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‘So, the bunnies?’ he said again.

‘Yeah, Evan can get a little carried away with things,’ she said, thinking about all the flowers currently filling her little cottage.

‘Well, you two looked happy together. It’s nice to see.’

‘Same with you. Georgia looks lovely.’

Holly hadn’t intended to emphasise the word ‘looks’ quite so much, but Ben raised an eyebrow in response.

‘She likes to dress nicely,’ he said. ‘Particularly when she doesn’t know people. It’s a nervous reaction. You know, like people who talk too much when they’re under scrutiny?’

‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ Holly replied, ignoring the dig. ‘Although I suspect she could wear a bin bag and still look fantastic.’

‘I won’t deny that,’ Ben replied. He paused, studying Holly for a moment. ‘So how are all the wedding plans going? I’ve seen Jamie outside the house a couple of times, but whenever I’ve gone to speak to her, she’s been on the phone. And I haven’t wanted to intrude. I’m sure there must be a lot of sorting out to do with Fin’s family coming over.’

‘Honestly, I think that’s the only stressful part of it. They really lucked out on the venue. The place sorts out so much, all Jamie and Fin really have to do is show up. And she’d hardly find you checking up on her an intrusion. You are friends as well as neighbours.’

‘I know, you’re right.’

‘I usually am,’ Holly smirked. ‘Still, I can’t believe how quickly this wedding has come about.’

‘I know. Seems like only a couple of months ago Fin was filling the restaurant with paper cranes for her birthday.’

Holly thought back to that night. It was certainly memorable, partially because of all the paper cranes Fin had made, but also because that was the same night she discovered she was pregnant. She was still lost in the chaos on the memory when Ben cleared his throat and spoke again.

‘Also,’ he said, ‘I was thinking, tonight after the party, maybe you want me to take Hope with me. Or you could drop her off, if you’d rather.’

Holly frowned. Ben had already had Hope that morning, and he knew that Holly didn’t sleep particularly well when she was away.

‘You haven’t seen Evan in weeks,’ he continued. ‘I’m sure both of you would rather not spend the first night that you’ve seen each other with a nine-month-old to contend with.’

Holly swallowed. Of course, Ben would think of something like that. In Holly’s mind, having Hope there with Evan had been part of what she’d been looking forward to. Time for the three of them to get to see how they worked together as a family. But that was before Hope had started her latest sleep regression, waking up in the middle of the night, and not settling unless Holly was cuddled up with her. Evan was a relaxed guy, but perhaps that wasn’t what he’d envisioned for his first night seeing his girlfriend in nearly a month.

‘Are you sure?’ she asked, not wanting to put extra pressure on Ben. Or make it seem like she didn’t want the night with her daughter.

‘Absolutely, but only if you want. Georgia’s got to travel for work tomorrow morning, so she’s not going to be staying. So it’ll just be Hope and me. Just in case you needed to know that.’

‘Oh… I…’ Holly wasn’t sure how to respond. Since she had found out about Ben and Georgia’s relationship, she’d made a concerted effort not to pry. What Ben did wasn’t her business. If he thought having Georgia over to stay the night when he also had Hope staying was a sensible thing to do, then she just had to trust him with that. No matter how much it made her feel slightly uneasy to have another woman reading her daughter a bedtime story.

‘Yes, okay. That would be nice, thank you. But I won’t be able to drop her off until late, as I need to stay until the end to give Dad his present. Is that okay?’

‘Of course, the Belgium trip.’ Ben’s face lit up unexpectedly. It really was sweet how much love he had for her parents. Maybe she would have repaid it, only she never saw Ben’s family. Apart from the naming day they’d had for Hope, they’d had about as much presence in her life as the Easter Bunny.

‘Mum and I want to do that together. But maybe afterwards? If it’s still okay, maybe I can drop Hope over then?’

‘That sounds fine.’

‘And you’ve got enough clean pyjamas and everything. You know she needs the thin ones in summer?’

‘Holly?’

‘Yes?’ She paused. ‘Sorry.’

The pair locked eyes, and so much passed between them in that moment. The relationship may not have lasted like she had hoped, or ended in a manner which she was proud of, but that didn’t change the fact that she felt incredibly fortunate to have Ben in her life.

‘Can I hug you?’ she said, suddenly overwhelmed.

‘Always.’