‘Sometimes I want to do more than kissing with him but I’m scared. I don’t know what I’m doing and I certainly don’t want to get it wrong. And I just don’t know whether I’m ready for all that yet. But he is so lovely and he hasn’t had a girlfriend before. I want to share my first time with him.’

‘My first time I was a lot older than you are now. I was twenty years old and it was a very quick and mostly uncomfortable fumble in my boyfriend’s bedroom before he ran downstairs to have dinner with his mum and dad. But the first time with… my second boyfriend was beautiful and sweet and far more pleasurable. I was nervous but he was so kind and gentle. He made the whole experience about me and what I wanted and needed. In many ways I wish I had waited to share my first time with him instead. Your first time should be wonderful and it should be somewhere romantic, not some wooden shack where countless other couples have lost their virginity. But most importantly it needs to be with someone you love and trust completely.’

‘I do love and trust him.’

‘OK, but you’ve only been dating for a few days. Just take your time to really get to know him and when you are ready, if you trust him, maybe you can talk to him about your fears. But never ever do anything that you aren’t comfortable with or not ready to do. If he truly loves you, he will wait until you are ready.’

Daisy nodded solemnly. ‘I should go, he’s probably waiting for me.’

Daisy stood up and Penny experienced a brief moment of panic, of wanting to take her up to the loft and lock her up there until she was at least twenty-five. Should she stop her going, get her to stay at home until Henry came back and then he could deal with this in whatever way he saw fit? He was her dad after all. Penny was just the landlady.

Daisy moved to the door. ‘Thanks for this. You won’t tell my dad, will you?’

Penny swallowed and shook her head. ‘Look, wait a second.’ She moved to the drawer near her bed and pulled out a small handful of condoms. ‘I really don’t think you should sleep with Josh, not for a few weeks or months yet, not until you’re ready. But if you do sleep with him in the future, just be safe, OK?’

Daisy stared at the condoms, her pale skin blushing bright red, telling Penny that Daisy was nowhere near ready to make that commitment yet. Daisy grabbed the condoms and shoved them in her bag.

‘Just tell him you’re not ready, I’m sure he will understand.’

Daisy nodded and with a small smile, she walked out.

Penny stood in the doorway of her bedroom, watching Daisy disappear down the stairs. A few seconds later she heard the back door close. What the hell had she done?

Henry was walking back up the hill towards his home, whistling happily to himself. Life was pretty damned perfect right now. He had sorted out his problems with Clara at work, and while Edward had been in the office sacking his sister he had stumbled across Henry’s designs and had just phoned him to say he had taken them home to look at and really liked them. He was going to set up a meeting with one of the designers after Christmas and this time Edward would sit in on the meeting too. Daisy was really happy here in White Cliff Bay and he had the most wonderful girlfriend who he knew he was falling in love with. With only two days until the Christmas Eve ball, it couldn’t get any better.

He was taking a short cut over the grass, passing by the wooden shack at the end of the drive to his house, when he saw Penny a hundred yards away, walking Bernard. He waved at her and she stared at him as if he had three heads.

There was soft music coming from inside the shack and giggling. He smiled to himself; there was obviously a couple in there making the most of this secluded spot. He heard the giggle again as he passed the front door and stopped dead.

He recognised that giggle. He had heard that giggle every day for the last sixteen years. He doubled back a few paces and yanked open the door. His heart dropped into his stomach. Daisy was lying on the bench with Josh lying entirely on top of her as they kissed.

They broke apart and Daisy paled when she saw him. His eyes turned to Josh as he scrambled up off his daughter. He was momentarily relieved to see they both still had their clothes on.

‘What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing with my daughter?’ he spat, unable to control the rage that was boiling through him.

‘Dad, we were just kissing.’ Daisy sat up. Her t-shirt had fallen off her shoulder revealing her pale skin and a black lacy bra strap had also slid down her arm too. Had his hands been on her? The thought of this boy mauling her made him sick.

Suddenly Penny arrived in the hut, out of breath. ‘Henry, calm down, please.’

He barely heard her, his eyes snapping back to Josh as he wrapped his arm round Daisy’s shoulders. ‘Get your hands off my daughter before I break them.’

‘Henry!’ Penny said, incredulously. ‘He’s a child.’

‘Dad, don’t talk to him like that. Josh, just go, please. I don’t want you to get hurt.’

Josh stood up. The boy was huge and Henry’s stomach rolled with the thought of Josh and Daisy together.

Inexplicably Josh moved to stand between Henry and Daisy. ‘I’m not leaving you with him when he’s this angry. I’m not going to let you hurt her.’

Henry was staggered by this. The thought that he could hurt his own daughter was laughable. Sure, he wanted to punch or kick something but he could never do anything to hurt Daisy. But what was even more disturbing was Josh’s protective attitude towards her. Henry expected him to run away as soon as he had stepped foot in the hut but Josh clearly really cared about Daisy and that threw him even more.

Penny placed a hand on his arm. ‘Henry, they were just kissing.’

He ignored her and turned his attention back to Daisy. ‘Get up, we’re going home and you’re never going to see him again.’ Somewhere at the back of his head he knew he was being unreasonable but he couldn’t engage with the rational part of his brain right now.

‘Dad! We’re in love.’

‘In love? It’s been a week!’

‘So?’

His sixteen-year-old daughter was in love. How had this happened? It seemed like only yesterday he’d been putting her hair in pigtails and taking her off for her first day in school. He had to calm down, he was reacting really badly to this. It had just shocked him to find his daughter in that position. Penny was right, they were just kissing. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Daisy looked at Penny. ‘I can’t believe you told him, you promised to keep it a secret.’

‘I didn’t tell him, I swear.’

Rage exploded in his gut again as he rounded on Penny. ‘You knew? You knew she was seeing Josh and you never told me?’

Penny paled guiltily. ‘I… I wanted to but…’

Henry turned away and snatched up Daisy’s bag. ‘We’re going home.’

The bag caught on the leg of a chair and the contents spilled out on the floor, including three condoms.

Everyone stared at the condoms in shock.

Finally Henry found his voice. ‘Just kissing, eh?’

‘I gave them to her,’ Penny said, quickly.

‘You gave my daughter fucking condoms? You knew she was dating Josh and not only did you let her come down here to see him, but you pushed her out the door with a handful of condoms and told her to have a good time. Who the hell do you think you are?’

Penny took a step back away from him, wounded by his words.

‘I wasn’t going to sleep with him,’ Daisy said. ‘I talked to Penny about it and she told me how wonderful her first time was with her second boyfriend, how special it was and how important it was that I waited until I was ready. I wanted my first time to be beautiful like that, I didn’t want to be like you that had a drunken fumble at a party which you regretted for the rest of your life.’