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Picking up my suitcase for me, he put it in the boot of the taxi, slamming it shut again afterwards.

‘I’m sorry to leave so suddenly,’ I said. ‘I haven’t even had time to send you my latest couple of chapters.’

‘Scarlett,’ he said, touching me lightly on the arm. ‘It doesn’t matter. We can pick the book up again at any time, once your dad’s better.’

‘But I wouldn’t want us to lose momentum,’ I said anxiously.

‘We won’t,’ he reassured me.

‘Anyway, writing is just about the only thing that keeps me sane. If I’m going to be in Cambridge for the foreseeable future, I’m going to need to keep working,’ I said, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get home to my flat in London any time soon. That I’d have to go straight to see Dad, with summery clothes and a bunch of inappropriate shoes in my suitcase.

‘Let’s stay in touch. By phone, or Zoom. Just let me know when you’re ready for a call and we’ll touch base, work out our next steps,’ he said.

It felt strange to be separating, even though we would have been going home the day after tomorrow, anyway. I didn’t like leaving things unfinished and our book was full of loose ends and not yet complete. Would we really work so well on it back home, miles apart, the sun and spirit of Cannes long forgotten?

‘Stop worrying,’ he said. ‘I can see your mind ticking over, thinking that we won’t end up finishing the book.’

I smiled. ‘I never knew you could read minds.’

‘I’m a man of many talents,’ he teased. ‘Seriously, though. Let’s carry on sending each other chapters, just like we have been. I know it won’t feel the same – I quite liked knowing you were next door, typing away at a rate of knots. It was inspiring. Stopped me procrastinating, which I have a tendency to do.’

The taxi driver stuck his head out of the window.

‘You are ready,Madame?’

‘Oui,’ I said, opening the passenger door.

I turned to Theo.

‘Thank you, by the way.’

‘For what?’ he asked.

‘For helping me. With the flights. With my writing. With working out what needs to change in my life.’

He nodded. ‘And thanks to you, I’m starting to see that conflict doesn’t always have to be avoided at all costs. I think that’s the biggest message I’m taking away from all of this.’

‘Glad to be of assistance,’ I told him.

He shook his head, smiling down at me. ‘I never expected any of this when I got on that flight in London. In fact, I almost didn’t get on it.’

I shuddered at the thought. It had all rested on both of us having the guts to turn up. If we hadn’t, there’d have been no book. And we wouldn’t be in each other’s lives again, in any capacity at all. And I wouldn’t have met Claire, who I hoped would be a friend for life. Nor would I have realised the importance of standing up for myself and working out whatIneeded. It had been an invaluable ten days all in all, a period of time I would never forget, no matter how things panned out afterwards.

‘Is hugging part of the deal?’ he asked, holding his arms out for me.

I walked into them, closing my eyes as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. I breathed in the familiar scent of him, my cheek resting against the soft cotton of his shirt, his heart beating so hard I could hear it. I didn’t want to let him go.

‘Have a safe flight back,’ he whispered into my ear, his warm breath skimming my skin.

I peeled myself away from him, getting into the car, slamming the door shut.

‘I’ll call you,’ I shouted out of the window as the taxi rolled out of the driveway, turning down the steep, orange tree-lined hill towards central Cannes.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Carla’s name popped up on my phone and I sighed with resignation. I’d managed to avoid speaking to her since I’d been back in the UK, partly because I hadn’t had time and partly because I hadn’t told her about Dad. I didn’t want her thinking I was going to go off the boil now I had stuff going on. I needed her to believe in me, and to want to sell the book as passionately as she had when she first read our chapters a few days ago. She wasn’t the type of person to let personal issues get in the way of her work and although things weren’t quite so cut and dried for me, it didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to deliver what I’d promised.

‘Hi Carla,’ I said brightly, trying to sound like the sort of writer who was totally in control of every aspect of her life.