Over the next couple of days, my concerns dissipated. Dylan was determined to give his daughter the best time of her life, and brought the rest of the family with him too. I wondered if part of it was about taking his parents’ minds off the court case. In some ways, it worked. It was lovely to see Oscar taking joy in buying a gingerbread man for Lumin as they walked around a Christmas fair at a nearby village, his eyes alight. Or Mairi smiling in pride as she helped Lumin place a silver star on top of their huge Christmas tree, so huge they needed a ladder. Lumin loved it too, absolutely in awe of a local waterfall which had frozen solid, especially when Dylan and Cole decided to climb it in a show of brotherly competition.

Despite their troubles, the McCluskys were what family was all about. Yes, there was tension between the brothers. But otherwise they all seemed to love each other so much and were particularly kind around Oscar. I loved watching Lumin take it all in and imagined future Christmases spent here.

But then it occurred to me, I wouldn’t be there if ever Lumin came back, which I was sure she would. It wasn’t usual for the ex to tag along, after all, and the fact was, I was Dylan’s ex. Sure, I caught him watching me sometimes, but his face was unreadable. After our conversation on the mountain the other day had been interrupted by Gavin, there hadn’t been another mention of it. I couldn’t help but ache for Dylan though. He was still the man I’d fallen for. Handsome and strong but so charming and kind too. It was hard to switch those feelings off.

Plus, of course, Mairi and Rhonda were convinced he still loved me. But as the days went on, I began to doubt it. They wanted him to love me. It would allow everything to be tied up in a neat bow, especially for Mairi, who clearly liked the idea of Dylan settling down. But life couldn’t be tied into a neat bow, could it?

On Christmas Eve night, we all got dressed up in our best outfits to have champagne in the living room. I’d brought a gorgeous white dress for Lumin with a snowflake pattern all over it, and I was wearing a pale green silk dress. When we walked downstairs, Dylan was waiting for us wearing a pair of dark trousers with a cream jumper. His face softened when he saw Lumin. Then when he turned to me, he looked at me in a way I couldn’t quite read.

‘A celebration,’ Mairi said, lifting her glass as we entered the living room. ‘To our special girl, our lovely Lumin.’

Lumin shyly put her cheek against Dylan’s arm and he stroked her hair, smiling down at his daughter.