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‘Katie?’ He stopped a metre away while Pongo still played at his feet, his brow furrowed deeply. ‘Ah. By the look on your face, I can tell that this is a complete surprise.’

‘I – You could say that.’

‘And by the look on Jess’s face, she’s pretty shocked too.’ He shoved his dark hair off his face. ‘Oh … fuck. I should have known this was a terrible plan. I’m afraid I’ve made a huge mistake but I want you to know that it was totally my decision to accept the invitation.’

‘Are you saying Jess invited you?’ Katie’s initial panicked daze was clearing enough to see that Jess had gone visibly paler.

‘No,’ Ned said firmly. ‘She clearly had no idea I was coming and neither did you. Obviously.’ He pressed his lips together. ‘I should never have let myself – should never have persuaded myself that it was a good idea, but—’ He bit back a phrase that made Katie’s hairs stand on end. He was about to incriminate someone.

‘I’m sorry,’ Jess said again, clutching the vanity case for protection. Katie felt very sorry for her, even though she had no idea what part her friend had actually played in Ned’s reappearance.

‘It’s—’ There was no way Katie could utter the word ‘fine’, so she settled for, ‘It is what it is. Jess, lovely, do you mind going to wait in the boat while Ned and I talk?’

Jess shot an agonised glance at Ned. ‘Are you sure you’ll be OK?’

‘Yes. And don’t worry.’

Nodding in relief, Jess hurried to the launch where Katie caught Arlo staring at her and Ned. He looked away quickly and followed Jess inside the boat. God knows what he was thinking.

As soon as Jess was out of earshot, Ned spoke. ‘I realise this is a shock.’

‘I’m – I hate to be rude, but I don’t know why you’re here?’ Katie said. ‘You mentioned an invitation but if Jess didn’t ask you, who did?’ A thought struck her. ‘Was it Mum or Dad? Or Lou?’ Katie lighted on the first three names of friends and family who had been gutted that she’d split up with Ned.

‘No. It wasn’t them,’ Ned said. ‘Does it matter? I decided to come, although I had thought you might have been warned by now.’

Katie closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped. No wonder Wanda had been nervous as hell on the journey up.

‘Did Auntie Wanda ask you?’

Ned grimaced. ‘Do I have to answer that?’

‘No, because you don’t need to.’ Katie bristled with frustration. Wanda must be petrified, although she might also think Katie would be dancing in delight.

‘I wish you’d told me.’

‘In hindsight so do I, but I foolishly convinced myself that it would be a dramatic romantic gesture.’ As if to emphasise his seriousness, he pushed a lock of jet-black hair off his face in a nervous way that used to reduce her to a puddle of lust – and not only her. That gesture had sent countless fans into raptures. Even though Ned was now primarily a writer and producer, as well as an actor, he’d lost none of his magnetic charm.

‘It’s definitely that,’ Katie said, imagining Wanda encouraging Ned out of the best reasons yet with this disastrous result.

Ned touched her arm briefly and Katie drew in a breath. It was the first physical contact they’d had since she broke things off.

‘Please don’t blame your aunt,’ he said. ‘She genuinely thought it would be a lovely surprise for you.’

‘I didn’t realise you were still in contact.’

‘She occasionally messages me with updates about your books, probably as an excuse to let me know how you are, then about a month ago I bumped into Wanda at the pub where we’d celebrated your dad’s sixtieth birthday.’ He smiled. ‘Now that was a night to remember – especially the hangover the next day.’

If she hadn’t been so shocked, Katie might have smiled back. It had been an amazing night. Ned had helped organise the surprise party and a funny video of her dad’s life. He’d even used his entertainment contacts to arrange a video message from her dad’s favourite comedian.

‘The Eagle?’ The coincidence made sense. It was a regular haunt for her parents and Ned’s brother lived in the next village to Wanda.

‘She happened to mention this trip and impulsively suggested I come along too. She convinced me you’d be happy about it, but I was only too ready to be convinced.’ His sigh misted the chilly air. ‘I deluded myself that I’d rock up and you’d be – well, life’s not like that, as we all know.’

‘Why didn’t you ask me first?’ Katie asked.

‘If had told you, would you have wanted me to come?’

She couldn’t answer. Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. Ending her relationship with Ned had been one of the most painful things she’d ever done. Now he was back, handsome, self-deprecating – and clearly still in love with her.