She was nervous at first, but Jake seemed to know a lot of people there, and everyone was very friendly. There was quite a bit of interest when he introduced her as his fiancée, and Cassie wondered how many of them had known Natasha. It soon became clear, in fact, that they should have prepared their story more carefully.

‘So, where did you pop up from, Cassie?’ someone asked, and Jake put an arm around her waist.

‘We knew each other years ago,’ he said. ‘We met up again recently.’

‘Oh, so you’ve found your first love again? How sweet!’

‘Well, not really,’ said Jake, just as Cassie said,

‘Yes. Jake was the first boy who ever kissed me.’

There was a tiny silence. ‘Jake wasn’t in love with me.’ Cassie rose to the occasion magnificently. ‘But I had a thing about him for years. Didn’t I?’ she said to Jake, but he was looking so baffled that she swept on, feeling rather like Michelle at the wedding fair. ‘Anyway, the moment we met up again, it just clicked.’

She chattered on, inventing an entire love-affair while Jake watched her distractedly. He had been completely thrown by that kiss out there in the lobby. What had possessed him to kiss her like that? But she had looked so warm and enticing, he couldn’t help himself. Now he could still taste the soft lips that had parted in surprise, still feel her body melting into his.

As the party wore on, Jake was achingly aware of Cassie by his side, a vibrant, glowing figure chatting animatedly to whoever they met. She was behaving beautifully-much better than him, anyway, Jake thought. Look at her, showing off her ring, turning a laughing face to his, leaning into him as if it was the most natural thing in the world for her to be here with him.

It was obvious that everyone found her so charming that Jake began to feel almost resentful. He didn’t want Cassie to be able to play her role so well. He wanted her to be as disconcerted by him as he was by her.

She seemed to be managing perfectly well on her own, so he joined a neighbouring group in the hope that a little distance would help. But it was almost impossible to concentrate on chit-chat when he could feel Cassie somewhere behind him, not touching him, not talking to him, not even looking at him, but her presence as immediate as if she had laid a hand against his bare skin.

Jake finished his champagne in a gulp and looked around for a fresh glass, only to find himself face to face with the two people he least wanted to see. They saw him at the same time. Natasha looked appalled, Rupert predictably amused.

‘Well, well, look who’s here,’ said Rupert. ‘We’d no idea you’d be here too, Jake-but it’s inevitable we had to meet some time, I suppose. Much best to get the first meeting over in civilised surroundings, I can’t help feeling. After all, we’re a little old for pistols at dawn, don’t you think?’

Jake ignored that. ‘Rupert,’ he acknowledged him curtly. ‘And Natasha.’ It was odd, he thought, how much of a stranger she seemed already. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m fine,’ she said, but Jake didn’t think that she was looking her best. She was still beautiful, of course, but after Cassie she seemed a bit muted. She had none of Cassie’s vitality, none of her warmth. It was hard to remember now how bitter he had felt at losing her.

Rupert put his arm around her. ‘We’ve just been talking about getting married, haven’t we, darling?’ The question was for Natasha, but the words were aimed squarely at Jake. Rupert’s smile was slyly triumphant. ‘It’s an awkward situation, knowing how much Natasha meant to you, but we hope you’ll be pleased for us.’

‘Or are you just hoping that I’ll end the trust?’ Jake asked.

‘I believe marriage to a sensible woman was the condition-and Natasha is certainly that, aren’t you, sweetheart?’

‘Settling down was also a condition,’ said Jake. ‘When you’ve been married a year or so, I’ll consider it.’

There was an unpleasant silence. Jake and Rupert eyed each other with acute dislike, and Jake found himself longing for Cassie. He could hardly go and drag her away from the conversation she was having just because he was confronting Rupert and Natasha on his own.

But suddenly there she was anyway, almost as if she’d sensed that he needed her, touching his rigid back, tucking her hand into his arm. Jake felt something unlock inside his chest.

Cassie studied Natasha. She was very lovely, with immaculate, silvery-blonde hair, green eyes, flawless skin, and intimidatingly well-groomed. From her perfect eyebrows to the tips of her beautifully manicured nails, Natasha was a model of elegance and restraint. She was wearing a simple top and silk trousers, but the combination of subdued neutrals and striking jewellery was wonderful.

‘Classy’ was the only word Cassie could think of to describe her, and her heart sank. Next to Natasha, she felt like a garish lump.

Why hadn’t she thought to wear black or elegant neutral colours like every other woman here? Cassie wondered miserably. She should have known this would be a sophisticated party. She looked ludicrously out of place in her vivid, purple dress and pink shoes. No wonder Jake had been distracted since they’d come in. He must be horribly embarrassed by her. He was used to being with Natasha, who fitted into this world in a way she never could.

How awful for Jake, to come face to face with the woman he loved on the arm of a man he hated, and to realise just what he had lost. Cassie had sensed his sudden tension somehow, and had turned to see him with Rupert and a woman she had known instantly was Natasha. His shoulders were set rigidly, and his back when she had touched it to let him know that she was there had been as stiff and as unyielding as a plank.

Well, she might not be Natasha, but she was here, and she could help him through this awkward meeting if nothing else.

Forcing a smile, Cassie turned her attention to Rupert. Even if she hadn’t seen his photo in the papers over the years, she would have recognised him. He was still astonishingly good-looking, with golden hair, chiselled features and mesmerising blue eyes. It was only when you looked a little closer that you could see the lines of dissipation around his eyes.

And the faint bump in his nose where it had been broken.

Cassie hoped Jake could see it, too.

‘Hello, Rupert,’ she said pleasantly.

Rupert looked at her, arrested. ‘Do we know each other?’

‘We used to,’ said Cassie. ‘Portrevick?’ she prompted him. ‘Cassie Grey? My father was Sir Ian’s estate manager.’

‘Good God, Cassie! I do remember now, but I would never have recognised you.’ Rupert’s eyes ran over her appreciatively. ‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled, evidently remembering how she had looked the last time he’d seen her. ‘Who would have thought it? You look absolutely gorgeous! How lovely to see you, darling.’ Taking his arm from around Natasha, he kissed her warmly on both cheeks.

The force of his charm was hard to resist, but Cassie felt Jake stiffen, and she made herself step back. ‘How are you, Rupert?’

‘All the better for seeing you,’ he said, eyeing her with lazy appreciation. ‘Where have you been hiding yourself all these years?’

How odd, thought Cassie. Here she was with Rupert, who hadn’t recognised her, and was doing a very good impression of being bowled over by her looks. It was just like her fantasy.

But in her fantasy she hadn’t been aware of Jake beside her, dark and rigid with hostility. She could see a muscle twitching in his jaw. He must be hating this.

‘Growing up,’ she said, and for the first time realised that it was true. She could look at Rupert and see that he was just a handsome face, a teenage fantasy, but not a man you could ever build a real relationship with. Had Natasha come to realise that as well? Cassie wondered. It seemed to her that the other woman’s eyes were on Jake rather than Rupert, and when Cassie took Jake’s hand Natasha’s gaze sharpened unmistakably.

Jake’s fingers closed hard around hers. ‘Cassie, this is Natasha.’ He introduced her stiffly.

Natasha smiled, although it looked as if it was a bit of an effort. ‘You’ve obviously met before,’ she said.

‘We all grew up together in Cornwall,’ said Cassie cheerfully. ‘I was madly in love with Rupert for years.’ She laughed. ‘You know how intense adolescent love is? I promise you, I adored him.’

‘You mean you don’t any more?’ said Rupert with mock disappointment, and with one of his patented smiles guaranteed to make a girl go weak at the knees.

Ten years ago, Cassie would have dissolved in a puddle at a smile like that. This time her knees stayed strangely steady. ‘Not since I discovered what real love is,’ she said, smiling at Jake, who looked straight back into her eyes; for a second the two of them were quite alone.

And then her knees did wobble.

Rupert’s brows shot up. ‘You and Jake…? How very unlikely!’ His voice was light and mocking, but Cassie refused to be fazed.

‘That’s what we thought, didn’t we, darling?’ she said to Jake, and to her relief he managed to unclench his jaw at last.

‘We thought we were completely different,’ he agreed. ‘And it turns out that we are made for each other.’

‘What do your parents think about that?’ Rupert asked Cassie smoothly. ‘The Greys and the Trevelyans used to move in rather different social circles, as I remember.’

Cassie lifted her chin. ‘They’re delighted,’ she told him. ‘They’re coming back to Portrevick for the wedding,’ she added, and heard Natasha’s sharp intake of breath.

‘Wedding?’

‘We’re getting married at Christmas.’ Cassie held out her hand to show her the ring, and then wished she hadn’t. Her nail polish was bright-pink and chipped, and looked slatternly compared to Natasha’s perfect French manicure. She pulled her hand back quickly.

‘Engaged?’ said Rupert. ‘That’s very sudden, isn’t it?’

‘It must seem that way to other people,’ said Cassie, annoyed by his mocking expression. Anyone would think he didn’t believe them. ‘But to me it feels as if I’ve been waiting all my life to find Jake again.’

Slipping an arm around his waist, she leant adoringly into him. ‘I can’t believe how lucky I am. I always thought about him, but I never dreamt we would bump into each other again, and as soon as we did…bang! That was it, wasn’t it, darling?’

‘It was,’ said Jake. ‘It’s enough to make you believe in fate. Cassie came along just when I needed her. I should thank you,’ he said to Rupert and Natasha. ‘I didn’t think so at the time, I must admit, but you both did me a huge favour. If it hadn’t been for you, I might never have found Cassie again.’

‘So pleased to have been of help,’ said Rupert a little tightly.

Natasha managed a bleak smile. ‘Christmas is very soon. I thought you didn’t believe in rushing into things,’ she said to Jake.

‘I didn’t until I met Cassie. But I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her, so there doesn’t seem much point in waiting.’

Cassie saw the stricken look in Natasha’s eyes and for a moment felt sorry for her. But only for a moment. Natasha had hurt Jake. She had left him for Rupert, but it was clear she wasn’t at all happy to see him with someone else. It wouldn’t do her any harm to think about just what she had thrown away, Cassie decided.

‘It’s going to be a bit of a rush to get everything organised in time,’ she said, with another adoring look at Jake. ‘But you’re all for it, aren’t you?’

‘Absolutely,’ he said, and a smile creased his eyes as he looked back at her. ‘I’m just worried about where I’m going to get that Regency-buck outfit.’

‘Regency buck?’ echoed Rupert with a contemptuous look as Cassie smothered a giggle, and Jake met his eyes squarely.

‘Cassie has always had a Mr Darcy fantasy. If she wants me in a cravat, I’ll wear one,’ he lied. ‘Actually, Rupert, you might be able to give me a few tips about how to wear one. You look like the kind of man who knows his way around a cravat.’

Rupert’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Clearly he couldn’t decide whether Jake was joking about what he was wearing, but he knew a snide attack when he heard one. ‘I’m afraid not, old chap,’ he said. ‘Natasha, there’s Fiona-didn’t you want to have a word with her? We’d better move on. Congratulations, and it was marvellous to see you again, Cassie.’

He produced a card as if by magic and handed it to her, as Natasha nodded to them both and headed off as if grateful to escape. ‘We should meet up and talk about old times,’ he said caressingly in her ear as he kissed her goodbye. ‘I know Jake works all hours, but, as you’re so in love, I’m sure he trusts you off the leash! Why don’t you give me a ring some time?’