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‘Sounds good to me.’ Jake turned to the lady selling tickets. ‘Three strips please. And if you can make one of the tickets the bacon winner, all the better.’

The woman laughed and pulled off the tickets as Evelyn reached for her purse.

‘Please, let me.’ Jake had already produced his wallet to pay for their tickets.

‘Thank you.’ Evelyn gave him a smile that was worth a hundred raffle tickets.

‘Thank you, Jake,’ Summer agreed without being prompted. She pulled away, and for a moment Jake felt a little saddened. ‘Can I go play with my school friends?’

‘Of course you can.’ Evelyn smiled. ‘But promise not to leave the hall. And stay in sight please. OK?’

‘OK. See you later Jake.’

‘Have fun!’ He grinned at her as he slipped his hand back round Evelyn’s waist and snuggled her against his side.

‘She really is amazing.’ Evelyn watched as Summer darted off through the already busy room and started chatting animatedly with a group of children.

‘She takes after her mum.’ Jake gave her a squeeze as she rested her head briefly against his shoulder.

‘So what do you want to do? Would you like a drink, or a quick wander first?’

‘I think a wander. The last time I came to Spring Fling, it was nothing like this. I can’t believe how much everything has changed. It’s so beautiful and professional.’ She leaned towards him and lowered her voice. ‘I’m actually a bit surprised they still have a meat raffle alongside all this elegance - it’s quite a juxtaposition.’

He laughed. ‘There was talk about stopping it one year, but there was so much outcry from the community that they didn’t dare. You know, I’m surprised you didn’t know all of this, given your mum’s on the organising committee, along with mine and half the Women’s Institute.’

‘She said they’d made a few changes, and that they raised more money than they used to, but I hadn’t imagined anything like this.’ She gestured around the whole room. ‘It’s beautiful. I’d worried about being overdressed, but now I think I might be underdressed.’

Jake stared at her in surprise. Had she really no idea how beautiful she looked? The silky green fabric followed the curves of her torso and swirled around her shoulders in some complicated, drapey design that seemed to barely cling to her creamy skin, before dropping into a skirt that swished around her lovely legs and whispered as she moved. The dark green emphasised the colour of her eyes, and made her skin look creamy and touchable and he already wanted to place kisses along the neckline of the dress and screw the silk up in his fingers. He swallowed hard. ‘You look absolutely perfect.’

She blushed prettily, and reached out to smooth the lapels of his jacket. ‘You look good too. I like you in a suit.’ At that moment, with the sparkle in her eyes, he would have promised to wear a suit every day.

‘It’s a bit different than the usual scrubs or jeans vet uniform, I’ll give you that.’ He guided her around the edge of the hall, his hand against her lower back, letting her take in the room.

‘So, what’s the charity this year? Do you know? I’d like to have a look at the silent auction and probably put a bid or two on.’

‘We’ve got two. Half of the funds raised will be going to the church to modernise their heating system, and the other half to help refurbish the women’s refuge for the county.’

Evelyn looked at him, eyes wide. ‘That seems … ambitious.’

‘Not really. The Christmas Tree Dance last December raised nearly £30,000. There’s no reason to think this Spring Fling won’t be as successful.’ He smiled as she gaped at him in amazement. ‘Since the WI took over the organising, these events have been really popular – and successful. The tickets for this one sold out in three days flat.’

Evelyn gaped at him. ‘Mum never said they were that successful. I had no idea. How did you get tickets?’

‘I might know someone with connections.’ He gave her a cheeky wink.

Evelyn lurked at the back of the hall by the silent auction lots, took another sip of the dangerously moreish spring punch and waved back to Summer. She was jumping around with a group of other children, bopping vaguely in time to the music, and it thrilled Evelyn to see her so easily fitting in. She turned her attention to Jake who was still talking at their table with his brother, and then surreptitiously added her initials and a very specific bid to one of the auction lots, and slipped it into the envelope. £775 was quite a lot for a check-up and weekend of dog sitting, but since Jake had already refused her attempts to pay him back for treating Tilly, she’d make a donation against his name and auction lot instead.

When she looked back up, Jake was watching her, and she waved and wound her way back through the crowd to their table.

‘Hey.’ He took her hand and placed a kiss on it as she sat down, then wrapped his fingers around hers in a gesture so easy and intimate that she had to hold back a sigh of contentment. ‘Did you find anything good to bid on?’

‘Maybe.’ She certainly wasn’t going to tell him.

A few moments later, Summer stomped back to the table and flung herself down in a seat, a dangerous pout on her face.

‘What’s wrong, sweetheart?’ Evelyn reached across the table.

‘Nothing.’ Summer snapped in a tone that said everything, as she folded her arms, pulling away from the comfort Evelyn offered.