‘I don’t think I shall ever tire of looking at it,’ she said.

‘That’s good, because I don’t think I shall ever tire of you wearing it. Or tire of you,’ he added, ‘just in case you needed me to remind you of that.’ He finished his tea and after putting his mug on the bedside table, he stretched his arms above his head. ‘I’m reluctant to ask this, but do you suppose we ought to get up?’

‘What’s the hurry?’

‘Your family will be here in approximately …’ he glanced at his wristwatch, ‘two hours and fifteen minutes, and here we are still in bed.’

Our family, she wanted to correct him, but she didn’t. Some things couldn’t be rushed. ‘Are you anxious about seeing them again?’

‘I’d like to say no, but that would be a lie. There always seems to be some kind of drama attached to our get-togethers.’

‘Only because there’s so much readjusting to do on all sides. The last time we saw them all was when Lucas was here, and then it was my turn to feel as though I was on trial. I was so anxious for him to like me. Martha and Willow had probably felt something similar.’

‘You’re right, and I know it’s still early days, but it worries me that your daughters will never truly accept my presence. I don’t know what more I can do to put their minds at rest.’

‘We both know that’s not strictly true. Willow is fine with you, it’s only Martha who needs to accept that you’re now a fundamental part of my life.’

‘Can I ask you something very personal?’

‘Of course.’

‘Did you decide against marrying me because you thought it would placate Martha?’

She gave his question some thought. ‘Maybe that was partly at the back of mind, but really it was a selfish need on my part to control things. Does that, and be honest, give you cause for concern?’

‘Not at all. Perhaps it was selfishness on my part in my wanting to marry you. I wanted to seal the deal for fear of losing you.’

She put down her finished mug of tea and turned to face him. ‘You’re not going to lose me. I promise.’ She kissed him, then raised her left hand to indicate her beautiful ring. ‘Engaged for life,’ she said with a happy smile. ‘You’re stuck with me for good.’

On their way down to Tilsham, and in the passenger seat of Rick’s BMW, Willow ate the last piece of the Kit-Kat he had bought for her when he’d stopped to fill up with petrol.

‘Better for that?’ he asked as she screwed the foil and paper wrapper into a ball and dropped it in her bag at her feet. She knew better than to leave it littering Rick’s car.

‘Much better, thank you,’ she said. ‘Was I being very grumpy before?’

He smiled at her and, taking a hand off the steering wheel briefly, he patted her leg. ‘You could never be grumpy, sweetheart. Maybe just a little tetchy because you were in need of some carbs. I said you should have eaten some breakfast, didn’t I?’