Penny hung up.

That would be a problem for her too. Her little car was no match for the amount of snow that was sitting on her driveway and the freezer van was too old and weak to make it through either. Once she got to the main road she would probably be OK, but her drive was so long it would take the next three or four hours to dig her car out. Henry’s Range Rover might be able to get out and the Christmas ball needed all the help it could get at the moment.

She pulled her coat, hat and gloves on and ran downstairs. She hovered for a moment outside the connecting door. It was silent on the other side; had they perhaps killed each other the night before?

She knocked tentatively on the door and a huge shadow loomed near the window for a second before it was opened. Henry smiled briefly at her before the smile faded and vanished. He looked tired and unbelievably sad. Behind him, Penny could see Daisy reading on the sofa, studiously ignoring both of them.

‘Henry, I need your help. The snow has caused massive problems for the ball, no one can get to the town to deliver the tables and chairs and food. I have a plan forming but I need to get down to the town to help.’

‘You want me to take you down?’

‘Yes, sorry.’ She glanced at Daisy. ‘I know this isn’t the best time but my car just won’t make it.’

Henry grabbed his coat and shoes straight away, not even questioning it, but to Penny’s great surprise Daisy was getting into her coat and shoes too.

Henry glanced at Penny and shrugged subtly. He wasn’t about to argue.

Between them they managed to dig the wheels out and they bundled into the car. It had stopped snowing and the sun was now trying to make an appearance.

Henry manoeuvred the car slowly down the drive. The car was struggling but at least they were making steady progress. Finally they hit the road that would take them to the town. It was covered in snow but because the gritter lorry had obviously been out the night before it wasn’t as bad as her drive.

They drove in complete silence down to the town and Penny had no idea what to say to make this situation any better. The fact that Daisy was coming with them to help with the ball stood for something but Penny still didn’t know where she stood in her relationship with Henry.

As they rounded a corner, Penny got her first glimpse of the town. Every rooftop glistened under a layer of sparkly cotton wool; it looked like something from a movie set as it twinkled in the midday sun. She had never seen the town look so beautiful before and it was a dramatic sight framed against the inky blue backdrop of the sea.

‘Look,’ Penny pointed out to Daisy, forgetting for a moment that they weren’t on speaking terms.

Daisy leaned forward and for a second, just a brief moment, her face reflected the awe of the scene, before the sullen grumpiness returned and Daisy sat back in her seat.

Penny sat and stared at the town for a moment before she swivelled round to talk to Daisy.

‘I am really sorry that we lied to you, it was never our intention to hurt you. Everything happened between me and your dad so quickly and neither of us expected it to. We just wanted you to get a bit more settled in, make some friends, be comfortable here before we suddenly announced that we were dating. I’m so sorry, I really am.’

Daisy looked out the window and refused to even acknowledge that Penny had spoken. Penny glanced back at Henry who shook his head in warning, telling her not to push it any further.

Penny sat back in her seat and sighed. ‘We need to stop at The Pilchard first, pick up a few outdoor heaters and take them to the marquee so we can start warming up the place.’

Henry nodded.

As they got closer to the main town centre, the roads became a lot clearer. There were loads of people on the street digging the snow off the roads and it made Penny smile to see how everyone was laughing and joking with each other. This was not a problem for the people of White Cliff Bay, this was a day out or an adventure.

They stopped at The Pilchard and with Daisy’s help and a few passers-by they managed to load four heaters into the back of the Range Rover.

They drove up to the marquee, which was in a field on the headland overlooking Silver Cove beach. The road hadn’t quite been cleared in that part of the town but, with a little help from the sun that seemed to be melting some of the snow and Henry’s car, they soon made short work of it.

They unloaded the heaters and Henry helped to set them up. Luckily the power generator and cables had all been delivered along with the marquee a few days before and the Portaloos, Penny knew, had been delivered the day before so that was something.

‘I’m going to help with the digging,’ Daisy announced, walking out the marquee before Henry could say anything.

‘I’ll get some more heaters from the other pubs, the sooner this place is warm the better.’

Penny nodded and watched him go. He hadn’t kissed her. He’d given her no sign at all that everything was going to be OK between them.

A van arrived and several tables were unloaded and Penny had to force her attention away from her crumbling relationship to make sure they were set up in the right place.

With no crumb of hope from Henry, Daisy still walking around under a black cloud and the marquee nowhere near ready, it was going to be a long day.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Penny stepped out the bath and towelled herself off. She had no idea what she was going to wear to the ball that night. She supposed she would go for the black dress she wore to the ball every year. It didn’t seem right somehow to wear the green dress she had worn on her first date with Henry when she wasn’t going to the ball with him.

At least the ball was going ahead, thanks to every single person in the town who had turned up to help, either by bringing food, helping to clear the snow or helping her and Maggie to set up the tables, chairs and decorations. She felt good about it, the community spirit, the fact that the charity would still get their money. But she still couldn’t raise a smile about her relationship with Henry.

She had barely seen him for the rest of the day. He’d returned once with more heaters but disappeared again without saying a word. He’d texted her later to say he had got caught transporting people around the town and, although lots of people had come and gone with food and cake, she hadn’t seen him again. She had no idea whether he’d even come home yet or was still helping out somewhere. She’d got a lift home from one of the local farmers in the end. She didn’t know whether they were ever going to get past this. They loved each other, but his fear of upsetting Daisy seemed to far outweigh any feelings he had for Penny. She wanted Daisy to be happy with them being together too but she was getting a little bit frustrated that Henry would allow his sixteen-year-old daughter – or rather the fear of hurting her – to dictate to him how he lived his life. And although she understood the history behind him being scared, there was a part of her that wanted him to fight for her, to put her on an equal footing with his daughter, not ten spaces behind.

She walked out into the bedroom and stopped. Lying on the bed was the beautiful silver dress she had tried on the other day with Daisy.

Resting on top of the dress was a little paper heart, with the words, ‘Put this on and meet me downstairs, Henry x.’

She found herself smiling hugely. Was she really going to go to the ball with her prince? Had he spoken to Daisy and straightened it all out?

She was tempted to run downstairs now and ask him, but she supposed she should get ready first. She dressed quickly, threw on some make-up and swept her hair up on top of her head.