Victoria grabbed for the top one, batting away Ollie’s hand reaching for the same croissant, and suddenly Lily remembered batting Henry’s hand away from the picnic she’d made the day of the wine tour. She risked a glance up at Henry and when she caught his eye, wondered if he was thinking the same thing.

‘I’m so glad we ran into you,’ Oliver said to Henry. ‘We’ve been wanting to thank you for allowing us to hold the wedding at the estate.’

‘I’m glad we could make it happen,’ Henry replied, looking again at Lily and including her in the thanks.

‘And I wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about Blake. I never met him, but V’s told me a lot about him. He sounded like a good man.’

Henry nodded, his eyes on his coffee cup. Lily felt a sharp stab of pain for him.

Taking a deep sigh, he said, ‘Thank you. He … he was.’

Lily let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The way that Henry had acknowledged the reference to Blake was so different to how it had been weeks before. She couldn’t help but feel the warmth that spread through her knowing that Henry had found some sort of peace with his father since the night she had shown him the contents of the wine chest in the cellar at the estate.

‘How’s your father? Lily said that he’s been trying a new treatment?’ Henry asked Oliver.

‘Yeah, he’s actually doing pretty well with it,’ Oliver replied, clearly relieved. We’re trying to get him to cut back on work completely. We’re nearly there, but he can’t help it every now and then.’

Lily was trying to focus on the conversation between the boys, but she caught Victoria’s overly wide-eyed stare, the tilt of her head indicating, What the hell? more effectively than if she’d said it out loud. Lily mouthed, Later, with that shock of panic that Henry might see the exchange, and refocused on what Oliver was saying.

‘But the department store—’

‘The one in Chelsea?’ Henry queried.

‘Yup, it’s doing a roaring trade,’ Ollie smiled, taking up Victoria’s hand in his and rubbing his thumb over the base of her thumb.

‘You’ve got a pretty good reputation,’ Henry remarked of Russell and Co’s worldwide department stores.

‘Thank you. Yours isn’t that bad either, Hawkesbury.’ Henry seemed to take the praise on the chin. ‘Have you ever partnered with anyone in retail? Because I was thinking—’

‘No business talk at breakfast,’ Victoria cried before finishing the last bite of her croissant. She sighed, happy and seemingly in food heaven, then leaned back to take in the restaurant. ‘Oh, Lils!’ she exclaimed, scanning the living wall behind the counter. ‘It’s not just a green blob!’