‘I don’t know how to thank you for what you’ve done.’

Felicity faced me across the kitchen table, all airs peeled away. Her eyes were red-rimmed and she kept passing a crumpled tissue across her nose. ‘If you hadn’t remembered those caves…’

‘If Seth hadn’t found him, the police would have.’ I sat down to roll on the clean, dry socks she’d found in the airing cupboard while Jack was in the bath. ‘They would have known where to look, and Digby kept running out of the cave and barking, trying to alert someone.’

‘I take back everything I said about that dog.’

Digby wandered in, as though sensing he was being talked about. He wagged his tail, then picked up his rubber bone and trotted upstairs to where Jack was being tucked into bed by Seth. His ankle was badly bruised but not broken, and thankfully there were no signs of hypothermia.

By the time we’d staggered inside, the cottage had been filled with paramedics and the police, about to call out a search and rescue team, but once Jack had been examined, and the police had determined there was no need for further action, they’d left with hearty wishes for a Merry Christmas, leaving us dazed and slightly euphoric, like train wreck survivors.

‘You know, he’d pushed a note under his father’s bedroom door so Ainsley… Seth would see it when he went to bed.’ Felicity’s voice was barely a whisper. ‘As if he’d have gone to bed, knowing his son wasn’t here.’

‘Children see things differently,’ I said, and finished the mug of hot sugared tea that Felicity had made – the first domestic task I’d seen her undertake. ‘It probably didn’t occur to him the police would be involved. He just wanted to escape for a while.’

‘Because of me.’ Her mouth wobbled around the rim of her mug and she put it back down. ‘What can I do?’

Before I could speak, Seth popped his head round the door, with the look of a man who’d been given a new lease of life. ‘He wants you to say goodnight,’ he said, and when Felicity rose, added coolly, ‘I was talking to Tilly.’

As he retreated her face fell and I felt a rush of pity. Leaning forward, I took hold of her bony hand. It was icy, despite the warmth of the kitchen. ‘I’ll tell you what you can do,’ I said. ‘Have some faith in Seth and drop this custody battle, or you’ll lose them both.’

I left her stroking her pearls, staring wide-eyed into her mug, and headed upstairs. Jack was propped against his pillows, his iPad recharging on his desk. ‘Will it snow tonight?’ He looked hopefully at the window.

‘It might.’ I rested my arms on the side of the bed, careful not to jolt his foot. ‘According to the weather forecast, it’s going to be a white Christmas.’

‘Cool,’ he said, snuggling down, wincing slightly. ‘Thank you for coming to get me out of the cave with Dad.’

I kissed his cheek, breathing in the clean, sandy scent that made my brain go fuzzy. ‘You’re welcome.’

He gave a pleased little smile. ‘Can we come to your house when it’s Christmas?’ he said. ‘I’ve got a present for Romy.’

‘I’m sure that can be arranged.’ I remembered that Chad would be back, and that soon, Bridget and Romy would return to their London home. ‘She’ll be pleased to see you,’ I said, a lump rising in my throat. ‘We all will.’

‘Can Digby come?’

‘Of course he can.’

‘Time to let Tilly go.’ Seth was leaning against the door frame, bathed in light from Jack’s rocket lamp, the curl of a smile on his face. ‘It’s getting late.’

I stroked his hair and stood up. ‘See you at the party tomorrow night, if your ankle’s OK.’

‘Yay!’ He was on the verge of sleep, worn out by his adventure. ‘Can Digby come too?’

‘We’ll find out about that tomorrow,’ said Seth, mouthing no to me as I joined him in the doorway. ‘Get some sleep now, buddy.’

We stood for a moment, until Jack said, ‘Go away,’ which made us laugh and we crept downstairs where Seth helped me into my jacket. ‘Sure you won’t stay and have something to eat?’ He sounded hopeful, and I knew he was facing a difficult evening with his mother.

‘I can’t,’ I said. ‘My parents are back, and they’ll be dying to tell us all about their trip.’ I’d called Bridget while the paramedics were checking Jack, to let her know he was safe, and she’d been expressing her relief, when I’d heard Dad boom, ‘Anyone home?’ and Romy shriek ‘Grampdad!’ and Bridget had said, ‘My god, they’re so tanned you’re going to laugh,’ before hanging up. ‘Maybe you and your mum can have a civilised chat.’

‘I’ll try,’ he said, looking at my feet. ‘You can’t leave in socks.’

‘I came out in slippers.’

‘Wear Mum’s shoes.’ He indicated a pair of fawn brogues that almost blended into the carpet. ‘You’re about the same size.’

‘Won’t she mind?’

‘You can probably get away with murder now you’ve saved Jack again.’

‘Not hers, I hope.’

He laughed, a warm rich sound that made my heart feel full. ‘Your work here is done, Poppins.’

‘Shame you can’t say something similar to your workmen.’ I looked around the dingy hall, which I’d grown to rather like. ‘They could have done this today if they hadn’t been working for me.’

‘It can wait until the New Year.’ He touched the battered skirting board with his foot. ‘I’m sick of the smell of paint, anyway.’

‘You don’t know what you’re missing,’ I said, which made him laugh again. Our eyes snagged, and it was hard to look away. ‘I’ll see you at the party tomorrow, all being well.’

‘Oh, you will.’ He held me in his gaze a moment longer.

‘Right then.’ Confused, I opened the front door, and he followed me out to my car, which in my haste, I’d parked at a peculiar angle and hadn’t bothered to lock.

‘It’s been an eventful day,’ I said, patting my pockets for my keys, aware I was being too jolly. ‘I’m surprised I’m not more tired.’ In fact, I’d felt more alive in the past week than I had for ages, and I recalled the exhilaration I’d felt, plunging into the sea after Jack. It was as if I’d been woken up, and ever since had let myself be drawn deeper into their lives, despite all its complications.

I’d changed. Or, maybe, I’d become me.

Unsure of where my thoughts were heading, I tugged out my keys. ‘It’s supposed to snow tomorrow,’ I said, and gave an exaggerated shiver even though I wasn’t cold.

‘So they keep saying.’ We looked up at the sky, and it occurred to me that I’d seen a lot of sky over the past twenty-four hours.

‘I should go,’ I said, dropping my eyes from his.

‘Not until I’ve done this.’ Before I knew what was happening, Seth had leaned in and kissed me on the mouth. It lasted a mere second, but I felt as if I’d been attached to a defibrillator. ‘I’ve wanted to do that since you came out of the sea, like Ursula Andress, in your bra and jeans.’

My lungs felt a size too small. ‘To say thank you for saving Jack.’

He pulled back, his eyes tracing mine. ‘You really need to stop this,’ he said softly. ‘Yes, I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you did that day. It’s imprinted on my heart forever, but that isn’t why I wanted to kiss you.’

‘Why, then?’ I jerked away, unexpected tears flooding my eyes. ‘I thought you had feelings for Bridget.’ I wondered when she was planning to tell him about Chad. ‘You can’t switch them on and off.’

He reached for my hand and tried to tug me towards him. ‘I like your sister, but there’s nothing going on.’ He stroked a tendril of hair behind my ear.

‘But you kissed her, and sent her a text the night after your dinner,’ I said. ‘What was that all about?’

‘Actually, she kissed me.’ A smile hovered around his mouth. ‘If you hadn’t ducked away from the window, you’d have seen me untangling myself.’ Blood whooshed to my face. ‘And I wanted to let her know that although I’d had a nice time and hoped we could be friends, I didn’t want a relationship.’ He gave a one-shouldered shrug. ‘She replied that she felt the same, and was still in love with her baby-daddy.’

‘She’d never say baby-daddy.’

‘She did.’

My heart was behaving in a way I’d never experienced – all fluttery and fast – and I was overcome with an urge to laugh and cry at the same time. But mostly laugh. And then cry.

Seth took my other hand and pressed my palms to his chest. ‘I was never in danger of falling for your sister, Tilly.’ His eyes moved to my lips, and he cupped my jaw with one hand and rested the other on my waist. ‘I’m already in love with you.’

Even as my head began to spin, his words opened up an acknowledgement deep inside me; that I’d fallen for him that day on the beach, when he’d wrapped me in his sweater like a gift. ‘Me too,’ I whispered, curling my arm around his neck. ‘I mean, with you.’ And in the second before his lips met mine, I knew.

This was going to be the most significant kiss of my life.