He rounded the passenger side of the Jeep and held the door open for Lily, who paused before getting into the car. She placed a hand on his forearm, and he would have sworn that he could feel the heat of her skin through the layers of his coat and jumper.

‘I can’t thank you enough, Henry.’

Lily grabbed the interior handle above the seat and hauled herself into the Jeep. Henry had asked her to trust him. And she had. Without reservation, she realized, without question. And he had made it that the wedding would be even more beautiful than she had hoped. It wound around her heart and pulled tight. She hadn’t trusted or relied on anyone other than the girls for a very long time.

She glanced at the clock that illuminated the moment Henry turned the key in the engine.

It was so much later than she had thought. ‘I should probably be getting back to the restaurant.’

‘Nope,’ Henry said, shaking his head.

‘What? Why not?’

‘Because.’

‘That’s not an answer, Henry,’ she growled. ‘Really, I need to get back. There’s a lot to do before the dinner service.’

‘All of which, I’m sure, Vihaan has perfectly under control,’ he said with a confidence she suddenly found infuriating.

She watched as he pulled the Jeep back onto the motorway, only they were heading further away from Hawke’s Cove, rather than back to it.

‘Henry …’ There was trust and then there was control.

‘If it helps, you can consider it a kidnapping.’

‘It doesn’t help. And I wasn’t joking. I need to get back.’

‘Kate messaged to tell me that everything was under control and that you weren’t needed back at the restaurant.’

‘My manager texted you?’ she demanded, knowing that the proprietorial streak of jealousy suddenly rushing through her veins was wholly unwarranted. Kate was a happily married woman, but it wasn’t that. It was the thought of decisions being made about her restaurant without her knowledge or permission that struck her hard. ‘This is ridiculous.’

‘What is ridiculous is the fact that you’re not able to take one day off.’

‘I can take a day off if I want. I just—’

‘When?’

‘When what?’

‘Was the last day off you had. No restaurant and no wedding planning?’ he asked.

Lily bit her lip, scanning her mind back through the last few months. When she realized that she couldn’t remember, she tried to come up with a plausible answer that wouldn’t make her look so … so pathetic.

‘That’s what I thought. I’m taking you to dinner.’

‘You’re taking me to a restaurant and you think that’s a day off for me?’ she answered wryly.

‘Well, it’s not exactly a restaurant, but we do need to eat. And I’m curious to see if it’s still there.’

‘What’s still there?’