‘I’m not surprised,’ Marcus said. ‘The way he walked in here last night, like he owned the place.’

‘Well that’s Nathan,’ Grace said.

‘I don’t get what you ever saw in him, Grace,’ Patrick said. ‘He’s such an arrogant prick.’

Grace smiled. He was an arrogant prick, there was no doubt about that. But he hadn’t always been that way. Sometimes she allowed herself to think about when they first met and how incredibly happy he’d made her. After losing her dad she’d felt so alone. And then Nathan had bounded into her life, full of energy and confidence. He could make her laugh like no one else ever had. Whenever she was around him the whole world had seemed brighter, and she felt as if she could face anything with Nathan by her side. Dear God, the naiveté of a love-struck teenager, she laughed to herself.

‘What’s so funny?’ Marcus asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

‘Just thinking about old times,’ she said. ‘Remember when we were young and dumb?’

‘Aw yes.’ He smiled. ‘You used to be so sweet.’

Patrick laughed so hard he spat some of his coffee onto the bar.

Grace ignored them both. She concentrated on picking an imaginary piece of fluff from her skirt so they wouldn’t see her eyes brim with tears. This was why she hated thinking about the past. About the person she once was. The person Nathan was. The possibilities of young love and everything that could have been.

Chapter Seven

Twenty Years Earlier

New Year’s Eve

Grace saw him as soon as he walked into the Rose and Crown. She still considered it her dad’s place, even though it was now entirely hers. She felt completely out of her depth sometimes but being in the bar made her feel close to him. The familiar smells; the constant hum of chatter; the smooth wood of the bar beneath her fingertips; all of them were comforting in their own way.

Grace continued to stare at the handsome stranger. He was so incredibly gorgeous, that it almost felt like her heart stopped when she saw him. She unconsciously held her breath, afraid that if she dared to breathe the spell might be broken, and he would disappear into thin air. He couldn’t be much older than her, but he walked into the room with the confidence of someone who knew exactly who they were, and what they wanted.

As he made his way over to a group of people at the table she was clearing, she noticed the most incredible eyes she had ever seen. Cornflower blue, they sparkled under the bright light of the cheap chandeliers. His dark brown hair stuck to his forehead from the rain. Catching her eye, he smiled, and she almost dropped the tray she was carrying. It was as though someone had hit her knees with a sledgehammer.