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She took off her waistcoat, the hat having been long abandoned. She already regretted agreeing to dance with Ned and was thinking of exit strategies. She could pretend to be sick, rush to the loo, or simply escape into the chilly night.

Actually, some fresh air might help right now.

Just as she decided to head for the barn door, an ear-piercing shriek rang out from one of the nearby dancers and before she knew it, Katie was catapulted back into the train carriage. Children and adults crying, a man screaming, the heat and the smoke and the suffocating weight on her …

A rush of sickening panic seized her from nowhere. The noise filled her ears and made her head throb. Her stomach turned over and over.

Oh God, no. Not now.

The dancers twirled and swirled around her and the room felt as if it was spinning along with them. She had to get out. She tried to push herself to her feet but her legs felt wobbly and she might fall.

‘Katie.’

Arlo. Arlo was at her side, crouching by her chair. ‘Katie. Are you OK? No, you’re not. I can see that. Take some breaths. Yes, that’s it. Long slow breaths.’ His voice was like a balm soothing her. ‘Slowly in and out.’

Katie took the breaths and the room stopped swimming.

‘Water?’ He offered a pint glass, half full.

‘Th-thanks.’ She sipped it. The noise and heat were still overwhelming but she focused on Arlo.

‘I think I’ve had too much cider,’ she said between sips.

‘I doubt it,’ he said kindly. ‘It’s very stuffy and crowded in here. Do you want to grab some fresh air?’

‘That’s what I was trying to do when I felt – weird.’

‘OK. If you’re ready, I’ll come with you.’

With a hand lightly at her elbow, he helped her from her seat and through the barn doors into the night. When the cold air hit her lungs, her chest tightened but the dizziness had faded.

There were a couple of people vaping and smoking around the entrance but she and Arlo moved away from them to the side of the barn. Even above the music from inside the barn, she could hear the river running past and glimpse the flashes of foam as it tumbled down the valley towards the lake.

‘Better?’ he asked, standing in front of her with a hand at her elbow.

‘Much. Thanks. Sorry for the fuss. You were right about the cider. I was about to have a panic attack. The heat and the crowds were too much.’

‘It’s fine. Not for you – I only meant, don’t worry.’

‘I hate to make a fuss and yet here I am doing that again. And you’re here picking up the pieces.’ She smiled and her heart did a triple somersault at his expression.

He cared about her. He more than cared and she felt the same way. It was too soon to be in love but that tenderness in his eyes – an intense longing – made every millimetre of her skin tingle.

Ned had looked at her with a different kind of intensity not so long before and yet she’d felt nothing but sadness and a realisation that the fire between them was cold. He was glamorous, handsome and charismatic, but Katie was drawn to Arlo in a deeper way than she ever had been to Ned.

She reached out and touched his arm. His lips parted in as much shock as if she’d told him she wanted to drag him off to bed for passionate sex.

‘Arlo,’ she said, as gently as she could, ‘I think we need to talk about what’s happening between us.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Arlo’s stomach plummeted as if he were on a rollercoaster. He’d been dreading this conversation.

‘I know what’s happening,’ he said, rushing in before Katie could deliver her killer blow. ‘Erin’s taken great delight in telling me how thrilled they were to find a famous actor staying in the Bothy and why hadn’t I told her before and that she’s a huge fan and – you can guess the rest.’

She frowned and removed her hand from his arm. ‘Stop, please. I need to tell you something.’

‘No. No. You don’t need to tell me because I know that Ned is still in love with you and that you’re still in love with him.’