I smile back, happy he likes it, and take a small bite of my own. I can’t taste it though and the slippery, almost fleshy texture of the scallop makes me queasy. I end up pushing the rest of my food around my plate.

‘Have you thought about going back to work?’ he asks, reaching for the salt.

‘I don’t know,’ I answer, hesitantly. ‘I mean, I’d like to at some point.’ I quit my job at the vet just after my mum died and I was too depressed to go in. ‘I miss my job. Being around animals,’ I admit to Liam.

‘Maybe you can go back soon,’ he suggests. ‘I mean, if you think you’re up to it? No pressure though, of course.’

I take a deep breath, then let it out. ‘I think I might need a few more months,’ I say.

‘Of course,’ he answers. ‘Take your time. Are you done?’ He gestures to my plate.

I look down and see I’ve eaten nothing more than that first bite, but I nod. ‘Do you want dessert?’ I ask, standing up to clear the table.

‘Sure,’ he says.

I put the plates in the sink and then cross to the fridge, but Liam catches me by the wrist and pulls me into his lap.

‘You don’t want dessert?’ I ask in a teasing tone.

He grins. ‘I want you.’

He kisses the spot on my neck that always makes me gasp. I close my eyes as a shiver runs up my spine. His touch is like fire and ice at the same time, almost painful, like the burn you get when you hold snow in your palm for too long. His hands slide up beneath my skirt and he groans.

When we first started dating, I didn’t have much experience. I’d only had two previous boyfriends, neither of whom had cared much about giving pleasure, only receiving it, and Liam had to take the lead. I was shy and self-conscious, and I still am to a degree, but much less.

We make love against the kitchen table. Liam tugs at his belt and yanks down his trousers in his haste and I brace myself with one hand against the wall, hearing my own cries of pleasure as though they’re far away and belong to someone else. Only Liam’s hands gripping my thighs and his voice in my ear bring me back to the moment.

When we finish, Liam pulls up his trousers and I hop down from the table on shaking legs. Liam pulls me to him and kisses me. ‘I love you, Laura Carrington,’ he murmurs against my lips.

‘I love you too,’ I answer, looking into the arctic blue of his eyes.

How did I end up with him? What did I do to deserve it? I guess it was fate after all, like Liam likes to say.