The parade was well underway and the thousands of people that lined the streets of Penzance seemed to be enjoying it. But Rome could barely take his eyes off Freya, who was clearly enchanted by the whole thing. She was standing in front of him watching the floats go by and he was so charmed by her huge smile and enthusiasm that all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and hug her. He resisted but he was finding his reasoning and willpower getting weaker and weaker.

The floats had been amazing. Seahorses, starfish, seals, basking sharks had all drifted sedately past, the floats all lit up with strings of fairy lights which looked magical in the setting sun. There were even floats with a yellow submarine, scuba divers and Baywatch-style lifeguards. Most of the floats had moving parts or enthusiastic dancers to make up for the lack of movement. The Hope Island float had caused quite a few ooohs as the sunlight and fairy lights had glinted off the glass and the dolphins had seemingly leapt out of the waves.

In between each float was a troupe of dancers in different colours, performing the parts of waves, or fish. Dancers dressed entirely in green boogied past now, with great swathes of green ribbon protruding from every limb that were obviously supposed to be seaweed. Small children dressed as multi-coloured fishes darted between them. There was a Chinese-dragon-style whale that weaved and bobbed and opened its oversized mouth, fire breathers, mermaids, ballet dancers, stilt walkers, and even the animals had got involved, with several dogs and pigs in fancy dress. The event was a huge success.

As the last float and dancers drifted past, Rome and Freya joined with the crowds and followed the procession to the nearby park.

‘This has been fantastic, I’m so glad we came,’ Freya said, slipping her hand back into his as they walked along. Surprisingly, it felt right there.

They had worked alongside each other for the morning, helping with last-minute modifications and soldering, though there hadn’t been a lot left to do. Everything had been wonderful between them again, as if the tension of the last few days had never happened.

Cal had been as bad as the ladies in Eden’s café the day before, giving Rome looks that he would have found almost comical had he not been on the receiving end: wide eyes, winks, waggling eyebrows, twitching his head in Freya’s direction whenever she wasn’t looking. It was something of a relief when Cal deemed the float to be finished and they were sent off for the rest of the day to enjoy Penzance before the parade started.

They had crossed the causeway and explored St Michael’s Mount and then come back and explored the cliff-side gardens and beach around Lamorna Cove. And Freya’s hand had been in his almost the entire time. He wasn’t sure whether it was him holding her hand or her holding his and whether it actually mattered. They just seemed to gravitate towards each other.

He realised she was still waiting for some kind of comment from him about the carnival. His head was filled only with her and he had no idea what he was going to do about it.

He cleared his throat. ‘Everyone has worked so hard, I think the judges will have a hard time picking a winner.’

‘Cal seems to think we have this in the bag.’

‘Ours was unique, but there were others that were really good. I hope Cal wins, the trophy will be a big coup for Hope Island.’

‘There are other prizes too,’ Freya said.

‘Oh yes, there’s some kind of hamper I think.’

‘And a night in the Bay View Hotel’s Under the Sea themed suite. Cal said if we win, we can have that room.’

Rome laughed at Cal’s not-so-subtle matchmaking. ‘What would we do with it?’

Rome knew exactly what he wanted to do with it, but he had no idea if Freya felt the same way. Holding hands with him did not mean she wanted to make love to him and, even if she did, it didn’t mean he should go ahead and do it.

Freya shrugged. ‘We can at least go and have a look at it. We were going to share a bedroom anyway, this won’t be that different.’

‘Except we would be sharing a bed.’

Freya shrugged again, trying to appear nonchalant but not quite managing to pull it off. Could it possibly be that she wanted to share a bed with him.

He swallowed. ‘And what would happen if we were to share a bed?’ he asked, his heart thundering in his chest. He waited for her to laugh it off and say that she intended to sleep and nothing else but she didn’t. She didn’t say anything for the longest time. Though she was still holding his hand she didn’t seem able to look at him.

Eventually she spoke. ‘I guess we can cuddle.’

Cuddle?

He suddenly wanted nothing more than to strip her naked and cuddle her in bed until she was screaming out his name.

He tried to make his voice sound normal though he knew it was anything but. ‘I like the sound of cuddling very much.’

‘You do?’

‘I can think of no better way to end our night. And even if we don’t win, we could still cuddle in one of the single beds.’

Freya looked up at him, a smirk fighting on her lips. ‘There wouldn’t be much room in a single bed. One of us might have to go on top of the other.’

His heart roared against his chest. They were actually going to do this. They were going to make love. He wanted this more than he’d ever wanted anything or anyone. It terrified him because, after one night, it would change everything between him and Freya. He didn’t want to lose her but his desire for her, his need for her, was taking over every thought in his mind right now and there was not a single bone in his body that could stop him.

‘Who would go on top?’ Rome asked. If they really were just going to cuddle it would be ridiculous for him to lie on top of her. She was so small and he was so big, he easily weighed four or five stone more than she did. He would crush her.

‘I think I’d quite like you to go on top. To start with, after that we could swap over,’ Freya said.

He couldn’t believe they were talking about it like this in the middle of the street, but so many people were talking and laughing around them, the sound of the music from the floats still filling the air, he very much doubted anyone could hear them.

‘You make it sound like there would be more than one cuddle?’ he said.

‘I’m hoping there would be multiple cuddles.’

‘Then I think I’d like to go on top too, to start with.’ He dropped her hand and slung his arm round her shoulders, pulling her against him. ‘We could skip the fireworks if you want. Go back to the hotel room, see which method of cuddling works the best.’

Her whole face lit up into a big smile. ‘I actually really want to see the fireworks.’

He groaned. ‘You’re killing me.’

She burst out laughing as she slid an arm round his waist. ‘Now just in case you don’t have anything…um… appropriate to… um, wear for our cuddle. I have some…something in the front pocket of my rucksack.’

He grinned. She’d planned for this, that was even hotter. And even though he always carried protection with him, he probably only had the one. As if she was reading his mind, she snuggled in closer.

‘I have enough for multiple cuddles.’

He laughed.

They walked into the park and followed the crowds down to the front by the lake.

‘I hope these fireworks start soon,’ Rome said, not really caring if he missed them all.

Up on the podium the mayor of Penzance was talking about how wonderful the floats were and thanking everyone for coming. A cool sea wind blew in off the coast. Next to him Freya shivered a bit.

‘Are you cold?’

‘A little.’

He undid his coat and held it open for her. She smiled and stepped up against him and he wrapped the coat back around her, trapping her against his body. She looked up at him as she wrapped her arms round his back. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He was vaguely aware that somewhere in the distance the mayor was doing a countdown to the fireworks that everyone else was joining in with.

Rome stared at the beautiful girl in his arms and bent his head down and kissed her.

Fireworks exploded in the night sky above them and Freya didn’t take her lips off his for a second. He kissed her gently at first, the feel of her lips against his was divine. He moved his hands up to cup her face, stroking her soft skin with his thumbs. God, this kiss. There had been many women since Paige’s death but none of them had felt like this when he had kissed them. This was something different. This was something so special and unique that he was almost fearful of it. Afraid of taking it any further in case he ruined it. She wrapped her arms round his neck as the fireworks lit up the inky sky above them and when she let out a tiny moan of need he was lost to her, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop where this was going. He slid his tongue against hers, stroking his hands down her back and pulling her tighter against him.

She eased back ever so slightly, breathing heavily against his lips, and he realised she was trembling in his arms.

‘I never thought this would happen between us, I always hoped it would but I didn’t think you saw me that way,’ Freya said.

The fireworks were reaching a crescendo up above them, lighting up the air around them with red, green, blue and gold. He looked up briefly and then back down at his best friend, a sudden need to take her back to the hotel and show her exactly how much she meant to him.

‘Let’s get out of here.’

She nodded and he released her from his coat and took her hand, practically marching out of the crowd as the last firework exploded in the sky and a momentary silence fell over them before they all erupted into cheers. Rome didn’t even falter in his stride.

Suddenly Cal was in front of them, blocking their path.

‘Where are you going? You can’t leave yet. They’re about to announce the winner.’

Rome gritted his teeth, resisting saying that he didn’t care. Cal had worked his arse off to get the float ready and showcase Rome’s glass work. He owed it to him to at least cheer him on if he did win.

He glanced at Freya with exasperation and she smirked at him.

The mayor was back on the podium applauding the fireworks and again thanking all those involved. Finally they got on to the judging of the floats.

‘The judges and I have deliberated long and hard over the floats this year and who should walk away with the coveted trophy. This year the standards were higher than ever but we have reached a decision.’

The mayor paused for dramatic effect and Rome resisted shouting to him to get on with it.

‘In third place is…’

Third place? Did anyone care? He just wanted to get out of there and spend the rest of the night making love to his best friend.

‘… Polperro with their basking shark float.’

There were cheers and claps and the representatives from Polperro went up to receive their flowers and wine.

Finally the claps died down and the mayor moved on to second place, while all Rome could think was if they had had left before the fireworks, they’d be back in their hotel room by now, probably hot, naked and sweaty.

‘Second place goes to…’

Rome let out an audible sigh of frustration and Freya giggled next to him, leaning into him. He wrapped his arm around her, kissing her forehead.

‘Tresco with their mermaid float.’

There were great whoops of delight from the representatives of the tiny island as they went up to collect their prizes. Finally the crowd quietened down.

‘And the judges were unanimous about the winner, who brought us something we’ve never seen before. I’m sure you’ll all agree that Hope Island and their float of glass dolphins is a well-deserved winner.’

Cal cheered and whooped and, as Rome turned to congratulate him, Cal ushered both him and Freya and the rest of the team up onto the podium.

Rome shuffled to the back of the group, not keen to be in the limelight, but given his size, he still towered over the top of everyone else.

Cal took the mic, even though the mayor didn’t seem keen to give it up.

‘Thank you so much, this was months of hard work and planning and I’d just like to say a big thank you to all my team who made it all possible, but especially I want to thank Rome and Freya from Through the Looking Glass, who painstakingly measured, cut and soldered every piece of glass together. If you loved the float, please check out their website, Through the Looking Glass dot com, for more beautiful glass pieces.’

Rome smiled with gratitude for Cal.

There were claps and cheers for Rome and Freya and Rome ducked his head in embarrassment.

The mayor subtly wrestled the mic back from Cal. ‘Thank you. I’m sure we’ll all agree that the float was one of the best we’ve seen here for a long time.’

The mayor handed Cal a small silver cup which seemed a bit of a let-down after all the pomp and ceremony, though Rome knew that the fact they had won was a big coup for Cal, the glass studio and the island.

‘First prize also comes with this hamper of food and wine and a stay in the Under the Sea themed suite at the Bay View Hotel tonight.’

The crowd ooohed predictably as the mayor handed over a voucher and one of the mayor’s staff struggled on stage with a very heavy hamper.

Cal took the voucher and immediately passed it to Rome with a wink. Rome took it without hesitation.

A few more words of thanks and Rome, Freya and the rest of them were allowed to leave the podium.

Cal moved over to Rome and shook his hand as the mayor continued to talk up on the podium.

‘Congratulations,’ Cal said.

‘Thank you and you too. And thanks for the mention of Through the Looking Glass.’

‘My pleasure.’ Cal eyed the voucher in Rome’s hand. ‘Now go and enjoy yourselves.’

Rome grinned, not prepared to deny or acknowledge what he and Freya would be getting up to that night, though if Cal had seen them kissing he would have a fair idea.

Cal dived into the hamper and handed Rome a bottle of champagne and Rome laughed and took it.

‘You ready to call it a night, Freya?’ Rome asked.

Freya fake-yawned. ‘It has been a long day.’

‘Yeah whatever,’ Cal laughed. ‘I saw the two of you during the fireworks. I’m happy for you that you’ve finally got together.’

Rome didn’t say anything, just nodded then took Freya’s hand and walked out of the park. The walk soon turned into a run until they were practically sprinting back towards the hotel.

They managed to slow down and walk into reception but Freya was giggling helplessly as he handed over the voucher and got the room key.

They quickly went up to the twin room they had checked into earlier and grabbed their bags and then went back in the lift up to the top floor.

Rome put the key in the lock, let them in, dumped their bags and the champagne and immediately pulled Freya into his arms, kissing her hard. He needed her so much right now. The gentleness of the previous kiss was gone, this was filled only with desire. His hands snaked under her jacket and slid it off her shoulders and she stepped back away from him.

‘Sorry, I’m so nervous, I can barely breathe. I just need a minute,’ Freya said, brushing her hair back from her face in frustration. ‘I’ve been waiting for this for such a long time and now it’s going to happen I’m too nervous to enjoy it.’

‘There’s no rush. We won’t do anything you don’t want to do. We really can just cuddle if that’s what you want.’

‘Believe me, we’re going to make love tonight. I’m not walking away from that. Just give me a few minutes.’

She walked away from him and for the first time he noticed the room with its incredible view over the sea. There was a huge aquarium that ran the length of the room, dominating the whole wall, with tropical fish of every size and colour swimming gently through the water. The four-poster bed was covered in a satin blue throw with pale blue chiffon curtains and the velvet sofa was a deep blue too. Around the room there were lots of sea paraphernalia and pictures of shells, starfish and other fish. It was all rather lovely but his eyes were drawn back to the beautiful woman standing at the window staring out at the sea.

‘I had things I wanted to tell you tonight, I had a big speech prepared and I just don’t know if any of it matters now. I mean, of course it matters, you deserve to know the truth but maybe, for one night, we forget all of that.’

He had no idea what she meant, but he just wanted her to be happy and relaxed even if that meant they didn’t get to make love that night.

‘Why don’t we sit down on the sofa? We can have a glass of champagne, watch a little TV if you want, have a cuddle and a kiss and if you want to we can talk.’

She nodded though she still didn’t turn round. He took his coat off and slung it over the chair and something white fell out of his pocket. He bent to pick it up and realised it was the letter that Andrew had given him that morning just before they left.

As Freya still hadn’t moved and he wanted to give her the time to calm down, he opened the envelope and shook out the letter inside.

He read the letter, then read it again to make sure he was reading it right, anger filling him as he read it a third time.

He looked up at Freya, still standing in the window. ‘What the hell is this?’