And there it was again—that stabbing pain of grief just when she least expected it, because Will would never get to experience that kind of love either.

‘You okay? Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.’ Swallowing hard, Zara changed her grip on the wheel, wondering whether right now she had the energy to explain. ‘It’s actually not the conversation,’ she said. ‘It’s knowing that Will missed out on falling in love and having children. All because of some stupid, cruel disease that has no right to exist!

‘I don’t know if that makes sense to you, but he died so young and missed out on so many things. And Mum misses out too. Will was the end of the family name. No more Ellisons coming from us.’

‘There might be,’ Lizzie said softly. ‘You don’t have to change your name if you marry.’

‘But you know what I’m saying, right?’

‘Yeah, and I’m just trying to make you feel better and I don’t think that’s what you need.’

‘Give me a hug when I get to the office.’

‘Ha! That I can do.’

The office was just what Zara needed: noisy, busy and exciting. First of all she put her head into Lachy’s office. He was sitting there as usual, with a cold cup of coffee in front of him and stains down his white shirt.

‘Good to see things don’t change,’ she said, indicating his shirt.

He looked up and a broad grin spread across his face. ‘Well, well, it’s good to see you. Come here.’ He pushed his chair back and stood up, holding his arms open. ‘And I wouldn’t want to disappoint you by having a clean shirt!’

Zara hugged him back. ‘It’s good to see you too,’ she answered. ‘It’s good to be here!’

‘How are you?’ He looked down at her with such compassion that she had to take a second to gather herself.

‘It’s hard to explain. It’s a bit like the ocean. Sometimes the waters are calm; that’s when I feel okay. I never actually forget he’s gone, but it feels like life could be normal again one day. Then, out of nowhere, this massive wave crashes over me and I feel like I’m drowning.’ She shrugged. ‘That probably doesn’t make any sense, but that’s how it is.’

‘It makes sense.’ Lachy gripped her upper arms and squeezed gently. ‘It’s going to take time and I think you nailed it when you said, “It feels like life could be normal again.” It’ll never be the way it was before, but there will be a time when feeling like life could be normal is the normal.’ He let go of her and smiled sadly.

‘I’ll just dump my gear,’ she said. ‘And, Lachy, thanks. Thanks for everything.’