Just at that moment she glanced towards him and saw him smiling at her, his eyes lingering on her with warmth and an indefinable something else. Her heart caught in her chest.

Her voice faltered to a stop. Fear and confusion clutched at her throat like some terrible beast, and suddenly she was finding it difficult to breathe.

I guess I’m just waiting for someone who makes me feel good – someone I can’t bear to be apart from. Juliet was so lucky to find her Romeo and I guess I’m just waiting for mine to turn up.

She’d been feeling pleased with a couple of moves, had thought she was gaining the upper hand. But she’d been overconfident. She’d failed to notice his stealthy approach until he turned the tables on her with a move she hadn’t expected and now she was fighting for her life.

Life was too short to sit around waiting for Mr Perfect.

How could she admit that it wasn’t the cold that had made her shiver, but forbidden thoughts of her stepbrother?

Sometimes it is worth taking a risk, no matter what the consequences.

He looked at her and could see she was trembling, her face even paler than usual and her eyes wide and vulnerable. His heart went out to her and he reached towards her, gathering her much smaller hand into his.“It’s OK Rosa. Whatever you have to say to me, it’s OK. Don’t be afraid – nothing will come between us now.

As they left the restaurant and mounted the stairs he looped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him, willing her to love him as much as he loved her. Even a fraction of the amount would be enough.

Rosa had achieved the sort of serene and confident happiness that Tamsin had never really known. She was connected to Roberto in a way that made Tamsin long for something similar. A man with whom she could share all parts of her life, someone to be her equal and her inspiration.