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Kit scrutinised her, and she lowered her eyes beneath his intense gaze. ‘Everything OK?’ he asked.

Fliss sighed. He had always been so good at reading her. ‘Not really, but now is not the time to talk about it.’

‘Understood,’ he said easily, and she was grateful for it. ‘Whatever it is that brought you here … I’m glad it did.’

Fliss smiled, trying to ignore the bubbles of excitement dancing through her. Stop it! she told herself sharply. But she found herself saying, ‘It’s good to see you too.’

You have no idea how good.

Kit looked great in a chunky Aran-knit sweater and blue jeans that made the most of his tall, muscular frame. Fliss could feel his eyes running over her too, taking in the close-fitting outfit, and she wondered what he thought. She was no longer the carefree, twenty-something young woman she had been when they were together, but she knew she looked good – a confident, attractive woman in her forties.

The air between them seemed to vibrate, an invisible thread linking them together. They had both changed over the years, but there was a part of her that would always belong to him; she hadn’t realised how much until this moment …

Reluctantly, she said, ‘I guess we’d better go find the others. It’s almost supper time.’

‘Sure. Fliss …’ Kit’s eyes raked over her, full of warmth and nostalgia and a hint of something else. Fliss found herself remembering all the things she had loved about him: his innate confidence that never spilled over into arrogance; how he could make her laugh like no one else; the way he could make her weak with desire with just one look across a crowded room … ‘It really is good to see you.’

Then Kit strode over to the door and opened it for her, his manners impeccable. Fliss brushed past him, catching again the scent of him, that brought back memories so strong they were shocking in their intensity. Pull yourself together, she admonished herself, as she led the way towards the drawing room and the sound of voices.

‘Did you really not know I was coming?’ Fliss turned to ask.

‘It was a total surprise. The best kind,’ Kit grinned, as they walked into the drawing room together. ‘Look who I found!’ he called out.

‘Fliss!’ Tara screeched excitedly, running over to enfold her in a bear hug. Fliss noted how Tara put herself between Fliss and Kit, unsure whether that was by accident or design. ‘Oh, it’s so good to see you, you look amazing! I couldn’t believe it when Sally told me you were coming.’

‘You knew that Fliss was going to be here?’ Kit frowned. ‘You didn’t mention it.’

‘Didn’t I?’ Tara replied airily. ‘There’s been so much going on it must have slipped my mind.’

Fliss glanced at Kit, who was looking at his wife with a sceptical expression.

‘I’ve been so busy with work,’ Tara sighed, linking her arm through Fliss’s. ‘Honestly, it’s so wonderful to see you looking so well, midlife is suiting you.’

Ouch, Fliss thought, remembering that Tara had turned forty before she had.

Always the same Tara.

‘Working to fix all the mistakes you made?’ Bill couldn’t resist saying, as Fliss looked between the brother and sister.

‘Sod off, Bill! You’ve been fired from more jobs than I’ve had hot dinners.’

‘Now, now, children,’ scolded Lady Oliver, her mouth pursing into a disapproving moue. ‘You’re not five years old anymore so stop behaving as if you are. Honestly, Fliss, I don’t know where I went wrong with these two. My wonderful daughter-in-law is a much harder worker than either of my children.’

‘It’s because you spoiled us, Mummy,’ Tara laughed. ‘And speaking of spoiled – George, say hello to Fliss.’

Fliss followed Tara’s eyeline to where a teenager sat in the corner, slouched sideways on an oversized armchair, his gangly legs draped over one arm of it. Fliss hadn’t noticed him before; he was glued to his phone.

He glanced up, and gave her a winning smile that was almost exactly like his father’s.

‘Hi, Fliss.’ He made a small wave and then stood to shake her hand.

‘Oh my goodness, the last time I saw you, you were about seven,’ Fliss smiled, taking in Tara and Kit’s son. He had the same dark good looks as Kit, a hint of the privileged confidence his mother possessed, perhaps? ‘You’d just started prep school, and you were obsessed with playing rugby.’

‘Oh, those days are long gone!’ Tara laughed. ‘Now it’s all YouTube and TikTok, and we can barely get him out of the house. He’s at Eton now, with Bill and Sally’s Jasper, just like his uncle and his grandpa.’

‘Family tradition,’ beamed Lord Oliver. ‘Wouldn’t have him going anywhere else.’

Fliss’s eyes flicked to Kit. She wondered how he felt about his life being so dominated by Tara’s family. He was probably used to it by now, she reasoned. It came with the territory when you married into the Olivers – Sally had experienced the same. Kit glanced up and met Fliss’s gaze, and she felt that long dormant spark of lightning shoot through her. Quickly, she turned away.