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A flutter of nerves filled Holly’s stomach. There was another reason she didn’t want to change flights, though it was hard to admit, even to herself. This was going to be the longest flight she had ever done on her own, and now that she was here, she couldn’t help but worry. The last thing she needed was to be bumped from this flight and have to start the worry all over again. But she wouldn’t have to change, would she? After all, she was just over halfway back in the queue, and they weren’t going to bump half the people, were they?

With the check-in desks now open, the queue crawled forward, inch by inch. Finally, she reached the front.

‘Going to Miami?’ the woman said as Holly placed her passport on the desk.

‘Yes,’ Holly replied. ‘Yes, I?—’

‘No, no, she’s not.’

The voice was enough to cause her heart to jolt. She was wrong, wasn’t she? She was hearing things. As her throat tightened, Holly’s eyes filled with tears. She didn’t want to look around and see she was wrong. But she couldn’t just stand there. And so, with her hand trembling, Holly shifted her gaze.

‘You were seriously just going to leave?’ he said.

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‘Excuse me?’ Holly didn’t know how she was meant to react. Giles was there. He was there, looking at her for the first time since she’d properly confessed her love. And he looked mad. But before she could speak, he snatched up her passport from the counter. ‘What are you doing?’

‘You’re going to take a job in America?’

‘It’s not?—’

‘Of all the irresponsible things you could do. I mean, it’s one thing only thinking about yourself now, but what about Hope?’

‘Excuse me?’

Giles shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe Holly was actually going away for three days. Like people didn’t do that? Like Hope didn’t have Ben there to look after her.

‘Caroline told me; she told me everything. She told me that you’re going to take this job, and you’re going to move to the other side of the world, to be closer to Evan’s family.’

‘She did?’

‘And that once you’ve got everything sorted, Ben’s going to send Hope over for six months a year. Six months! Why would you do that, Holly? How? How could you do that?’

‘Caroline told you this?’ Holly pinched the bridge of her nose. Caroline knew exactly what the situation was with Holly’s job. She was the one covering the extra shifts at the shop. So why would she tell Giles such a ridiculous lie? And how the hell could he believe she would do that to Hope? She opened her mouth to say as much, but Giles was still going.

‘You’re doing this to punish me, right? That’s what this is about. So not only do I have to lose you, but Hope too. You know how much I love her. And she adores me too. You know that. Of all the things?—’

‘Giles, Caroline has?—’

‘Excuse me, ma’am, could you please move to the side or give your passport back? We have quite a queue behind you.’

Holly tried to pull her passport out of Giles’s hand.

‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘yes. Just give me a moment.’ But he was holding on too tightly. If she pulled any harder, she was going to rip it in two, and then she definitely wouldn’t be getting on the flight.

‘No, you don’t get to do this,’ Giles said. ‘You don’t just get to pack up and leave because things have got difficult and not gone the way you want. It’s cowardly, Holly.’

That was it. Holly had heard enough.

‘For God’s sake, will you listen to me? Caroline engineered this. I am not moving to America.’

Giles’s eyes widened. ‘But you’re here? And you’ve got a massive suitcase.’

‘Which is filled with sweets. Yes, I am going for a job, but I’m not moving. It’s just a couple of days every few months, that’s all.’

‘It is? Then why did Caroline think—?’ It finally sank in. ‘She knew. She knew what I was going to do. She knew that I couldn’t…’

‘Ma’am, I really need you to move to the side. Otherwise, I will have to get you removed. Both of you.’