Could she do that? Was the Shard even open on New Year’s Eve? She had no clue. Well, if it weren’t, it would be a ‘sign’, like in Sleepless in Seattle, and then she’d never ask Brody to meet her again.

She hurried on before he could shut her down. ‘If you come, you come. If you don’t, you don’t. It’ll be okay.’ She had to trust him, that whatever the reason for his reluctance, he’d either get over it or explain it at some point.

He sounded pained when he replied. ‘You could very well end up standing there waiting all night. You’d be alone at midnight…’

The time she might need him the most. Yes, she knew that. It was a risk she was willing to take. ‘I don’t care,’ she said.

He let out a sigh, so heavy and so bleak that tears sprang to her eyes. Not for herself, but for him. For whatever giant blocked his path and blighted his life. Think about what brave little Pip would do, she wanted to tell him. She’s a part of you, and she knows how to fight. She knows how to hope.

But she couldn’t say that. Not yet.

‘And if I can’t be with you, I’d rather see the New Year in on my own, high above the city, watching the lights sparkle below me.’

‘Anna… Don’t…’

The disobedient tears lining her lashes fell. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ she whispered. ‘Don’t you want to meet me?’

His voice was raw when he replied. ‘I do. More than anything.’

Chapter Forty-Four

THE WEEKEND BEFORE Halloween was grey and drizzly, and Anna holed herself up against the weather. It was the kind of Saturday afternoon that begged big fluffy socks and an over-sized cardigan that reached down to your knees. Anna put on both, then made herself a large mug of hot chocolate and took it into the living room, where she curled up with the fifth, and most recent, book in Brody’s series.

When she looked up again, she discovered the rain had cleared but that it was dark outside. How long had she been sitting there? Her hot chocolate was half drunk and stone cold. She checked the clock on the mantelpiece. Six fifteen! She was supposed to be leaving the house in just over an hour to meet Jeremy. They were going to see a film that evening at the new cinema down at Bromley South.

She got up and stuck her mug of hot chocolate in the microwave to warm it up. Her mother would be horrified, but her mother didn’t need to know, did she? She was about to take it upstairs to her bedroom to sip while she perused her wardrobe, but when she reached the foot of the stairs, she turned and headed back into the living room. She and Jeremy would be sitting in the dark most of the evening, wouldn’t they? So she didn’t need to go all-out on the make-up, and a cute jumper and jeans would suffice. That meant she had time for one more chapter…