Henry smiled at the interference. ‘How about we have some fun with them? Get our own back for trying to set us up.’

‘What did you have in mind?’

‘We could go and pretend we hate each other.’

Penny laughed. ‘I like the sound of that. We could still share a car though, their front door is round the side, so they wouldn’t know.’

‘OK, let’s go in mine, you can direct me in case I get lost,’ Henry suggested.

Henry got in the car and Penny got in too. They drove down the hill, through the town and pulled up on the drive at a large smart whitewashed house that had round windows and garish lights everywhere. Snowmen, Santas and several reindeer were lit up on the lawn and a ‘Merry Christmas’ sign flashed in one of the downstairs windows.

He told Penny to go ahead of him and as she knocked the door he got out the car and slowly walked up the drive. He saw Maggie answer the door – well, he saw her huge belly first and then Maggie appeared. Maggie greeted Penny warmly and then smiled in greeting at Henry.

‘Hello, I’m Maggie. It’s lovely to finally meet you properly.’ She reached up to kiss him on the cheek. ‘It’s such a funny coincidence that you’re both here tonight. I had no idea Daniel had invited you round until about half hour ago and I invited Penny and I forgot to mention it to Daniel. But what a happy happenstance.’

Henry had to stop himself from laughing at the lie and instead he deliberately forced a small smile onto his face and flashed Penny the briefest of glares. Penny quickly looked away so Maggie wouldn’t see her smile. She clearly wasn’t very good at acting, though Maggie had already seen the glare from him and her smile fell from her face.

Daniel appeared in the hall as Henry and Penny stepped in and closed the front door behind them.

‘Henry, so good of you to come,’ Daniel said as Penny and Maggie walked off to the kitchen. Henry heard Penny whispering loudly to Maggie how she didn’t like him and how she thought he was an ass. He had better act his part too.

‘I can’t believe you invited Penny too, she’s the most annoying person in the world, she’s so whiny.’ Henry said, making his voice loud enough for Maggie and Penny to hear.

Daniel’s face fell but, before Henry could get another word out, Maggie barrelled down the hall towards him and he had never been more terrified of anything in his life as he was in that moment.

‘How dare you talk about my friend like that?’ Maggie slammed her finger into his chest. ‘Penny is the sweetest, most lovely, kindest, warmest person you will ever meet and I won’t have you speak about her like that in my house.’ She flung the front door open. ‘Now get out.’

Henry made a mental note to never cross a pregnant woman, and especially not a pregnant Maggie ever again.

In fact he was too scared now to tell the truth in case she killed him for lying to her.

Penny came rushing down the hall. ‘Maggie, it’s OK, we were just joking. We were just going to pretend that we hate each other to get you guys back for trying to set us up.’

Maggie looked between the two of them, her nostrils flaring. ‘This was a joke?’

Henry nodded.

Penny wrapped an arm round his waist. ‘We’re actually seeing each other, though we are keeping it a secret for a few weeks because we want Daisy to get settled in her new home before I’m introduced as the new girlfriend.’

Henry would have preferred not to completely out their relationship, but he hoped if Penny trusted Maggie enough to keep quiet then he could too. Besides, any kind of lying to Maggie now was not going to go down well.

Maggie looked between them, wondering if they were speaking the truth, and as Henry nodded, Maggie’s face split into a huge smile.

‘You’re together?’

Penny nodded.

Maggie squealed and threw her arms around first Penny and then Henry. ‘I’m so happy for you both.’

Daniel laughed. ‘Easy there, Mags, they’ve been on one date, they’re not getting married or anything.’

‘Penny, come to the kitchen with me, I want to hear all about it,’ Maggie said. ‘You boys can go and bond in the front room for a bit before dinner is ready.’

Daniel ushered him into the front room whilst giggling and whispering started in the kitchen. He wondered how much Penny was actually divulging. When he heard a squeal of excitement from Maggie, he guessed it might have been about sex rather than the nice restaurant he had taken her to.

‘I’m so glad you were only joking, I was afraid I’d have to punch you for saying those things about Penny and that wouldn’t have ended well for me,’ Daniel said.

Maggie came waddling out the kitchen carrying two bottles of beer. She fixed Henry with a knowing smile before she left him and Daniel alone.

Daniel raised his beer bottle to Henry. ‘To new friendships.’

Henry chinked the bottle against his friend’s and took a big swig.

‘What did Clara want to talk to you about today anyway? She never gets involved with the carpenters or any of the factory business, she doesn’t seem to do anything actually.’

Henry sat down and slowly peeled away the label on the side of the bottle. ‘I’m really worried actually. I don’t know if I’m going to be working there much longer. She came on to me.’

Daniel sat down opposite him. ‘Shit, you don’t want to get involved with the boss’s sister.’

‘I’m with Penny so she doesn’t hold any interest at all; in fact even if I wasn’t with Penny she wouldn’t hold any interest for me. She tried it on with me last night but I made it very clear I wasn’t available and I thought that would be the end of it. But she seems to think she has a sense of entitlement, that because she’s the owner of the company that I’d be jumping at the chance to sleep with her. I told her I wasn’t interested and she basically said that if I wanted to continue working there I’d reconsider.’

Daniel’s eyes bulged. ‘She did not say that?’

Henry nodded.

‘You have to tell Edward, he would be furious.’

‘Would he really believe me over his sister though? I’m the new guy, he doesn’t know me. I’m hoping it won’t come to that.’

‘What did you say?’

‘I told her if she tried to blackmail me into sleeping with her again, I would slap a sexual harassment suit on the company so fast and sue them for every penny they had.’

Daniel went very pale. ‘You did what? You threatened her?’

Henry ran his fingers through his hair. ‘It probably wasn’t my best move. She just pissed me off. I honestly don’t know whether I’ll have a job to return to after Christmas and Daisy and I have only just arrived down here. If I lose my job, I don’t think I can afford to stay.’

‘What else could you have done? You can’t let her blackmail you like that. And if you had slept with her, it would have ended very badly if Edward found out. Oh mate, I don’t know what to suggest.’

Henry sighed. Everything had seemed so perfect for a few days and now this had ruined everything.

But as Penny walked in with Maggie and he pulled her down by his side, he knew there was no way he could leave White Cliff Bay now.

Penny smiled as Henry took her hand and they walked down the driveway towards his car. He had been very tactile all night, sitting next to her, holding her hand at the table, sitting with his arm round her as they chatted to Maggie and Daniel. His affection for her came so naturally and she loved it.

She was worried though. Something had happened at his work today to upset him. The fact that he had kept it to himself worried her too. Despite his smiles and easiness around her friends, there was something eating at him, she could tell that, and somehow she knew it had to do with Clara.

He opened the car door for her and she slid into the passenger seat as he walked round to the driver’s side.

As soon as he closed his door, he leaned across towards her, cupping the back of her head with his large hands and planting a soft, sweet kiss on her lips.