‘None of this really matters,’ he continued, his eyes still focused on the yellowing ceiling of the caravan. ‘The clothes and the flowers and the guests. It’s just white noise to me, a distraction from what’s really important here.’

Melissa didn’t understand. What could possibly be more important than their wedding?

‘But . . .’ she began, but he put his finger to her lips.

‘All that matters are you, me and Leah,’ he continued. ‘I don’t care about anything else.’

Melissa relaxed a little. She loved that Ray was so romantic, that he had placed her and Leah firmly at the centre of his world. It made her feel so cherished and safe. But still, this was their wedding.

‘I know that, pet,’ she said, running her fingers through his thick hair and pushing it back from his handsome face. ‘And that’s all I care about, too, but we still need to organise things, make plans. We can’t just rock up to the club and expect them to put on food for fifty people.’

‘Fifty!’ exclaimed Ray. He looked truly horrified.

‘At least!’ said Melissa. ‘I do have friends, you know! And there’s Auntie Kathleen and her friends and I assume that you want to invite people too. I don’t know how many’d be on your guest list, your family and that. I think the room can hold up to one hundred, but I’d need to check.’

Ray was shaking his head. ‘Melissa, my darling girl,’ he said. ‘Why do we need to make all this fuss? I don’t understand it.’ He kissed her lightly on her bare shoulder and something inside her quivered. ‘Listen,’ he continued. ‘Do you want to hear about my perfect wedding?’

Melissa felt a blush rise up. In all her excitement, she hadn’t actually thought what Ray might want, just assumed that it would be the same as her, the same as everyone she knew. Now she felt slightly ashamed.

‘I’m so sorry, pet,’ she said. ‘Please tell me what you want. Tell me everything, every teensy detail of your perfect day.’

‘Well,’ said Ray, pushing himself up so that they faced each other, their noses almost touching. ‘It’s simple, really. You, me, Leah. The registry office in Newcastle. A couple of witnesses pulled in off the street. Dinner just the three of us after, a bottle or two of champagne. That would be my perfect wedding, my darling. I don’t want anyone else there to distract me from you. I want you and Leah to have my full attention for every minute of the day so that I can store away all the memories and never, ever forget them.’

His voice was so gentle and his smile so adoring that for a moment Melissa was completely swept away by his words. But then she realised what he was actually saying.