Ezra thought for a moment. Then he stood and pulled Gilly to her feet with him. ‘Come on,’ he said, heading for the door.

‘What? You can’t tell her what I told you!’

‘I won’t, I promise.’

‘Then what are you doing?’

‘You’ll see,’ he said, already halfway down the stairs. He didn’t let go of Gilly’s hand until he reached the bottom step. ‘Edie? Where are you?’

‘Ezra!’ Gilly hissed. ‘You promised!’

‘I know,’ he said, ‘don’t worry.’

‘I’m here,’ Edie called from the living room. ‘What are you caterwauling about? Have you got her to see sense yet?’

Ezra stopped in the doorway. ‘Come here a minute,’ he said.

Edie didn’t move from where she sat on the sofa. ‘Why?’ she said suspiciously. ‘What’s going on?’

Ezra put his hands on his hips, suddenly wondering if he was completely insane and thinking that there was probably a good chance that yes, he really was. ‘Please,’ he said, softer now. ‘It’ll only take a minute.’

Edie stared at him silently for another moment and then got up and walked towards him. She stopped when they were a few paces apart. Ezra took a breath, his heart suddenly pumping in his chest as if he were running a marathon. There was a second of stillness between them. Edie’s green eyes widened a fraction, as if maybe she’d read his mind like the witch she really was.

‘I was going to wait a while longer to do this,’ he said. ‘But there’s no time like the present, is there?’

He got down on one knee and heard, as if in Surround Sound, two sharp intakes of breath.

‘Edie Strang,’ Ezra said. ‘We’ve known each other for a lot of years, and I am fairly sure now that I’ve loved you for all of them. Will you marry me?’

‘Oh. My. God!’ Gilly said, behind him, sounding almost as shocked as Edie looked.

Edie stared at him, open-mouthed. ‘Are you mad?’

‘Probably,’ Ezra said. ‘But that doesn’t change what I’m asking.’

‘Why?’

‘Was that not covered by the I love you bit of a moment ago?’

‘I mean – why now? Why right this minute? Why?’

‘If you marry me, Gilly will go to college,’ Ezra said. ‘Can we speed this along a little? My knee is beginning to—’

‘You told him to marry me?’ Edie said to Gilly.

‘No! I didn’t know he was going to – for Christ’s sake, Edie,’ Gilly said, throwing up her hands, ‘bloody well say yes!’

‘That would be good,’ Ezra said, still on the floor. ‘Because if I stay down here much longer, I’m afraid—’

‘Oh, for God’s sake.’ Edie dragged him to his feet but didn’t let go of his hands. ‘I was married before. You know that.’

‘So was I.’

‘Didn’t go so well for either of us, did it?’

Ezra shrugged. ‘We’re older now. Wiser.’

She snorted at that. ‘Yeah, right. I’m not easy to live with.’

‘You are!’ Gilly interjected. ‘Don’t believe her, Ezra.’