‘Yeah, sure.’ Vinny held his mother close to his chest. ‘Thank you so much for forgiving me. I know I don’t deserve it.’

Queenie stroked her firstborn’s cheek. ‘No. You don’t. But that’s what loving mothers do. Oh, and by the way, whenever Peter’s funeral is, we’ll need to attend together, you know that, don’t you?’

Vinny smiled. ‘Yeah. No worries.’

Daniel O’Leary rang at ten on the dot. ‘I’m missing you so much. I can’t wait to see you again. Patrick’s coming back to Ireland with the McCarthys’ dosh next Thursday, so we’ll travel to London early Friday, then come to the club opening together.’

‘I can’t wait to see you either. Please act normal at the club though. Viv isn’t silly. She picks up on most things. We need to give it a bit of time – I think I’ve made my decision, Daniel, it’s just my boys – you know.’

‘I won’t let you down, I promise. I’ll act like you’re just a family friend at the party. Then how about I book a hotel room for us the following day? We can have a bit of lunch, spend some quality time together.’

Queenie had butterflies again. Daniel sounded so genuine and she felt exactly the same way. They could make a life together, it felt so right.

‘OK. I usually go shopping with Viv on a Saturday, but I can pretend I’m meeting up with Doreen, an old friend of mine.’

‘Cushty. So when we getting married then?’

‘Don’t start all that again,’ laughed Queenie.

‘I’m not joking. I mean it.’

‘You’re a very impatient man. Anyone ever told you that?’

‘Yeah. My mum. I’m not joking though. I let you go once – big mistake. I’m never letting you go again.’

Queenie felt a warm glow inside her. It might have taken her many years, but finally she knew what being in love felt like.

EPILOGUE

I’m singing along to the radio as I pack my little case. I’m ever so excited; feeling on top of the world. Tonight, I will proudly watch my eldest two open their first club. Then tomorrow, I will be spending the day with Daniel. I’ve told the family that Doreen Laine has invited Eliza and me over to her posh house for a meal as her husband is away and we’ll both be staying over.

I’ve always hated liars, but I’m getting quite good at living a lie. Case of having to, really. The chance to sleep with and wake up with Daniel for the first time ever is an opportunity too good to miss. I can’t wait for him to hold me again and to feel him inside me. Just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine. Daniel has woken something in me that I never knew existed in the first place.

‘I didn’t know you liked Herman’s Hermits, Mum,’ laughs Michael.

I’d never been a fan, it’s true, but their latest, ‘I’m Into Something Good’, reminds me of Daniel. Same with the Honeycombs’ ‘Have I the Right’, the Searchers’ ‘When You Walk in the Room’, the Kinks’ ‘You Really Got Me’, and Jim Reeves’ ‘I Love You Because’. So many songs in the current top forty could have been written for me and Daniel.