‘You, me ol’ son, must have been so proud of your brother. You wanted to fit in his boots in every way, and I know you always liked Zara, but you need to know, mate, Mike was seeing her long before you said you liked her. She was his first. She always was and always will be . . . if he ever fucking gets his act together and makes a move . . . Christ, this is frustrating. Look at him, Eric. He’s like a wet weekend. Aw, I wanna kick him up the fucking arse.’

Eric sniffed back the tears and laughed. ‘Me mother always said, “Love will find a way.”’

Lou turned to Eric and frowned. ‘A bit philosophical, ain’t ya, mate?’

With emotion radiating from his face, Eric said, ‘Maybe it’s where I’ve been going wrong all these fucking years. Wanting what I can’t have. Trying to be someone I could never be. Anyway, another saying me mother has is “Honesty is the best policy.” So I told Zara the truth about that tart at the party, and how I sort of set Mike up. Let’s hope those two obstinate sods let go of their pride.’

Lou smiled, hearing that revelation. ‘Well, you did good. I’m proud of ya, mate. Er, where’s Staffie and Willie?’

‘Just finishing off. See, they’re over there.’

Lou looked over to find Staffie trudging towards the car; his face was drawn with tiredness.

‘What’s Willie doing now?’

Eric began to chuckle. ‘Willie is being Willie. He’s no social skills whatsoever, the daft bastard.’

‘He’s like a kid in a playground.’

Staffie looked over his shoulder and shook his head before he climbed into the back. ‘All right, Lou? Look at Willie. He thinks he’s fucking Cupid now. Jesus, someone needs to tell him he’s got a diver’s knife in his hand, not a fucking arrow.’

They all watched as Willie dragged Mike over to Zara. He put his arms around both Zara’s and Mike’s shoulders as if he was attempting to bash their heads together. Then he left them alone with a chuffed smile on his face.

‘Gawd help us!’ said Staffie.

Willie ran to the car and jumped in the back to face three pairs of eyes glaring at him. ‘What? Well, someone needed to bash their fucking heads together. There ain’t no point in pussyfooting around, is there?’

They all laughed as Lou pulled away. ‘Let’s give them their privacy.’

***

‘You showed them, babe,’ said Mike.

Zara looked into his eyes. She saw the real Mike, the man who held her heart in his hand. ‘It’s not over, Mike.’

‘No, I know, babe, I know.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I got so much wrong, didn’t I?’

Zara shrugged. ‘Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?’