‘And she and Ruby aren’t as close as they once were, not really, and I know Heather misses her. Ben, too, but he’d never say as much – doesn’t want to hold her back. But yeah, it changed the family. Folk still talk about it.’

So I’d noticed . . .

‘And that can’t be easy for any of them.’

‘I can’t imagine any bloke letting a girl like Merrin slip through his fingers. I know I never would.’

‘Well, I can’t imagine a life without Ruby. Truth is, no matter what Ben says, I’m excited to turn up tomorrow, seal the deal!’ Jarvis took his time, as if wanting to get the words right. ‘I consider myself very lucky to be marrying Ruby. I feel like the luckiest man alive.’

Miguel punched him playfully on the arm, his relief instant. ‘You old softie, Jarvis! She must be some girl.’

‘For sure.’

‘How did you know Ruby was the one you wanted to marry?’ It interested him, the certainty with which Jarvis was willing to make such a commitment.

Jarvis looked out to sea. ‘I think . . . I think you can love more than one person, and I think you can love different people in different ways. Love can be fickle, your heart and your mind can play tricks’ – he tapped his temple as his mouth lifted in a wry smile – ‘and then, one day, you realise that the thing you’ve been waiting for, searching for, has been right under your nose all the time and it can make you feel a bit stupid that you’d spent the longest time looking in the wrong place – do you know what I mean?’

Miguel nodded, even though he didn’t know, not really. He thought about his ex, Christina, who he had been with for just over a year. She was a nice enough girl – no, that was unfair, she was a great girl – who would make most men happy for life. But after they had finished and he moved to Thornbury, he had met Merrin and knew what it was like to be in her company, the way her nose twitched when she was making a choice and how happy she was to go barefoot . . . so many little things that made the fantastic whole of her.

‘And I know that it might have taken me a moment to catch up, but Ruby is . . .’ He smiled. ‘She’s everything.’

Miguel liked the phrase; it pretty much summed up how he felt about Merrin, who was at the heart of his every decision and every action. He couldn’t imagine his life trundling on without her. He knew that his deep love might not be reciprocated but was certain that, given time and when she was ready, it would grow.