Allie stood on the lawn and surveyed the exterior of the café.

“What do you think, Mum?” Jordan held out his hands. “Pretty good job, huh?”

“It’s fantastic. Just perfect for our end-of-summer party.”

The trees in the garden and the pergola were draped with strings of fairy lights in the shape of apples and pears and they’d hung colourful bunting from the shutters on the cafe windows.

“Time to get changed, Mum. Before the little guests arrive.”

“Come on then.” Allie followed Jordan and Max through the café and into the cottage.

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged from her bedroom to find Jordan and Max squashed in the tiny bathroom giggling. She stood in the doorway and smiled as she took in their matching costumes. They both wore Hawaiian shirts and cut off denim shorts and had big moustaches stuck above their mouths.

“You’ll terrify the children looking like that.”

“I think we look cool, Mum. Kind of like Miami detectives from the 1980s.”

“You look pretty cool too, Allie,” Max said as he leaned back to look at her better.

“Thanks. I feel a bit daft but it’s all for a good cause, right?”

In keeping with the summer theme, Allie was dressed as a bumblebee. Her costume consisted of a black-and-yellow striped dress with a flared black skirt that came to her knees, black cropped leggings and a pair of delicate black wings strapped to her back. She’d pinned her hair up and completed the outfit with a headband complete with antennae.

When they went downstairs, Allie headed into the café kitchen.

“Hello my busy little bee.” Chris smiled at her from behind the kitchen island.

“Ha ha!”

He dusted his hands off on his apron then opened his arms.

“Kiss for the chef?”

Allie melted against him as he pressed his lips to hers.

“We’d better stop,” she said as she gently pulled away. “Don’t want to crush my wings.”

“That would never do. I need my honey.” He smiled. “Too cheesy?”

“A bit.” She grinned.

“I’m just about done here. What do you think?”

“You’ve done a fabulous job.”

Allie eyed the delights that Chris had insisted on making that afternoon. He’d told her to leave him in the kitchen to get on with it, and sent her to get her nails done at Jenny’s salon. And she couldn’t deny that he had done well. Extremely well. The counters were filled with foil platters of treats including freshly baked finger rolls with a variety of fillings to suit everyone’s requirements, cheese and bacon scones, sweet potato, avocado and feta muffins, cupcakes that had been iced so they resembled ladybirds and bees, and mini mixed-berry cheesecakes.

Suddenly her vision blurred.

“Allie, what’s wrong?” Chris enveloped her in a hug before the first tear fell.

“It’s just… the effort you’ve gone to. I know you’ve been practising these recipes for weeks just to get them right and I’m overwhelmed. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. And I know you have a deadline for your next book.”

He wiped away the tear with his thumb then kissed her gently.

“I work better under pressure.” He smiled. “And perhaps no one has ever done this for you before because no one ever loved you like I do. The past five weeks have been the best of my life. Being back in Heatherlea with you and getting to know you all over again has been incredible.”

She shook her head. “I still can’t believe it.”

“No more doubts or worries, my love. I’m here and I’m here to stay. Now help me get these out to the trestle tables because the children will be arriving soon and I still haven’t finished the drinks.”

An hour later, Allie stood watching as Jordan and Max guided children – dressed as surfers, princesses, dragons, superheroes and insects – around the garden as they searched for clues as part of the treasure hunt. Her son and his boyfriend had set up a variety of games including bowling – which involved knocking down tins painted with monster faces – and a homemade dragon piñata, which the children would take turns to hit with sticks until the dragon surrendered its sweet treats.

Chris had insisted on being the barman, which meant standing behind the trestle table in his pirate costume. Allie thought his costume of black trousers cut jagged at the knee, white t-shirt, stripy waistcoat, and red bandana perched above a long black wig with a black eyepatch – that he kept lifting up as he served soft drinks to the children and their parents – was fantastic. The most popular drink he’d created was his bloodthirsty pirate punch, a combination of cranberry juice, orange juice and cherryade.

“Hello, Allie.” Camilla sauntered along the path, a grin on her pretty face. Just behind her were Dawn and Honey. “What a pretty little bee you are.”

Allie accepted her friends’ hugs.

“This all looks delightful.”

“It’s been fabulous so far. The children seem to be having a great time.”

“They certainly are burning off a lot of energy and should sleep well tonight,” Dawn added as she crossed her fingers and grinned.

“Laura and James are attacking the piñata. Rick’s watching them so don’t worry.” Allie pointed at the tree where Rick was shouting encouragement at James, who was waving a stick at the papier-mâché dragon while his father looked on.

“I was lucky enough to have an afternoon nap. Rick’s been making the effort to get home early a few nights a week, so I can rest before dinner.” Dawn yawned. “And although I wouldn’t have minded another hour, I feel a lot better.”

“Yes but that’s partly psychological too, isn’t it?” Camilla asked her sister. “Now you know everything’s okay with the baby.”

“The scan went well?” Allie asked.

Dawn nodded then pulled a small card from her bag. She opened it and inside was a grainy image of a tiny baby.

“Perfect,” Allie said. “I’m so happy for you. Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?”

“No. We thought we’d wait and enjoy the surprise. I’m just glad it’s only one and that it’s healthy.” She cupped her belly and her expression softened.

“And how are you feeling now?” Honey asked Allie. “Everything seems to be going well with Chris.”

Allie nodded. “It is, thank you. Very well.”

They’d had to forgo their usual Tuesday evening get-together because of the party. This meant they hadn’t had their opportunity to talk yet this week, which was why Allie hadn’t seen Dawn’s most recent scan picture. However, she had kept them updated about how things with Chris were going. Slowly being the word she kept repeating, although deep down, her heart was refusing to listen to reason.

When the grateful parents had taken the children home, and Jordan, Max and Chris had helped Allie to tidy up, she sat at one of the outdoor tables with a glass of red wine and sighed with contentment. Jordan and Max had taken themselves off to the pub, so she was left alone with Chris.

“It’s a beautiful evening,” he said.

“It is and I had a great time. I put on a goodbye-summer party last year, but it wasn’t as much fun.”

“Allie, nothing was as much fun for me until I came back to Heatherlea. You are everything I ever wanted.”

Allie sipped her wine, enjoying the spicy finish of the good quality Shiraz.

“So where do we go from here?” she asked. “Not that I want to rush things. I mean, you haven’t been back long and—”

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about that.”

“You have?”

“Well now that the cottage has been emptied of my mother’s collection, for want of a better word, and had a fresh coat of paint, it’s looking pretty good there.”

Allie nodded. She’d been round to see how the decorators were getting on and encouraged Chris to keep the kitchen exactly as it was, although she had suggested he put in an island to match the rest of the units. He’d done so with the help of a local carpenter and had proudly shown her just yesterday.

“I was considering selling and buying something else local but I’d like to keep the cottage. It’s a good size and with some new furniture upstairs and in the lounge, I think it’ll make a great home to spend my twilight years.”

Allie snorted. “You’re not in your twilight years.”

“Not yet but always best to prepare.”

“Always.”

“There’s something missing though.” He sipped his wine thoughtfully and gazed upwards as if considering his wording.

“There is?”

“Most definitely.”

“What is it?”

“A cat flap.”

“A cat flap? Why’d you want one of those you haven’t got any ca… oh.” Allie bit her lip.

“Exactly.” He took her hands. “I want your cats to come and live with me.”

She burst into laughter.

“My cats?”

He nodded.

“And you can come along too if you like.”

“Chris, that is not the most romantic way to ask me. Although I am glad you removed the eye patch first.”

He shook his head then toyed with a few strands from his long black wig.

“This is itching like mad.” He pulled it off and rubbed his head. “That’s better. I’m teasing about the cats. I just got all embarrassed for a moment there. It’s the author in me; I’m terrified of using clichés. Anyway…” He took a deep breath. “I have something for you.”

He stood up and pulled something from his trouser pocket.

“Open your hand.”

“Why? What is it? Not one of those pirate hooks is it? Or a bottle of rum.”

“It’s not.” He hadn’t laughed at her jokes and she realised his expression was serious, earnest.

“Okay then.”

She opened her hand and Chris placed something warm and solid onto her palm.

She looked from the silver key to Chris, then back again.

“Allie, I don’t feel I’m rushing anything because I’ve waited my whole life to be with you.”

Her heart pounded and blood whooshed through her ears as emotion surged in her chest.

“My home is your home, Allie. I don’t want to be without you any longer. I don’t want to spend another night away from you. Ever.”

“Well we haven’t spent many nights apart this past fortnight.” Allie flushed as she thought about the times Chris had stayed over when they knew Jordan would be at Max’s. Even though Jordan knew about Chris now, she still felt a bit awkward when they were all together. It was as if part of her believed that she shouldn’t be dating anyone, let alone a man who’d known his father. But Jordan had insisted when she’d told him, then about thirty times more, that he was happy for her to see Chris, and always would be as long as she was happy. When she’d told Mandy on the phone, unable to get her daughter to commit to a trip home because of what she described as a very busy schedule – including a conference in Brighton for authors and agents – Mandy had gone quiet. Allie’s heart had stopped as she waited for her daughter to say something. And she had. Eventually. She’d told Allie that it was great news and asked if Chris was thinking of changing publisher any time soon, which had been her way of letting Allie know that everything was all right between them.

“So let’s not spend any more apart then.”

Allie turned the key over in her fingers, feeling its weight. It wasn’t just a key; it was a symbol of the life she could embark upon now with the man she’d always loved. This was the start of something special. At her age, she’d thought all that was behind her, but here she was with a wonderful second chance. She was still young. Her children were happy, her parents were happy – and delighted that she’d started seeing Chris – and her friends were happy. Everything seemed to be going right for once.

She held the key tight, feeling its reassuring weight.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Chris’s eyebrows rose.

“Let’s do it. I guess Jordan will be happy to have the extra space above the café now that he has Max. They were talking about finding somewhere together just yesterday, so this will work out well for them too.”

Chris pulled her to her feet then swung her round. “You won’t regret this, I promise. I’ll do everything I can, every day of my life, to make you happy. I love you, Allie Jones.”

“And I love you too, Chris.”

As he squeezed her tight, Allie peered over his shoulder at The Cosy Cottage Café and smiled. Her life had started over when she’d taken on the café. Chris had returned at a time when she was doing well, when she felt good about herself. And that was important. She’d proved something by setting up her own business; that she was a strong woman with a good head on her shoulders and a good heart. She’d created a small corner of the community where people could go when they needed a break, some sustenance or even just a friendly face.

And now that Chris was here, life would just be even better.

“I think we’d better go tell the cats,” Allie said as Chris released her.

“Probably for the best. Wouldn’t want those wily sisters finding out from someone else now would we?”

“And one more thing.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“When you said you wanted to get some new furniture, you meant old, right?”

“Whatever you want is just perfect. Like you.”

Allie held out her hand and Chris took it, then they entered The Cosy Cottage Café together, neither of them ever intending on letting go again.