Dinner with the McCluskys that evening felt somehow different from the last time. I wondered if it might be because of Lumin being here and because I’d withheld her from them for almost five years. But as I observed them, I realised the tension wasn’t with me. It was with each other. After an exciting day, they all seemed exhausted, the smiles less frequent. Dylan and Cole were barely talking to one another, Mairi seemed to have a permanent crease in her forehead and the rest of the family were strangely subdued.

I also noticed other little things: the maid they once had was gone. The food and drink were less extravagant than they were last time. Everyone seemed a bit less polished. Lumin was of course oblivious to it though, chatting away to her newly found cousins as Dylan watched them with a smile on his face.

After, we all sat in the vast living room as the kids played games. Before too long, Lumin started yawning.

‘I think it’s bedtime for you,’ I said, starting to get up. ‘We had a long journey today.’

‘Can Dylan read to me, Mummy?’ she asked.

I paused. ‘Sure.’

Dylan’s face lit up and Mairi smiled. ‘How about I run you a bath, sweetheart?’ Mairi asked Lumin. ‘I’ll get you all snug and ready then Daddy can come read to you.’

Lumin nodded shyly and walked upstairs with Dylan and Mairi.

‘Here,’ Rhonda said, bringing a glass of wine over to me after they left. ‘Looks like you need this.’

I took a thankful sip. ‘It feels so weird not being the one to put Lumin to bed.’

‘I’m sure you’ll get used to it. How’s it all going?’

‘Good. Lumin seems to love it here. And she and Dylan …’ I smiled, shaking my head. ‘They’re two peas in a pod.’

‘What about you and Dylan?’ Rhonda asked, taking a sip of her own wine and tilting her head as she examined my face. ‘Are you two peas in a wooden hut in the mountains again?’

I felt my cheeks flush. ‘No, it’s not like that this time.’

‘Well, whatever happens between you both, it’s great to have you here. I can see the change in him already, the weight lifted off his shoulders now he is back in your life.’

‘In Lumin’s life. This isn’t about me and Dylan.’

Her gaze penetrated mine. ‘Isn’t it?’

I leant back in my chair, nursing my wine. ‘Maybe just a little bit. I’d reconciled myself to never seeing him again, then all of a sudden I’m staying in his family’s house for Christmas, just like the first time.’

‘Maybe it’s just what’s meant to be. I can see it with the two of you, the electricity. Everyone can. It’s fate.’

I laughed. ‘You really believe all that?’