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‘You look great too.’ She kissed him on a bit of his cheek not bandaged up. ‘Well, the bits I can see do! I can’t believe how long it’s been. How are you?’

‘I’m good, thanks. But maybe it’s been longer than I realised if you’ve finally made it here! I thought you were going to be foggy-eyed forever.’

‘Part of me still can’t believe it.’ She smiled. ‘So, are you a witch or something?’

‘I’m guessing your awakening is pretty new, as that’s not really polite to ask.’

‘Oops, sorry!’ She covered her mouth.

‘It’s OK, given it’s you asking… Yeah, I’m sighted – I can see magic and it makes my design work a bit easier than if I had nothing – but I’m not heavily gifted. My mum on the other hand…’

‘Her art, right?’

‘Obviously. Now you can see, you should stop by and have another look. It’s really something!’

‘I will!’ She gave him another tight squeeze as Aiden watched, enjoying seeing her so happy but starting to feel a little awkward. ‘When did you get back?’

‘Just last week.’

‘Are you visiting, or can I hope that you’re back back?’

‘A bit of both, hopefully. Firm’s expanding well, so I’m hoping to be a bit more flexible in the future. And I’ve missed this weird old place. And the people. Speaking of, are you going to introduce me to your friend?’

‘Of course! Sorry! This is Aiden.’ She turned back to him and smiled so happily that he forgave her instantly. ‘He works with Ophelia. Aiden, this is Jamie. We’ve known each other since school. He sort of became an extra brother to me and Katie and tried to keep us out of trouble growing up. Well, when he wasn’t the one causing it!’

‘Aww, that’s sweet.’ The man hugged Mia against his side. ‘But probably pretty accurate. So, you’re the one trying to organise the eternally chaotic Ophelia? How’s that going?’

‘She’s not so bad.’ Aiden shook the man’s hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’

‘He doesn’t just organise her,’ Mia told Jamie. ‘Aiden’s a fantastic baker too. You have to try the toadstool cakes and pumpkin biscuits. They’re his work, and they’re amazing!’

‘I will.’

‘So, it sounds like you’ve been away for a bit?’ Aiden needed to find something polite to say to this man with his arm still wrapped around Mia.

‘Yeah, I moved down south for work. There was more work for my company, plus it’s where my partner is from and he had good contacts down there.’

‘Jamie runs a hugely successful construction firm. They take old and proven building techniques and combine them with modern technology to build some amazing, really cutting-edge buildings and offices that are almost zero-carbon impact. That’s about right, isn’t it?’

‘You’re overselling me.’ Jamie shrugged. ‘I spend most of my working hours either covered in construction grime or up to my elbows in blueprints and red tape.’

‘You’re underselling yourself,’ Mia argued. ‘Your mum showed me the magazine article about the visitor centre you built. It was absolutely beautiful.’

‘It was just a local publication,’ Jamie told Aiden. ‘She’s talking nonsense. Ignore her.’

‘I never would.’ Aiden met Mia’s gaze and smiled at her.

‘Right, and that’s clearly my cue to bugger off and let you get back to your dancing.’ Jamie shook Aiden’s hand again and patted Mia on the head, making her scowl at him, and making Aiden feel a whole lot better – even though he knew he had no right to feel that way.

‘When I said he was like a brother, I meant an annoying one! But good luck!’

‘Thanks. You too!’

She ran her hands through her hair, making it shimmer and move, before stepping back into Aiden’s arms.

He lost track of how long they danced for, which wasn’t surprising as Mia often made him forget a lot of the worst things in his life, so stealing his ability to keep track of something as insignificant as time was almost to be expected. He let his hand wander over her dress a little, so his fingers could stroke along her bare back at the top.

Her eyes locked with his, warm, open and trusting.