Heather Kellow might only have been three hours away, but with work commitments, the fact that she didn’t drive and was loath to leave Port Charles, where she had been in turn looking after Granny Ellen, supporting Ben after the death of his mother and then planning for Ruby’s wedding, it had been hard to make a plan to travel to Thornbury. And that was before the cost of such an excursion was taken into consideration. Plus, with Merrin regularly promising to make the trip, no one, Merrin included, could have envisaged a whole two years passing before she jumped in Vera Wilma Brown and headed home.

‘It’s one of the only reasons I agreed to come. I love home cooking.’

‘Charming! You mean you’re not looking forward to seeing my sister get wed?’

‘It’s not that, it’s more the sleeping arrangements I object to.’ He sucked air through his teeth at the horror of it.

Merrin chuckled, having explained to him they would have to sleep in the tiny single beds on opposite sides of her childhood bedroom, where soft toys and boxes of Lego sat on the shelves and her parents slept on the other side of the wall. Her sister had moved into Granny Ellen’s cottage next door not long after she had died and Jarvis had joined her almost immediately. Miguel had been informed in no uncertain terms that he was forbidden from crossing the gap between the two beds, as the slightest creak on the floorboard could almost guarantee her dad coming through the door with an axe. Okay, so she had made the axe bit up, but she hoped it served the purpose, encouraging him to stay put until daybreak.

‘Two nights, Miguel,’ she reminded him. ‘Just two nights out of three hundred and sixty-five. I’m sure you’ll manage.’

Both fell silent as the car trundled on to the motorway. Merrin felt a roll of nausea as she remembered where they were headed. The quiet was no good for her nervous musings.

‘Penny for them?’ she asked as he stared at her. ‘What are you thinking? I can hear your cogs turning.’

‘I was thinking how beautiful you always look and how I love the way you wear your hair and how lucky I am. I hope you know that, Merrin. We’re always so busy at work, I guess I don’t always take the time to tell you how amazing you are or to perform romantic gestures.’