not to have a stick shaken at it,’ she interrupted.

‘But it’s not about money. It never was,’ he said, sighing. ‘What you have … friends, family that love you, a community that genuinely seem lost without you …? That’s nothing to shake a stick at.’

He went to sit beside her on the sofa, because he couldn’t stand towering over her when she seemed so vulnerable. This close, he could see the natural rich coppery golden strands in her drying hair. How her skin glowed in the firelight like cream. She was so beautiful, so incredible, and it hurt him that she couldn’t see it.

‘But Lily, it’s not about what you have. This is about who you are. And you’re …’ he shook his head, ‘Incredible.’ He nearly smiled as the rosy blush slashed across her cheeks. ‘You’re such a kind, generous person. You repeatedly go above and beyond. Putting yourself out for your friends and family. And not just them. You’ve even worn down Mrs Whittaker, which no one could ever have imagined. But it’s more than that, Lily,’ he said, reaching for her shoulder and giving in to the desire to pull her into his side. ‘You’ve made me see that no matter what had happened, Blake did love me. You made me find a sense of peace within a place that I’d only found childhood hurts and upset. And above all, you do deserve love. You deserve your happy ever after.’

She looked up at him then and he could almost see himself in her eyes, he could almost taste the need, the desire on the air between them. But he couldn’t take that next step. He couldn’t do that to her, because she did deserve her happy ever after, and he just wasn’t the person to give that to her. But he might just be able to help her see.

‘But I’m just worried that you won’t find it if you’re always putting someone else first.’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, as if shaking herself back into the conversation.