‘Hey!’ she said, slapping Henry’s hand away from the fruit tart he’d unearthed from the basket. ‘Not for you. Not yet.’

He pouted like a sullen child. Only it didn’t make him look like a child. He looked … good.

‘Coffee,’ they both concluded together.

She returned to the machine and set it to make two espressos and passed one to Henry, before bringing out the pastries she’d tucked into the basket just in case.

‘Almond croissant?’

‘Home-made?’

‘Of course,’ she replied, indignant at the suggestion they might be anything but.

‘You are a goddess.’

Lily’s cheeks warmed at the compliment and the look of sheer delight that had chased away the earlier shadows as he bit into the flaky pastry. And the moan that he emitted made her mouth water. For the croissant.

She hid a small smile beneath her own pastry as she took a bite.

With the last mouthful consumed and the coffee cup empty, Henry turned to Lily and sighed.

‘The wedding. Just … hit me with it.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yup. Though I have an awful feeling that I made a deal with the devil.’

‘Thought I was a goddess.’

‘They are not mutually exclusive,’ he grumbled as she led him out of the side exit of the estate.

‘OK. So there are going to be eighty guests. The wedding ceremony will start at two and be held on the south lawn, facing the sea. Chairs, decorations, a wedding arch,’ she said, gesturing to where it would take place. She was giving him the bare bones, not because she couldn’t imagine how beautiful it would be – she had it all clear in her mind – but she didn’t want to overwhelm him. It was going to be a massive undertaking and he clearly didn’t know what he’d signed up for. ‘Photographs and canopies, from three until four thirty when the wedding breakfast will begin in the orangery.’ She walked him through to the long glass-panelled orangery. The dark iron latticework gave it both an aged and industrial look. But the wooden-beamed dining tables counterbalanced the effect beautifully. ‘First course will follow the speeches, then mains and desserts will be served before the party moves into the dining area which will be prepared for dancing and the bar will be—’

‘Paid for by?’ Henry suddenly looked slightly concerned.

Lily bit her lip. ‘Blake had offered … He’d …’

Henry winced.

‘He’d been putting bottles aside since Christmas and—’

‘Fine,’ he said, looking out at the orangery.

‘Really?’ Lily asked, surprised.

‘Yes, Lily,’ he replied drily. ‘I’m not a complete monster, you know.’

Lily shrugged.

‘What?’

‘I had you down more of a beast,’ she teased. ‘Looking down at the villagers from his estate high up on the hill?’

‘I guess that would make you Beauty.’