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‘Is everything okay?’ the woman said, moving across to her. ‘You look a little peaky.’

‘I’m really sorry, I can’t… I don’t think… I’m sorry.’ She could barely see for the tears that were blurring her eyes. ‘I’ll send you the money. I’m sorry… I just can’t.’

She stumbled backwards, her eyes still on the clock, praying there had been a mistake, but there wasn’t. Two minutes past. Theo wasn’t coming.

As she bent over and grabbed her bag from the ground, she stumbled backwards, eyes down, not even noticing as the door swung open.

‘Sorry,’ Daisy said as she moved to go, only to see her way was blocked.

‘Don’t tell me you’re leaving already?’

She lifted her gaze, not wanting to believe the voice that rang around in her head. Blinking, she drew in a breath, only for the tears to tumble faster than ever. It was Theo. Theo was there, and he was looking straight down at her. But he hadn’t come on time. What did that mean?

‘Parking in this place is a nightmare,’ he said.

‘It is.’ Her words came out in a half cough as she struggled to smile, but she couldn’t manage it. ‘I didn’t think you were going to come,’ she said. ‘I thought… I thought…’

‘I’m here, Daisy. And I’m not going anywhere.’

She nodded. All she wanted to do was kiss him. She needed to kiss him, and yet she couldn’t. She wouldn’t believe it was real, not unless he kissed her first. No sooner had the thought entered her head than Theo leaned forward.

‘No more running away scared?’ he whispered.

‘Never.’

Daisy wasn’t sure how long the kiss lasted. It could only have been a few seconds at most, and yet it was undoubtedly the most important kiss of her life. In that single moment, it felt like everything in her world had fallen back into place.

‘Excuse me? Are you ready to begin? I just want to give you as much time as possible. I’m assuming neither of you have designed your own jewellery before?’

It was then that Daisy finally managed to show the smile that had been filling her heart since Theo entered the studio, even though her eyes were still filled with tears.

‘No,’ she said. ‘We haven’t.’

‘Great, well, let’s talk through some ideas. What is it you are hoping to make, exactly?’

Daisy looked at Theo. She hadn’t mentioned this to him, and for a split second feared she had made a bad call, but when she saw the grin on his face, she knew she had picked the right place to show him how committed she was.

‘An engagement ring,’ Theo said to the jeweller, though he was still looking at Daisy as he spoke. ‘We want to design an engagement ring.’

EPILOGUE

Daisy and Theo came up with the design together. One large rectangular sapphire – or baguette, as the jeweller called the shape – with two smaller emeralds of the same shape on either side. The lock and the two sides of the towpath. It was the place that had brought them together, and now it would be with Daisy wherever she went. There on her ring finger. It was two weeks before they could pick it up and only another two weeks before it was joined with a simple silver band.

‘You sure?’ Theo said, as they stood outside the registry office. ‘This is definitely what you want?’

‘This is absolutely what I want,’ Daisy said. ‘No fuss, no expenses – just us promising to spend the rest of our lives with one another.’

‘Then there’s no way I can say no to that.’ Theo grinned back.

There was probably going to be some fallout from the way they were doing things. Daisy knew that, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t getting married to make other people happy. She didn’t need to fit whatever conventions they wanted to place on her. This was what she wanted. Theo. Pure and simple. She moved forward to kiss him, only for a bark to interrupt her.

‘Yes, I know. Don’t worry, you’re coming in there with us,’ she said, reaching down to straighten Johnny’s bow tie, only for Bex to stop her.

‘I’ll do that. You don’t want dog fur all over you before the event,’ she said, then promptly adjusted the bow tie.

Bex, Claire and Johnny. That was it. They were all the people who were going to be present for the wedding. Daisy knew Amelia had wanted to come too, but it was only two witnesses that they needed, and she wanted the whole thing to be as simple as it could be. And that meant having the two friends who had been by her side through it all standing there with her.

They had discussed having a party at some point. Maybe a nice meal out with family, or at the Lock so that their friends there got to celebrate too, but that was all secondary to Daisy. What mattered was her and Theo. He made her the best version of herself, just like she did with him. They were a partnership. A couple who found joy in each other’s happiness. And that day, the wedding day, was just the beginning of the rest of their lives together.