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‘I could see that,’ Bex admitted. ‘But I’m hardly one to comment. It’s not like I fit in here either.’

‘From where I’m looking, you’re doing a pretty good job.’ He smiled, but it was with his lips alone. His eyes were shadowed. ‘But Katty… I think I could feel she was outgrowing this place, and I wanted to keep her here. So I proposed.’

‘She didn’t have to say yes, though,’ Bex countered. ‘If she thought she was outgrowing the place, surely it would’ve been kinder to turn you down.’

‘Maybe,’ he replied. ‘But maybe she didn’t want to outgrow it. Maybe she was trying to use me as her anchor to stay. I don’t know. It’s strange, though… These last few months, of course I’ve been lonely, but it’s more that I miss having someone to talk to. Someone to wake up with in the morning. I don’t think I’ve actually missedher.’

‘Wow,’ Bex said. ‘Those are strong words.’

‘I know. Maybe the wine’s to blame.’ He chuckled, then met her gaze to prove that wasn’t the point at all.

‘So, is that why you hang out with me?’ Bex said. ‘To fill that gap?’ She couldn’t hide the pang of disappointment that struck behind her ribcage. But what did she expect? She had known he was in serious rebound territory from that first day.

‘Yes… but no,’ he said. ‘It’s not just that. I do like having you to talk to, but with you, it’s different. You make me laugh, and when you’re not there, it’s not like anyone else can just step in and replace you. It’s you I want to be with.’

‘Duncan…’

‘I know, I know – you don’t want to hear this and I get that. But I want to be honest with you. There’s something so special about you. And I don’t just mean the fact that you have a fricking beautiful body.’

‘Hey, I thought you said you didn’t see anything,’ she said, laughing as she slapped him playfully on the arm, only for him to hold her by the wrist.

That was when the laughter stopped, and it was just them, staring into one another’s eyes. Could he really be looking at her like that if all she was to him was a rebound? And what did that say about all the other men she had dated? Because she was pretty sure that none of them had ever looked at her like that before.

‘I like spending time with you too,’ she said softly.

As they stood there, he lifted his hand and brushed a strand of hair behind her ears. Her eyes closed involuntarily as she drew in a long breath. Pine. That was what he smelled of. Not the shower gel she had found that first day, but fresh pine. Like the woods and nature and the earth itself.

‘So, does that mean I can take you out for dinner this week? For a proper date?’

She opened her eyes while the question rolled around in her head. A proper date. Time with just her and Duncan. It sounded ideal, but then she knew this feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was falling, hard. Did she really want to set herself up for possible heartbreak?

‘Technically,’ she said, ‘we already went on a date tonight.’

‘What are you on about? We went for dinner with friends.’

‘Two couples, not yet together – clearly a double date,’ she teased.

‘You’re a nightmare, you know that?’

‘But I’m a nightmare you like,’ she replied.

They were close now, so close she could feel the warmth radiating from him. Her body shifted forwards, desperate to close the space between them, to feel his touch again.

The castle was in sight, but Bex was only half-focused on getting home. She wasn’t sure when his hand had slipped into hers, but it felt as natural and easy as anything. Just like the way his other hand rested on the base of her spine, holding her there. Holding her close to him.

‘So, if this was a date,’ he asked, ‘do I get to kiss you goodnight?’

‘I don’t kiss on the first date,’ she whispered back.

‘I thought you said it was our second,’ he replied, eyebrow raised, a smirk playing at his lips. ‘After the shooting and everything.’

‘Fine,’ she said, trying to hide a smile. ‘Then maybe you’ll get your kiss on the third.’

‘In that case, I’m not taking no for an answer. Wednesday night, The Haven.’

Every rational part of her brain told her this was a bad idea, but the butterflies in her stomach wouldn’t let her say no.

‘Okay. Wednesday night at The Haven. I’ll be there.’ Not that she had any idea where that was. She didn’t recognise the name, but at that moment she couldn’t have cared less. Her mind had lost the ability to string thoughts together properly.