‘You’re making him sound like a monster,’ said Naomi.

‘Your words, not mine,’ said Geraldine with a shrug. Then as nonchalantly as though asking what time it was, she said, ‘Did Colin ever hit you?’

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ellis had spent a large part of his working life moving from one posting to another and as a consequence, he had any number of acquaintances, many of whom were scattered around the world, either still working, or now retired like himself. His close friends, though, he could count on the fingers of one hand, which was probably true of a lot of people. It was also true that since Diana’s death he had not stayed in touch with them as well as he should have.

Right now, as he lay in the sand dunes, despite the slight dampness from yesterday’s rain, his eyes closed against the brightness of the sun in the untainted blue sky, he thought how he would value chatting with one of those close friends. But what to say? ‘Hi! You haven’t heard from me in ages, but any chance I can bend your ear about something?’

He’d tried speaking to Lucas, at last nailing him down for a proper chat, but it turned out that Lucas was full of his own news. He’d just been promoted to a more senior level at work and his new role, so he told Ellis, would require him to travel to Europe. ‘London is on the cards in the not too distant future,’ he’d said, ‘so I’ll be able to come and see you and Gran.’ Ellis was pleased for him, really pleased, but there was no getting a word in edgeways. Moreover, he hadn’t wanted to bring the conversation down by offloading his own problems onto Lucas.

Problem, singular, that was.

Naomi.

He saw now why she had been so keen to keep their relationship secret. Hadn’t she warned him that the moment they told anyone, specifically her daughters, everything would change, and not for the better?

But it was nonsense her thinking she had to make a choice, that it was either him, or her family. It was no more than an overreaction to a less than enthusiastic response to a mother having somebody new in her life. All children would be the same, instantly on their guard to protect their mother, or their father for that matter.

Although that wasn’t strictly true. Lucas had never regarded Ellis as a threat to his relationship with his mother, but then he had been a small boy when Ellis and Diana had met, and perhaps therefore more amenable to the idea of having a new father. Had Lucas been a teenager it might have been a different story.

But really, what could Martha and Willow have against their mother being happy? Could they not understand that they were making her unhappy by being resistant to change?

Ellis had readily agreed to give Naomi the time and space she claimed she needed, but he realised now that he hadn’t meant it. He had merely said what he knew she wanted him to say, thereby portraying himself as being as patient and accommodating as she wanted him to be. But it turned out he was neither of those things. He was impatient to move forward, to put their relationship on a more permanent footing. He knew just how fragile life could be – as should Naomi – and he didn’t want to lose this unexpected chance of happiness. The thing was, you could reach an age when you thought the best years of your life were behind you, then from nowhere you realise something so amazing it stops you in your tracks. And that something was that actually the best is yet to come.