Copyright

Published by Avon an imprint of

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street,

London, SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2019

Copyright © Bella Osborne 2018

Cover illustration © Kim Leo

Cover design © Cherie Chapman Book Design 2018

Bella Osborne asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008258221

Ebook Edition © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008258214

Version: 2019-04-01

Dedication

For Patty – with love.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Forty

Acknowledgements

Keep Reading …

About the Author

Also by Bella Osborne

About the Publisher

Chapter Thirty-One

Anna watched Sophie hugging her bump as she panted fast. This was it – she was going into labour in Wildflower Park in the middle of a fireworks display. It was dark and cold and the last place you’d want to give birth.

‘Right!’ said Anna and Hudson together, both appearing to want to take charge of the situation. Anna raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll call Dave. You call an ambulance,’ instructed Anna. Hudson didn’t argue and got straight on his phone.

‘Dave. The baby’s on its way. Where the hell are you?’

‘Crap. I’m stuck in traffic about three miles from home. It’s total gridlock. Tell her to hold on,’ said Dave.

‘You can tell her,’ she said, holding the phone to Sophie’s ear for him to repeat his request.

‘Hold on? You f—’ Thankfully everything Sophie said was drowned out by the stream of fireworks whizzing into the sky.

‘Ambulance is on its way,’ said Hudson. ‘They’ll come to the main entrance. I’m guessing they’ll take her on a stretcher.’ The operator was still on the phone.

‘I don’t want to go on a stretcher,’ wailed Sophie. Anna felt for the ambulance crew; she was a whole lot of person to carry across the park.

Hudson must have been having the same thoughts. He whispered to Anna. ‘Can they manage her all the way from here?’

‘I heard that, you know!’ said Sophie and she started to groan loudly.

Anna swivelled round. ‘There aren’t many other options.’ She surveyed the vast crowd around them as the fireworks continued to crash and bloom above.

Hudson was speaking to the emergency services operator and his expression was grim. He whispered to Anna, ‘Ambulance is stuck in traffic. Gridlock. About three—’

‘Miles away,’ finished Anna. ‘Bugger. Dave’s stuck in the same traffic jam.’ Sophie let out a strangled cry. ‘We have to move her,’ Anna said, turning to Hudson. ‘Either to the main entrance or inside. She can’t stay here.’ Anna pointed to Sophie’s house. ‘That’s her house.’

Hudson thrust his phone at Anna. ‘I’ve got an idea.’ He squeezed his way through the immediate crowd and was swallowed by the darkness.

Anna rubbed Sophie’s back whilst listening to updates from the ambulance service and oohing and ahhing at the fireworks with Petal. It was multitasking at its most extreme.

She wished Hudson hadn’t left her. Every time Sophie winced she felt frightened and helpless. The fireworks display came to an impressive crescendo and the crowd in the park erupted into applause, including the children. With the fireworks over it was dark again and a wind whipped around them. Anna feared for the baby’s safety if it arrived now.

After a few minutes she heard Hudson’s voice over the crowd. The people started to disperse and Hudson emerged pushing a very old wheelbarrow. Sophie looked up. ‘Bloody hell. You have to be joking.’

‘You need to get to hospital,’ said Hudson and he pointed at the wheelbarrow. ‘Cinders, your carriage awaits.’

‘I am not going all the way in that thing.’

‘No, but we might be able to get you closer to the ambulance.’

Sophie’s face registered alarm. ‘I don’t think there’s time. It’s coming.’

Hudson rushed to her with the wheelbarrow, which was full of potato sacks. ‘Come on,’ he said, like it was the most normal thing to hop in a wheelbarrow. Sophie gave him a murderous glare but with a lot of help from him and Anna she clambered on board.

‘If this bollarding thing breaks.’

‘All stops to Birmingham hospital,’ said Hudson, and he set off across the park at an impressive pace.

‘My go next,’ shouted Arlo, clapping his hands.

Anna relayed the plan to the operator and they confirmed the ambulance was making progress and should be at the main gates in a few minutes. ‘Perfect timing,’ said Anna, herding the children after Hudson.

‘Arghhhhhhhhh!’ screamed Sophie.

‘Arghhhhhhhhh!’ hollered Hudson hitting a pothole and almost wrenching the barrow from his fingers. ‘Don’t you dare give birth in the wheelbarrow. I can’t push two of you.’

‘You’re about as funny as haemorrhoids,’ said Sophie, clamping her teeth together and making a strangled screech.

They could hear the approaching siren and it spurred them all on. The gates came into sight and blue lights flooded the entrance.

The paramedics quickly took over and within minutes Sophie was safely in the back of the ambulance. Anna went to get in with Petal in her arms and the paramedic stopped her. ‘Sorry, love, no children allowed in the ambulance.’

‘But they’re her children,’ protested Anna.

‘Doesn’t matter. Sorry.’

Anna watched Hudson who had Arlo by the hand and was showing him round the ambulance. ‘Hudson, you’ll have to go with her.’

‘Me?’ His eyebrows shot up in alarm. ‘I’ll take the kids and you go.’ He held up Arlo’s hand.

Anna was torn. She tried to pass Petal to Hudson but she started to cry and clung to Anna. Anna’s expression conveyed exactly what needed to happen.

‘Okay,’ said Hudson, and he climbed in the back while the paramedics did final checks and started to close the doors.

Anna heard heavy breathing behind her. ‘Wait! I’m here, I’m … here …’ wheezed Dave, dashing towards the ambulance.

‘Plugging hell, Dave, talk about last minute,’ said Sophie, pulling the oxygen mask off her face but the look of relief was evident.

Dave motioned for Hudson to get out but he was already undoing his seatbelt. ‘Good luck, buddy,’ said Hudson, vacating the spot next to Sophie. She gave a weak wave as the doors shut. The siren whooped into life and the ambulance pulled away. Arlo was shouting and clapping excitedly and Petal was copying.

The siren ebbed away and they were left standing together in the dark. Hudson rubbed sweat from his forehead. ‘I had better return this,’ he said, motioning towards the wheelbarrow.

Anna frowned. ‘How the hell did you get a wheelbarrow over the wall?’

Hudson gave a mysterious smile. ‘Buy me a beer and I’ll tell you.’

‘I have coffee or hot chocolate.’

‘Hot chocolate!’ shouted Arlo. ‘Can I have marshmallows in mine, Anna?’

‘What do we say?’ asked Anna.

‘Now!’ shouted Arlo. Anna gave him a hard stare. ‘Please,’ said Arlo reluctantly.

She took him by the hand. ‘Come on, let’s get you both in the warm.’ And they followed Hudson and the wheelbarrow across the park.

Back in the warmth of Sophie’s kitchen, Anna made hot chocolate and sat Petal in her high chair with a sippy cup of warm milk. She sat down at the table near to Petal ready to retrieve her cup when she dropped it. Hudson took off his jacket and joined her.

‘You were a bit of a hero back there,’ she said, glancing at him over her steaming mug.

‘All part of the service, ma’am.’ He sounded more American than ever.

‘I’ve got to ask. Why were you even here tonight?’ Anna couldn’t phrase it any better.

Hudson coughed. ‘I feel bad about the whole New York thing. I thought I’d try and straighten things out between us. You said you’d be at the fireworks. It wasn’t hard to find you.’

‘Must have been fairly hard to get in though. It was strictly ticket only and it was sold out.’ The committee members had been on every entrance turning people away. Anna peered at him closely.

‘Ah. You got me. I jumped the railings.’

‘Jumped!’ Anna was startled.

‘No, no. I mean I climbed up and kinda fell down the other side.’ He broke eye contact and sipped his hot chocolate.

They were quiet for a bit – the only noise the vigorous sucking from Petal and her sippy cup.

‘How’s Maurice?’ asked Hudson.

‘He’s loving having his own door. He’s not happy about his balls going through the washing machine though.’

Hudson’s eyebrows raised quickly. ‘I wouldn’t be happy either.’

Anna gave him a sideways look. ‘They’re toy sponge balls. He chases them and they got caught up with a pile of washing.’

Hudson took a deep breath and Anna watched him. ‘There was something I wa—’

Anna’s phone sprang into life and she grabbed it up, surprised to see it was Liam calling. What did he want? She held a finger up to Hudson.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi, Anna. How are you?’

‘I’m fine thanks.’ She could do without the small talk. ‘What’s up?’

‘Does there need to be something up for me to call you?’

Hudson waved at her and indicated he was going to go; Anna shook her head. ‘Liam, I’m kind of busy …’

‘Anna, we really need to have a proper chat.’

‘About what?’

‘Us, Anna. We made a mistake. I made a mistake. I know I’ve said it before but I don’t think you realise how serious I am. I want you back.’ She couldn’t ignore the sorrow in his voice.

‘Look—’

‘Anna!’ shouted Arlo and Anna was out of the kitchen in a flash and into the living room.

‘Sorry, Liam. I’ve gotta go.’

Anna’s eyes frantically swept around the room but Arlo was sitting on the sofa with the TV on and everything looked fine. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘Can you put the Zombies on. Pleeeeease.’ He grinned at her.

‘Nope. Kids’ TV or bed. Your choice.’

‘O-kay. T-V.’

As she reached the hall Hudson came out of the kitchen putting his jacket on. ‘What did Liam want?’

‘He wants to get back together,’ she said very matter-of-factly.

‘Right.’ Hudson pressed his lips together tightly.

‘It’s okay. You’re still my fake boyfriend.’

‘Phew.’ They both looked apprehensively at each other. ‘I’m going to make a move.’

‘Okay.’ Anna had hoped once she’d settled Arlo she’d have some adult company for what was likely to be a long night. ‘Actually, could you do me one more favour?’

‘Sure.’

‘I’ve not been home to feed Maurice and he’s going to be eating the furniture before long. Here’s my keys. His food is in the cupboard under the sink.’

‘No, problem. Do you need anything else? Nightwear? Toothbrush?’

She did but she didn’t want him looking through her stuff. ‘No, just the cat feeding would be great. Thanks.’

‘I won’t go snooping. Cross my heart.’ He gave her a butter-wouldn’t-melt look.

‘Okay. Toothbrush and there’s a washbag on the windowsill in the bathroom with most of my stuff. That’d be great. Thanks.’

Hudson was kicking himself as he left Sophie’s house. He had come with a clear mission for this evening and he had been derailed twice. Was it an omen? Was the universe trying to tell him something? He jogged round to Anna’s front door and let himself in. Maurice came to see him or more likely to point out that he hadn’t been fed.

‘Hey, Maurice. Sorry to hear about your balls, big guy.’ Hudson gave him a fuss and tried to encourage him to eat. Maurice sniffed the food and on deciding it wasn’t poisoned he began to eat. Hudson soon found the washbag and was double-checking the door was properly locked when he was aware someone was standing behind him.

He swung round and came face to face with Connor. ‘Hey, buddy, you gave me a start. You looking for Anna?’

‘Is she okay?’ Connor nodded at the floral washbag in Hudson’s hand.

‘Yeah, she’s fine. Sophie has gone into labour. Anna’s babysitting and she needed some stuff.’ He held up the washbag as evidence. ‘I’m taking it back now.’ Hudson checked the door again.

‘I’ll walk with you,’ said Connor, falling in step.

‘Did you and Anna have plans tonight?’ asked Hudson.

Connor puffed out his cheeks. ‘Look you seem like a decent bloke but just so we’re clear – me and Anna are in a relationship and things are going great. I’d be grateful if you’d respect that.’

Hudson’s eyebrows puckered. ‘Right. Of course.’

‘You don’t mind me mentioning it, do you?’

‘No. I mean …’ He wanted to say more but this wasn’t the right time and Connor certainly wasn’t the right person. ‘I’m pleased for you both.’ Hudson gave Connor a convivial pat on the shoulder.

‘Thanks. She’s something else, isn’t she?’

‘Yeah. You’ve got one of the best there.’ Hudson was relieved when they reached Sophie’s house. ‘You know, I don’t even need to come in. Here.’ He handed Connor the washbag and keys. ‘Tell her I’ll see at work. Night.’

‘Will do. Bye.’ Connor waited on the steps and watched Hudson leave before knocking.

Anna opened the door with a beaming smile, which faltered for the briefest of moments. She looked past Connor. ‘Have you seen …’

‘Hudson gave me this,’ he said, handing over the washbag. ‘He had to rush off somewhere.’ Connor shrugged.

‘Did he give you my keys?’

‘Oh, yeah. Here.’ He handed them over. ‘Can I come in?’

‘I’m actually in the middle of putting Arlo to bed and I can’t leave him for one second. Sorry. Can I call you?’

Connor’s expression was unreadable. ‘Sure. You do what you need to.’

‘Thanks.’ She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and shut the door.

‘Anna! Anna!’ called Arlo urgently from upstairs.

‘Yes, Arlo?’ replied Anna already heading in his direction.

‘I’ve done a huge poo! Come and see.’ There was a long pause. ‘Please!’

Anna was feeding a breakfast of mushed Weetabix to Petal whilst simultaneously discussing the career opportunities of being a Viking with Arlo when her mobile began vibrating along the worktop.

‘Hi, Dave,’ she said, before mouthing to Arlo. ‘It’s Daddy.’

‘Hello, Daddy,’ shouted Arlo.

‘Hi, son,’ replied Dave. Anna put him on speakerphone. ‘Any news?’

‘Okay. Yes, we have news. Hey, kids, you’ve got a brand-new … baby …’ there was a long pause ‘… brother.’

‘Yay!’ shouted Arlo.

‘Ay!’ shouted Petal and she backhanded her Weetabix bowl sending it flying in spectacular fashion across the kitchen, splattering both Anna and Arlo. Arlo started to laugh.

‘Congratulations,’ said Anna, wiping the worst of the Weetabix assault off her top.

Arlo was frowning. ‘Do I have to share my toys?’

Anna flopped onto the sofa at the end of the longest day of her life. She had been babysitting for twenty-four hours straight. She had no idea how Sophie did it. She was exhausted. She’d taken them both out to the soft play centre, which thankfully had taken up most of the day. Just getting out of the house with two small children needed a project plan.

The play centre was a big eye-opener for Anna. Whilst most of the other women seemed focused on talking animatedly with friends whilst mainlining lattes, their children were running riot like crazed banshees or, as she began to realise, like children at a soft play centre. She’d planned to set herself up with Petal in the baby area while Arlo burned off some of his overflowing energy supplies, but Anna found herself scooping Petal up every other minute as high-speed sweaty children hurdled her. It was incredibly stressful.

They had spent the remainder of the afternoon in the park kicking up the autumn leaves and looking for squirrels. Oddly enough, despite Arlo shouting ‘HERE, SQUIRRELS!’ at the top of his voice, they hadn’t even seen a whisker.

Anna found her eyes were closing when a key in the door made her come to. She crept into the hall.

‘Congratulations,’ she said, meeting Dave and Sophie at the door. ‘Kids are asleep,’ she added, as they slunk inside.

‘Thanks,’ said Sophie. They all cooed over the tiny baby in the overly large car seat. He was sound asleep, his rosebud lips pouting gently.

‘He’s beautiful,’ said Anna.

Sophie angled her head towards the baby. ‘Dave thinks he looks like Churchill.’

Dave chuckled. ‘All babies look like Churchill – it’s a well-known fact. He’s still beautiful though.’

Sophie mouthed, ‘At least he doesn’t look like the Kraken.’

Anna hid her laughter by pulling her into a hug. ‘How are you?’ she asked. Sophie was pale.

‘Okay,’ she said, but her expression told a different story. ‘It was probably the easiest of the births, certainly the quickest. But still, no walk in the park. Unfortunately, they had to cut my rings off.’ She waved her bare left hand sadly.

‘Drinks machine was better this time,’ chipped in Dave and he went to get the bags from the car. Sophie rolled her eyes.

‘He kept turning the radio up to drown me out,’ she said, although Anna could tell she wasn’t really cross about it.

‘Were you being a bit shouty?’

‘You would too if you’d almost delivered your child in a wheelbarrow.’ They both laughed.

Dave reappeared. ‘I’ll put this lot upstairs. You sit down,’ whispered Dave.

‘Not after what they’ve done to my undercarriage. I may never sit down again.’

‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ Anna cut in, keen not to hear about an episiotomy again.

‘Lovely, and you can update me on everything. Still no caffeine for me, I’m breastfeeding.’ Sophie pulled a disgruntled face and shuffled off to the living room.

Anna was struggling to remember anything before the babysitting. Was this what it was like for parents?

She took the drinks through and joined Sophie and Dave in the living room. Anna scooched herself round and peered at the scrunched-up bundle who was now being cradled by his mother. ‘Does he have a name yet?’

Sophie smiled at Dave who was eyeing the scene fondly. ‘We’re thinking of Reuben.’

‘I like it,’ said Anna, failing to hide her surprise at liking the name. She’d been expecting something more obscure.

‘Reuben David Butterworth,’ said Sophie, glancing up and giving Dave an indulgent look.

‘It was my great-grandad’s name,’ said Dave proudly.

‘It’s lovely and it suits him.’ Anna stroked the baby’s cheek and he screwed up his face and for a moment she could see what Dave meant about the Churchill resemblance.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Anna strode into the nursing home day room. ‘Hi, Bert.’ Bert didn’t respond. He had his Mickey Mouse headphones on. She tapped him on the arm and he jumped. ‘Hi, Bert,’ she repeated.

‘Oh, Anna. Hello,’ he said, fumbling off the headphones. ‘Let me pause this,’ he said, running his thumb over the iPod until he found the home key. ‘Sit down,’ he said.

‘Actually, I’ve got someone to see you. Wait a minute.’ Anna put the coffees down on the table and nipped out of the room. A puzzled-looking Bert tidied up his headphone cable and put them carefully on the floor by his feet.

Anna came back in but before she could put the carrier down or explain, Maurice spotted Bert and let out a loud meow.

‘Maurice?’ said Bert, tears springing to his eyes.

Anna put the cat carrier on the floor, opened it up and Maurice leaped straight onto Bert’s lap taking him a bit unawares.

‘Hello, old fellow. How are you?’ asked Bert and Maurice’s deep purr seemed to ask the same question. Maurice resembled a soldier marching on the spot, lifting up his front paws in turn. Bert was trying to stroke him and wipe away tears at the same time.

Bert and Maurice seemed oblivious when other residents came over to see what was going on. A carer put her head around the door and gave Anna a warm smile at the sight of so many residents on their feet chattering excitedly and all trying to get a stroke of Maurice. Anna put the cat carrier out of the way – the last thing she wanted was someone tripping over it and breaking a hip.

Bert’s face radiated happiness and it cheered her deep inside. Maurice was soon over the initial excitement and was now stretched out on Bert’s lap rhythmically kneading his corduroy trousers.

‘Anna,’ said Bert, without looking up.

Anna went to his side and touched his shoulder. ‘Yes.’

Bert’s voice cracked when he spoke. ‘This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.’ He reached for her hand and squeezed it firmly. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome, Bert. Maurice is really pleased to see you too. I swear he’s grinning.’

‘I can imagine,’ said Bert. ‘I think I’ll have that coffee now, please.’

Anna and Maurice didn’t stay too long. If Maurice could have curled up and gone to sleep she was sure they could have stayed longer but it seemed all the residents wanted to come and say hello and eventually Maurice jumped off Bert’s lap and started to explore. Anna had agreed the visit with the care home’s manager and the friendly carer had made sure all doors and windows and any other possible escape routes were secure before Anna had brought Maurice in but they still didn’t want a nosy moggy on the loose.

‘Okay, time to go,’ she said, lifting Maurice into her arms and putting him on the arm of Bert’s chair.

Bert seemed to know he was there and gave him a good head rub. ‘Bye, Maurice. It’s been lovely to see you one last time.’

‘Actually,’ said Anna. ‘Because you’ve both behaved yourselves, they’ve said we can do this again.’ She leaned in conspiratorially. ‘To be honest they said it’s the first time they’ve seen some of the people in here smile for months.’

‘That’s marvellous. When do you think you’ll bring him again?’ Bert’s face was alight.

Anna mentally whizzed through her calendar. ‘Probably in a couple of weeks.’

‘After New York?’ asked Bert.

‘Err,’ Anna faltered, she’d pushed it to the back of her mind although her plan was to call in sick on the morning of the flight. It seemed the easiest get-out approach.

‘Anna.’ His voice was earnest. ‘Sometimes you need to be braver than you think possible. This is one of those times.’

Anna’s stomach lurched. It sounded like one of Roberta’s better quotes. ‘I guess.’

‘Then I’ll see you and Maurice after you’ve been to New York.’

Sophie looked at home in Anna’s kitchen eating biscuits while Anna went through her post.

‘I saw my GP today. He’s given me some medication in case I want to give flying a go,’ said Anna, feeling the familiar acidic flush in her stomach at the very thought of a plane.

‘That’s a hugely positive step. Well done, you.’ Sophie gave her a hug.

‘Coffee?’ asked Anna, discarding a pile of leaflets that had been put through with her letters.

‘I’m not stopping long but Dave insisted on doing bath time so I thought I might as well pop here for a quick natter and a catch up on all the office gossip.’

‘Of course, it’s always lovely to see you,’ said Anna. ‘Not much happening in the office though. Roberta’s still spouting Minnie Mouse’s best motivational quotes and Karl’s still walking up and down while he takes his phone calls.’

‘Why do men do that?’

‘I have no idea,’ she said, opening an ordinary white envelope and pulling out an invitation. For a moment she experienced a bubble of excitement but when she saw what it said a wave of nausea came over her. Everything that haunted her about the past rushed into her mind and she found herself gripping the card tightly.

‘You okay?’ asked Sophie, peering closer. ‘What is it?’ She took the card from Anna’s sweating palm and read it. ‘A university reunion?’

‘Is someone playing games?’ Anna searched Sophie’s face for reassurance.

‘No, you’re overthinking this. Unis have reunions all the time. People love all the nostalgia it throws up.’ Sophie paused. ‘You know, maybe you should consider going. Lay some ghosts to rest?’

Anna felt giddy at the thought and had to take a deep breath to control the panic rising inside her. She shook her head. ‘I … I couldn’t. The thought of being there brings it all back.’

‘It’s all right.’ Sophie squeezed her shoulder. ‘You don’t have to do anything. But until you face it you’ll never move on. It’s like all the things that scare us in life. You can try ignoring them but eventually they rear up and …’ Anna was blinking rapidly. ‘Forget I said that,’ said Sophie. ‘What do I know?’ She dropped the invitation in the bin and Anna watched it tumble as if in slow motion. ‘Tell me all about your New York plans instead.’

Anna knew Sophie was right. How much longer could she go on being afraid of her past, ignoring the damage that still haunted her? She knew something had to change but for now Anna just needed to sit down.

Anna gripped her passport tightly. ‘You need to hand it over now,’ said Hudson, his voice seeming far away.

‘What?’ Anna snapped back to the moment. She was standing at the check-in desk at Heathrow Airport. This was her last chance to back out. She’d failed at all the other opportunities. Somehow she felt like she’d made Bert a promise. After this, she was getting on an aeroplane. Anna swallowed hard.

‘Anna.’ Hudson’s voice was firmer this time. ‘You need to do this,’ he said, before lowering his voice. ‘Because if you don’t there is now a long line of customers who will merrily lynch you.’

Anna nodded more times than was healthy in quick succession. ‘Right. Yes. I can do this.’ She forcefully thrust her passport forward, taking the zoned-out check-in desk operative by surprise.

‘Thank you, have you read the list regarding hand luggage …’ It seemed to kick-start him off on his recited piece, which he probably repeated hundreds of times a day. Anna answered the questions as if she were in court being charged with something. When the grilling was over he held out her passport and boarding pass and said in a singsong voice, ‘Have a nice flight.’

Anna was trying to form a reply when Hudson guided her away. ‘Next we are going through security check, then to the champagne bar.’

‘I’m going to need to score hard drugs before I can get on the plane. What am I doing?’ Anna spun around feeling disorientated by all the jolly people with brightly coloured cases.

‘You are getting on a plane to New York if it’s the last thing you do.’

Anna stopped walking. ‘It was the last thing my sister did,’ she said, her face serious.

‘What?’ Hudson looked shocked.

‘Lynsey, my sister. I told you she had undiagnosed epilepsy and had a seizure.’

‘Yeah.’ He gave a sympathetic head tilt.

‘It happened on the flight to Tenerife.’ Anna felt wobbly as a sick sensation washed over her.

Hudson rubbed his temple. ‘That’s why you have a fear of flying.’ It was a statement, not a question, but Anna nodded. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve pressured you into this. I didn’t realise …’

‘It’s okay. I have to face it one day. Why not today?’ She tried her hardest to sound positive.

‘Why not indeed.’ He linked arms with her and escorted her to security.

The business lounge was like a very swish hotel reception and Hudson checked them both in. Anna was still feeling a little flustered after the security check. She was sitting with an orange juice watching Hudson sip chilled champagne.

‘You’ve done this loads, haven’t you?’ she asked.

‘Yep, I’ve no idea how many times. It’s like taking the train to me.’

‘That’s good,’ said Anna. ‘I’ll remember that. It’s like taking the train … apart from being thirty-nine thousand feet up in the air!’ She took a gulp from her orange juice and choked.

‘Hey, slowly,’ said Hudson, taking the glass off her. ‘It’ll be completely fine. I promise you.’ The way he looked into her eyes as he said it made her insides turn to mush. ‘Let’s get something to eat and then I’ve booked us in for a massage.’

‘Booked us a massage?’

‘It’ll help you to relax.’ He tilted his head. ‘It’s not together or anything weird.’

‘Good. Thank you. Nothing weird is good.’

She drank plenty of water at Hudson’s instruction, took the medication her doctor had prescribed to help her stay calm and came back from her massage feeling like she couldn’t be bothered to do much at all. Before she knew it, Hudson was gathering up their carry-ons and ushering her towards the gate, which turned out not to be a gate at all but another less equipped waiting area.

All was well until Hudson took her over to where three small children had their noses pressed to the glass of a giant window. Anna saw what they were looking at – an enormous plane. Her knees buckled and at the same time Hudson’s hand snaked around her waist to keep her upright.

She looked up into his blue eyes. ‘I’ve got you,’ he said.

The tunnel down to the plane was the best part. The enormous plane she’d seen through the glass seemed much smaller on the inside. Their seats were near the front and as soon as she’d sat down someone was offering her a glass of bubbly, which she politely turned away.

Hudson made sure she had what she needed from her bags and then stowed them in the overhead lockers and began fiddling with a screen that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere.

‘You okay?’ he paused to ask.

‘Yeah. Are we taking off yet?’ She held her eye mask tightly in her hands.

‘No. About twenty minutes.’

It surprised Anna how much waiting around was involved. ‘It’s like airlines want to give you maximum opportunity to get as panicky as possible. If you checked in and went down a chute straight onto the plane it would be far better.’

He gave her a warm smile. ‘You could suggest that on your feedback form.’

Her eyes darted about agitatedly. Everyone else was either settling down to read a paper, getting out a laptop or fiddling with their screen. Nobody else was panicking.

‘Distract yourself with something. Watch a film.’ He pulled out the inflight magazine and handed it to her.

When the plane started to move she hadn’t expected it to go backwards. ‘What’s happening?’ Her voice was a squeak. ‘We’re going backwards.’ She didn’t remember this bit.

‘It’s called push back. We are up against the terminal building so they have to reverse away. We’ll soon be going in the right direction.’

Or straight to hell, was all she could think. And she closed her eyes and tried to stem the panic. It didn’t feel like the medication was kicking in yet. A loud noise engulfed the aircraft and Anna let out a shriek. Hudson’s warm hand enveloped her own. She opened her eyes and then quickly closed them. She couldn’t speak. Her shoulders were so high they were almost touching her ears. The noise increased and the plane started to speed forward.

‘It’s okay,’ said Hudson. His voice soothing and in total contrast to the unholy racket the plane was making. His thumb tenderly stroked across her knuckles and she fleetingly thought how nice that might be if she weren’t having a panic attack.

‘Is this normal?’ she managed to squeak out.

‘Completely normal. And here we go.’

‘Argh!’ Anna couldn’t halt the small scream that burst from her when the front of the plane came up. Her heart was racing. Her eyes were tight shut. She could feel sweat sticking her hair to the back of her neck. She gasped in some air.

‘Here, sip some water,’ said Hudson, prising her fingers from the arm of the seat and giving her a cup. She opened one eye and took it from him. ‘You did it. You’re flying. Well done.’ He pretend chinked his paper cup against hers.

She glanced over to the nearest window and nearly vomited as the plane banked, dipped down one side and clouds whizzed past to reveal green fields a very long way below. Hudson took back the cup of water.

‘This was a very bad idea.’ Anna resumed clutching the seat.

‘Here’s what we’re going to do,’ came Hudson’s dulcet tones. ‘You are going to keep your eyes closed. Not scrunched up like used teabags,’ he said. His voice was low and methodical and almost a whisper, making her concentrate to hear him. ‘Okay?’

She nodded her reply.

She felt him lift the armrest between them and move his body closer. He was now leaning against her shoulder. He spoke softly into her ear. ‘You are doing great, Anna. I need you to concentrate on your breathing. We need to slow it down. Deep breath in …’ He paused. ‘And slowly exhale. That’s awesome.’ They did this a few times and she could feel her pulse returning to the right side of normal. ‘Now, let’s let the tension out of those shoulders. Imagine they’re a Lilo and someone is letting the air out. Let those shoulders drop down. That’s great.’ She could feel his breath on her earlobe and it made her shudder. ‘I want you to think about your favourite place to sleep. Picture it and …’ Hudson’s voice had a soothing rhythm to it and whilst Anna was listening she also wasn’t.

Before she knew it a sweet female voice was asking someone near her if the lady would like something to eat. She heard Hudson whisper a reply. Anna smiled when she realised the lady must be her. She opened her eyes and yawned.

‘Hello, sleeping beauty,’ said Hudson, his eyes twinkling.

For a moment Anna wasn’t sure where she was. It was a nasty reality jolt to remember she was sitting on a plane. Her mouth was dry but she checked it for dribble anyway. ‘Hi,’ she said, looking about her feeling slightly dazed. She was a lot better for her nap and not nearly as anxious as before.

‘About fifty minutes to landing,’ said Hudson, closing his book.

‘What?’ Anna was stunned. Had she really slept that long? She checked her watch – she had. ‘You’re like the horse whisperer but for phobic flyers.’

Hudson smiled. ‘Would you like something to eat? You’ll need to be quick before they start getting ready to land.’ He handed her the menu. It was like reading something from a posh restaurant.

Hudson waved a hand to attract the stewardess and she appeared at his side. ‘Yes, sir. What else can I get you?’

‘I’d like the crayfish sandwich, please,’ said Anna, noting how the stewardess seemed to struggle to drag her eyes away from Hudson. She gave him a fresh look. He was very handsome; he could easily be mistaken for a film star. She mused over how she’d almost come to accept it.

Anna’s sandwich arrived and she was aware Hudson was talking but she could no longer hear him properly. Her ears had gone all fuzzy. She began opening her mouth wide and waggling her head from side to side like she had water stuck in her ears. Hudson was watching her. ‘Here,’ he said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a lollipop. ‘It’ll help to clear the pressure in your ears.’

‘You think of everything.’

‘I do my best. Now don’t worry if there’s a little bump when the wheels hit the runway. It’s perfectly normal. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ said Anna and it really was. It was okay that she was on an aeroplane at thirty-nine thousand feet and it was okay that it was about to land in New York. A city she had dreamed of visiting since she was a teenager. Everything was a lot more okay thanks to Hudson Jones.

Hudson repeated the breathing exercises with her as they came in to land and Anna had to force herself to concentrate and stop grinning like a lunatic. But something made her act like a teenager every time he whispered in her ear.

Hudson led the way and they trooped off the plane and were soon reunited with their luggage, through immigration and being whisked away from the airport in a yellow cab. It felt very special to be cocooned in the back with Hudson. He had a brief chat with the driver and they were soon speeding towards Manhattan. Anna switched her phone off airplane mode and it beeped as it delivered messages from her dad, Sophie and Connor all asking if she had got on the plane. She was pleased to be able to fire off a few quick replies to say she had survived the flight and was now in New York. She felt like she needed to pinch herself. She was actually here. She’d done it.

‘I know I have no right to be, but I’m proud of you,’ said Hudson. ‘You have conquered your fear of flying. That’s remarkable.’

‘Only thanks to you and I can’t guarantee I won’t be a gibbering wreck when it’s time to go home.’ Although she had to admit she was quite proud of herself too.

‘Stay alert, we’re going to see a few of the sights on our way into Manhattan.’ Was she imagining it or had Hudson’s accent got a fraction stronger from being on American soil?

Hudson leaned in. ‘Look ahead.’ Through the windscreen she saw her first glimpse of New York City. The iconic grey skyline she’d seen many times on TV and in films.

‘This is the Brooklyn Bridge,’ said Hudson, leaning closer.

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