I suspect I know where we’re heading when Jack gets us out of the city, but I keep quiet, happy to let him take charge of where we’re going and what we’re doing. It’s something I never dreamed I would be content with: letting someone else look after me. It just feels right, not because I’m an invalid at the moment and can’t carry out the simplest of tasks, but because it’s how we are supposed to be. His hand remains tightly held around mine in my lap for the entire journey, my head relaxed back as I stare at him, take him in, try to come to terms with the fact that he is mine. All of him. He wants it all, and he wants it all with me. Despite my lingering pain, physically and emotionally I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life. And it’s all because of this man. This beautiful, wonderful man.

The final turn Jack takes confirms I was right about where we’re going. ‘My parents’?’ I ask as Dad’s Jaguar comes into view, shiny as ever on the driveway. ‘What are we doing here?’

‘Visiting,’ Jack says, simple as that, as he pulls up outside my mum and dad’s house.

Visiting? When I asked to be let out into the big wide world, I was thinking a bit further than my parents’ house. Unclipping my seat belt, I wait for Jack to open my door and help me out, forcing back my hiss of pain as I rise from my seat. He curls an arm around my waist and walks me up the path to the front door. Mum, as always, answers before we can knock. She has a tea towel in her hand, a smile on her face.

‘Annie, darling.’

‘Hi, Mum.’ I let her claim me from Jack and hug me, and boy does she hug me. ‘Not so tight.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry! It’s just so good to see a bit of life in you.’ She helps me into the hallway, and the usual homely scent of her cooking fills my nostrils. And the sound of voices fills my ears.

‘Who’s here?’ I ask as we shuffle towards the kitchen, Jack following. Mum doesn’t answer, and instead diverts us into the dining room.

‘Everyone, darling.’

I stop at the doorway and take in the small space, and everyone quietens down and looks in my direction. Lizzy with Jason, Micky with Charlie, my dad and Nat. The first thing that comes to mind is, Mum will be in her element with all these people to faff over. The second thing I think is, What are they all doing here? I raise a wary hand in a lame hello, and then turn to Jack and give him questioning eyes.

He just smiles, takes my hand and leads me to the table, where a chair is waiting for me. Easing me down, he bends and kisses my cheek. ‘They’ve promised not to fuss over you.’

I laugh, a little nervous, and watch as Mum hands Jack an apron. He doesn’t question it, accepting it and slipping it on. ‘You’re helping Mum?’

‘Apparently.’ He shrugs and heads off to the kitchen, leaving me pretty astounded. Mum’s letting Jack help?

I look across to my dad. ‘Is she okay?’ I ask seriously. She has a way with everything. Especially in the kitchen. Her way.

‘She wants to bond with that new fella of yours.’ Dad shrugs.

Micky laughs, and I look across to find his arm draped casually around Charlie’s shoulders. ‘Poor Jack.’

Bond. She wants to bond. The notion is deeply warming, given the circumstances of them discovering everything about Jack. The fact that she’s invited him into her kitchen is a huge deal, and her way of accepting him. But visions of Mum’s panicked face when Jack fails to do things to her liking fill my mind. ‘He’ll be kicked out within ten minutes,’ I conclude.

‘Five,’ Dad counters with a grunt. ‘He’ll run out screaming in five minutes.’ He looks down at his watch, checking the time.

I laugh and relax a little, but my hurting muscles tense when Nat and Lizzy head my way, encouraging Charlie to join us. Nat brings a bottle of wine with her and pours four healthy glasses. She passes one to each of us.

Charlie is the one to toast. ‘To true love.’

I shoot her a look, and she smiles.

‘True love,’ Lizzy echoes, her eyes flicking to Jason at the other end of the table, where all the boys, bar Jack, are gathered. Dad pulls out the playing cards and declares war.

‘True love,’ I say quietly, hearing Jack in the kitchen taking instructions from Mum.

‘Whatever!’ Nat snorts, rolling her eyes as she dives head first into her wine. ‘So.’ She places her fingers on the bottom of my wine glass and encourages me to drink. ‘Tell us about this new bloke of yours.’

And just like that, I know they’re not going to drown me in sympathy. They’re not going to ask questions, dig for more information or make me feel like I’m under the spotlight. Instead, they’re going to act like the nightmare last few months never happened. They’re going to act like Jack and I are normal. Like we met under normal circumstances. Like there has been no misery and heartache. I give them thankful eyes, and they all smile in return.

Jack wanders in and places a platter of nibbles in the centre of the table, catching my eye as he sets it down just so. He smiles, and I have to force myself to swallow down the emotion that creeps up on me unexpectedly. ‘He’s perfect,’ I say quietly. ‘Handsome, kind, ambitious and encouraging.’

‘Sounds like a dream,’ Jack replies casually, attracting all the girls’ attention.

‘Hey!’ Lizzy grabs an olive from the platter and chucks it at him. ‘Girl talk. Scram!’

He holds his hands up in surrender and backs out, looking across to my dad as he goes. ‘I believe that’s six minutes’ survival time . . . so far.’

‘I have a Scotch ready when you need it, son,’ Dad says flippantly, dealing the cards out to Jason and Micky.

My heart could burst. Normal. This is all normal. This is how I’ve wanted it to be from the moment I fell for Jack, but how it couldn’t be. I wanted to share everything about the man I’d fallen for with my friends. I wanted to talk girlie about the kisses, the sex, the feelings. I wanted to tell Mum and Dad that I’d met someone who’d knocked me off my feet, and I wanted to do this. Share him with them. I wanted Mum to love him, to welcome him into her home. For him to be part of the family.

Beyond wanting Jack so desperately, I also wanted this.

Acceptance. Love. Normality.

‘I understand now,’ Lizzy says, pulling me from my reflections. I look at her in question, and she smiles, faintly but genuinely. ‘Seeing you together, I understand. Everyone does.’

I nod, blinking back my tears, more thankful than I’ve ever been.

 

‘How tired are you?’ Jack asks as he pulls away from my parents’ house and I wave my goodbye.

It’s been a wonderful evening. I’ve laughed, I’ve soaked up the affection that Jack has showered me with and I’ve relished the fond looks that have been thrown his way by all of my friends and family. They get it. They understand. I let my head fall back and roll to the side so he’s in my sights. ‘I’m not tired at all.’

He smiles at the road. ‘You’re lying, but I’m not going to argue with you. There’s somewhere I want to take you.’

‘Then take me,’ I tell him, once again happy to let him take charge. We drive back into the city, chatting about nothing in particular, and Jack parks up in a side street in central London. ‘Where are we?’

He doesn’t answer, getting me out of the car in silence. ‘You okay to walk for a few minutes?’

‘Yes. Where are we going?’

Again my question is ignored, and Jack starts walking us towards the main road up ahead. I remain quietly curious until he brings us to a stop on the pavement, turning to me. ‘We’re here,’ he says quietly.

I frown and look up, quickly realising where here is. I lose my breath for only a moment. ‘Where we met,’ I murmur, looking through the windows into the bar.

‘Back to the beginning.’ Jack leads me in and heads straight for the exact spot on the bar where he had me bent over. So many memories, vivid and clear, power to the forefront of my mind. He helps me onto a bar stool, takes one up himself and faces me. ‘Are you drunk?’ he asks seriously, staring deeply into my eyes.

My smile must be cracking my face. I decide to play his game, just like I decided to play his game on that fateful night I met him. ‘Not in the slightest.’

‘Care to prove it?’ His head tilts, and there’s a small pout on his lips.

‘Yes.’ I nod decisively. ‘Are you going to bend me over the bar?’

‘Don’t tempt me.’ He grins, calling for the barman. ‘Two tequilas, please.’ He tosses a note on the wood, making sure he brushes my hand tactically as he withdraws, his grin widening when I inhale. I’d love to tempt him, have him manipulate my body to where he wants it. I’d withstand the pain it would certainly spike, but I know he won’t indulge me that much. ‘Let’s play,’ he murmurs, glancing up at me.

A rush of incredible, overwhelming happiness powers through me. ‘What do I have to do?’

Jack takes the salt and my hand, licking the back with a firm, long stroke, looking up at me as he does. ‘You taste good.’

‘So I’m told,’ I muse, watching as he sprinkles the salt. ‘Do you lick every woman you meet in a bar?’

‘There’s only one woman I’ve ever licked, and ever will.’

‘Lucky woman.’

‘Lucky me,’ he counters, bringing my hand to his mouth and lapping up the salt before knocking back his drink. He hums his pleasure, unable to hold his smile back when I let mine break free. ‘There’s one more tequila,’ he says, placing my hand on the bar by the glass. ‘And it’s yours.’

‘I see something I’d like far more than tequila.’ I go off script, saying what I really wanted to say the night I met Jack Joseph.

‘Then take it.’ He sits back on his stool, folding his arms over his broad chest. I glance around the bustling bar. We’re in public, out and about, in plain sight for everyone to see. And for the first time I don’t have to worry about keeping my hands to myself. I don’t have to worry about being seen with a man who I shouldn’t be with. It’s alien, and so very hard to wrap my head around. ‘What are you waiting for?’ Jack asks, breaking into my thoughts.

The truth is, I don’t know. To wake up, maybe? I slip down from the stool with caution, and I can tell Jack struggles not to help me. His thighs part a little, inviting me in. I walk forward and take his arms, unfolding them from around his chest and directing them around my waist. He lets me guide his moves, putting myself between his legs and looking up at him. And I kiss him. In public, with passion, love and everything I feel for him that I’ve never been able to share with the world. This man is mine.

‘You move fast,’ he says into my mouth. ‘I only bought you a drink, and now you’re trying to get me into bed.’

I chuckle, pulling back and finding his grey eyes. Grey eyes that are exploding with sparkles. ‘Take me home,’ I whisper. I want him to put me in bed and lick me everywhere. I want him to kiss me, touch me, make love to me.

‘Your wish is my command, baby.’ He picks me up in the middle of the bar for all to see and strides out with me wrapped around him. But we don’t make it to the car, only to the end of the street. I’m placed on my feet on the kerb. ‘Wait there,’ he orders gently, turning and checking the road for traffic before jogging across to the other side. When he arrives, he faces me, him on one side of the road, me on the other. A little sob escapes when I realise where we are and what he’s doing, as cars pass between us. He’s really taking us back to the start.

‘You mentioned home,’ he calls across to me, his grey eyes bright. ‘Look in your back pocket.’

My forehead bunches as I feel my way to my bum, pulling out a piece of paper. Slowly unfolding it, I split my attention between Jack and whatever’s in my hand, curious and cautious all at once. I scan the sheet which I quickly establish contains the details of . . .

‘Land?’ I ask, too quietly for Jack to hear from across the road. I look up and find him looking pensive. ‘What is this?’

‘Ours,’ he calls. ‘I bought it for us.’

I let my gaze fall back to the paper in my hand, my head twisting, making it impossible for me to absorb the information staring up at me.

‘Just say yes,’ Jack shouts.

I laugh. ‘I don’t know what I’m saying yes to.’

He rolls his eyes dramatically, dropping his head back to look to the sky, like I’m slow. Then he paces across the road. I yelp when he lifts me from my feet, even though he does it with the utmost care, and I gasp when he cages me in against the brick wall behind me. ‘I love this wall,’ he declares, all husky and low. It does my restraint no favours when he talks to me like that, especially when he’s talking about this wall. This wall that’s another part of our story, like the tequila, the bar, and the hotel just around the corner where we spent all night exploring each other, getting to know each other’s bodies. Our hearts began to tangle tightly that night, so tightly nothing would ever pull us apart. ‘You’re saying yes to everything with me, Annie.’ His lips hover a few millimetres from mine. ‘I’ve bought that land for us. You are going to design our home and—’

‘You are going to build it,’ I breathe, his plan finally making a breakthrough in my mind.

‘Preferably with lots of bedrooms so we can fill them with babies.’

‘Oh my God.’ I drop the paper and squeeze him hard.

‘It’s me and you, baby. The house, the kids, the life, everything. We’ll have it all.’

‘I only ever wanted you,’ I admit, sinking my face into his neck. ‘I can’t believe I finally have you.’

‘You more than have me, baby.’ He holds me so strongly, his heart pounding against mine – our beats in sync, their rhythms perfectly matched, the powerful love weaving, tangling us tighter still. ‘You possess me. You own me. You rule me,’ he murmurs in my ear. ‘You are everything to me, Annie Ryan. My pulse, my heartbeat, my breath. Everything.’

My vision clouds as the tears pool in my eyes. ‘I’m ready.’

‘That’s good, because I paid the deposit yesterday.’

‘No, you don’t understand what I’m saying, Jack.’ I wrestle myself free and grab his hands, fixing him with a determined stare. ‘I’m ready.’ I direct his touch to my stomach and watch as comprehension dawns on him. He shoots me a look, one that’s a mixture of uncertainty and elation.

‘You’re ready?’

‘Haven’t we had too much of our precious time taken already?’ I ask.

‘Way too much,’ he agrees, his face pained.

‘Take me home, Jack,’ I order, sounding as sure as I feel. ‘Put me in bed, make love to me. Be gentle if you must, but please make love to me.’

He groans and deepens our kiss, gathering me up in his arms. His arms, the place where nothing can touch me. My sanctuary. My haven. My home.

I had an affair. I was that woman. I fell in love with a married man. It was wrong, and we both suffered for it. We have both lost something – a loss we will share forever. But we still have each other. Part of me feels robbed by whoever’s up there in charge of the Fates for keeping Jack from me for too long. But we were always going to find each other, no matter what. No matter who tried to keep us apart. Even me and Jack ourselves. Nothing could stop it. Nothing could stop the connection that was so strong it sent our worlds into chaos.

Jack was never really forbidden. Because he was always mine. And I was always his. Even before we knew it. Even before we found each other.

But we found each other in the end. Yet this is not the end for us. This is just the beginning.

True love prevailed. The greatest love. Our love.

‘I’ll hold your hand if you hold mine,’ he mumbles around my lips.

‘I’ll never let go.’