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‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ she said, finally finding her voice.

‘I can’t either, but it’s good, right?’

‘Very good.’

He tilted his head down and kissed her again. Perhaps, Holly thought, they could just slip off. Or maybe go for a quick walk around the village before she took him to meet everyone, just so they got a little time to themselves? After all, he was leaving again tomorrow. Unfortunately, Holly knew it wasn’t possible. As she broke away, a heavy sigh filled her lungs. If she didn’t take him to meet everyone soon, her mother would come looking for them, and that would be even more embarrassing.

‘Are you ready for this?’ she said. Her tone was apologetic and yet she still couldn’t stop grinning.

‘I guess I’d better be. Is it wrong that I’m quite worried about meeting your family? Especially Hope.’

‘Hope will love you, trust me.’

‘I thought you said she threw up over Ben’s new girlfriend the first time she met her.’

Holly couldn’t help but feel a slightly wicked internal grin at that memory.

‘She did, but I think that was more because of loyalty to me than anything else.’

Evan chuckled lightly. The pair shared the same sense of humour. All the conversations on the phone had confirmed that. But this was so different to talking into a screen. Here, she could touch him. Hold him. Smell him. And good God, he smelt delicious.

‘Why don’t you leave your bags here?’ she said, snapping herself out of her daydream. Thinking about how good Evan smelt when she was at her dad’s birthday seemed less than appropriate. Besides, the sooner they met everyone, the sooner they could hopefully slip off.

‘I bought this for the party,’ Evan said, handing Holly a bag of duty-free champagne while he tucked his suitcase next to the stairs.

‘You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. And you can leave that bag upstairs too, if you want.’ She gestured to the manly leather satchel that crossed his body, no doubt containing important things like his phone and wallet and passport. Possibly a laptop too. Whatever was in it, it was full. Unlike the stereotypical slim man-bag, this satchel bulged outwards, as if it had been stuffed to the brim. Perhaps that was the reason he only took one suitcase on his travels – he packed his handluggage as full as possible. She couldn’t remember him doing that before, though, on the trip to France.

‘I’ll keep this one with me, if that’s okay?’ he said, patting the stretched fabric.

‘Of course. Come on,’ she said, offering him the quickest kiss on the lips. ‘Time to go face the music.’

As he looked at her, his brow crinkled and he formed the biggest puppy-dog eyes she’d ever seen on a grown man.

‘You know what? I think I’ve changed my mind. I think I’m going to hide in here with you just a bit longer?’

Holly stepped back and folded her arms across her chest.

‘No way. You can’t back out on me now. Do you need reminding of my first introduction to your mother?’

Even now, Holly wanted to curl up with embarrassment at the memory. After he had asked several times to go on a date with her, Holly had finally agreed, only to find half a dozen photos of different women in his wallet. Obviously, she had confronted him about it, and the result had been Holly on a video call to Evan’s mother, learning about all his sisters. It was fair to say she trusted his word a little more after that.

‘Fine then, show me the way,’ he said with a mock sulkiness.

Holly felt like she was in some kind of parade as she walked through the kitchen and out into the garden. All eyes turned on them, and from the way the volume dropped, it made it seem like this was the first man she had ever brought home. Either that, or they had all suddenly grown an extra head. And Holly wasn’t the only one who felt it.

‘They’re all staring at me, right?’ Evan whispered into her ear as they made their way up to the patio.

‘You’re a new person in a small Cotswold village. That’s going to happen a lot, believe me.’ She squeezed his hand tightly. Partly to offer reassurance, partly to keep reminding herself that he was really there.

Still, they were barely on the patio when her mother raced forwards, arms wide.

‘Evan, it’s so lovely to meet you.’

Before Holly even had time to drop Evan’s hand, her mother was in there, kissing him on both cheeks. ‘I’ve heard so much about you. Now come, what can I get you to drink? We’ve got Prosecco. Or wine. And some nice lagers that were on offer at the Co-op. Do you drink lager in America?’

‘Of course they drink lager!’ Holly said, a flood of colour rushing to her cheeks. Her mother also shared Holly’s trait of babbling when nervous and right now, she was definitely nervous.

‘We do, yes, but I’m actually fine with a soft drink right now, Wendy,’ Evan said, in his ineffably calm voice. ‘Flying always dehydrates me. But I brought a couple of bottles of bubbly that I’ve put in the kitchen.’