‘Do Claudia’s parents know?’ Lily asked.

Henry shook his head. ‘I didn’t think that they’d welcome any kind of contact from me. And,’ he shrugged, ‘it would have taken absolutely no digging whatsoever to see that I was linked to it.’

‘That’s an amazing thing, Henry. Blake would have been so proud of that and what you’ve achieved.’

He shrugged off her words and Lily saw that he’d been just as devastated and damaged by the accident as Victoria or Zoe. Not physically, no. But he had most definitely been hurt by it.

Their food arrived, and whether through hunger or mutual agreement, they finished nearly the entire meal without another word until Lily laid down her fork, her belly full and let loose an appreciative moan. ‘That was good.’

‘Mm hm,’ Henry agreed, pushing his plate back.

‘How did you know it was here?’

‘Mum and I used to stop here before dropping me off at the estate after the divorce. It became our thing.’ He smiled fondly.

‘How is she doing?’ Lily asked.

‘Good,’ he said, nodding. ‘She’s doing well. Remarried, and the husband’s not a complete arse, which helps. No step siblings, but … she’s happy. He makes her happy. Speaking of which, tell me about the man who has stolen Victoria Scott’s heart.’

Lily had fallen asleep only twenty minutes into the drive home, leaving Henry to muse about their conversations over dinner. He hadn’t planned on telling her about the app he’d named after Claudia, but he’d not been able to shake the thought planted by Ben during his visit. Henry hadn’t told her to impress her, or to in some way make up for his involvement in the accident that had devastated so many people. But he’d wanted her to know about him. And that way madness lay. He knew it as surely as he knew he had to leave Hawke’s Cove. Eventually.

After dropping Lily off at her restaurant – her ‘goodnight’ happily sleepy – he pulled into the driveway of the estate and his phone pinged. He glanced at the notification and paused before opening the email from the wedding photographer from the warehouse. He both did and didn’t want to see the image, somehow instinctively knowing that it would change things.

He opened the attachment and waited as the picture downloaded.

The air rushed from his chest when he saw it. Lily looking up at him, her eyes bright and shining, her fingers pressed against her lips, half covering the smile of pure pleasure crossing her features. Her thick auburn hair trailed down her back in waves. And him. Looking down at her as if she was the centre of everything. It was the perfect wedding photo. A wedding that could never be.