Flynn had given Roman a couple of days off work to get himself rested and gather his own thoughts. Roman was relieved at how understanding Flynn was when he’d shared his life story with him, and Roman wished he’d been honest from the start.

‘But what I want to know is, what did you say to Megan?’

‘Nothing much, I just pointed out the obvious.’

‘You mean you aren’t going to tell me? What happened to being honest and open at all time?’ he teased.

Ella knew she’d struck a chord with Megan when she’d shared her own story. They had something in common, yet they were worlds apart. Ella had memories of her own parents which helped her to get through the grieving process. She could remember their smiles, their laughter, their scents – but then everything was taken away from her in an instant. She couldn’t have one last conversation, she couldn’t tell them how much she loved them, she was all on her own and she would do anything to spend one more day with them.

Megan was hurting and though she didn’t have any memories of her mother to cling on to, her grief still tortured her every day. The only way she could find to block out that pain was to drink. Ella thought about Roman, how much he loved her but how much he was also hurting, blaming himself for the past, tormenting himself that he wasn’t a good father. What if something happened to either of them and they were the only one left in the world? Each of them needed to see their own self-worth. Roman needed to stop feeling guilty about the night Hattie died, and Megan needed to learn to love herself again. Both of them had agreed to have joint counselling, after Megan’s stay in the Oasis Lodge was completed, to help each other.

‘Sometimes, when someone who isn’t close to the situation gives advice, people listen.’

‘I just hope these next four weeks work their magic and the programme is successful.’

‘It will be – have faith,’ Ella said gently.

‘I just need to keep myself distracted, sail my boat, but I’ll be doomed if The Lakehouse doesn’t pick up business soon,’ Roman said with a weary sigh.

‘Well, I have the very thing to keep you distracted.’ Ella grinned. With everything that had happened last night, she hadn’t got round to telling Roman about the star-studded bash at The Lakehouse. And with everything Roman was going through, Ella was even more determined to make this event a success. He was relying on his job and what he needed right now was a break. Ella was just about to tell Roman all about ‘A Trip Down Memory Lane’ when her mobile rang.

‘Do you need to get that?’ he asked.