I turned around to face him, forgetting my bed hair and all the rest of it for a moment. ‘Who are you and what have you done with the real Jack Coulsdon-Hart?’

Jack threw his head back and laughed. ‘I really did leave a bad impression on you, didn’t I?’

‘So long as you don’t pat me on the head this time, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.’

‘Yeeahhh,’ he said, drawing out the word. ‘I didn’t handle that very well, did I?’

‘Oh my God! You do remember! I knew you did.’

He grinned. ‘I do, much to my chagrin. I just didn’t think you’d appreciate me bringing it up in front of Felix and Poppy the other night.’

‘No, I wouldn’t have, so thank you for that at least.’ I turned back to the house. ‘I still can’t believe you patted me on the head.’

He laughed again. ‘No, neither can I. I was normally much more suave than that. You threw me.’

I gave an unladylike snort. ‘I knew it’d be my fault.’

6

‘Are you always up this early?’ I asked, accepting the mug of fresh tea Jack presented me with when I returned downstairs, having changed into something more suitable for company.

‘It varies,’ he said. ‘I think my body clock’s all out of whack at the moment. Jet lag and stuff.’

‘Stuff?’

‘Lots on my mind, I guess.’

I took a sip of my tea.

‘Spit it out,’ Jack said with a grin.

I swallowed the tea. ‘Pardon?’

‘The question, not the tea.’ He smiled. ‘You’re clearly dying to ask something, so just ask me.’

‘No. It’s none of my business.’

‘I have descended on your home, invaded your privacy with very little notice, and probably even less choice if I know Felix, so I think you’re entitled to ask a few questions.’

‘OK,’ I said, taking the chair opposite him at the table. ‘How come you left England?’

‘My parents were driving me mad, trying to marry me off to lady this or that, telling me what my life should be, how my life should be and who I should live it with. I couldn’t take anymore so I booked a ticket to the furthest place I could think of, closed my business and took off. Probably not the wisest decision but…’ He shrugged. ‘I couldn’t deal with the pressure anymore.’

‘Sometimes you just have to get away from everything. I understand that.’

He tilted his head slightly. ‘Yeah, I think you’re one of the few people who can understand.’

‘Do I get another question?’

He gave me that grin again and I really wished he wouldn’t keep doing that. ‘Why stop at one?’

‘Why are you back in England?’

‘I missed it. I loved it out in New Zealand but I’m older now and I guess I missed home. Once my marriage broke down a few years ago, I felt there was nothing to tie me there anymore. I’ve been thinking about coming home for a few years, but my wife was very against it, and I could understand that. All her family and friends were out there, her career. She had no reason to move and I was losing my reason to stay. We’d been growing apart for a while anyway, and I think it had come to its natural end.’