I looked over his shoulder at the bar: people were perched on stools with late-night cocktails. My eyes came back to him. "In fact, in the spirit of full disclosure, Ted, I'm not sure I'm a very nice person."

He laughed. "And I'm not sure you can be the judge of that."

"No, but it's true. Jilly called time and gave you your freedom. She wasn't grasping and greedy, like me. Hanging on in there."

"Which could also be interpreted as desperately in love and frightened to death."

Our eyes locked. It was the last word that had done it.

"Yes. I was."

"But you never . . . ?"

"Only on one occasion. When I was driving. Peter was in the back and a wall loomed up suddenly around a corner. I remember thinking, I could just drive into that, very fast. But no. It was a moment. Nothing more. Painting saved me. And Peter."

"Whereas Jilly had nothing," he said sadly. "Oh, she worked in a marketing consultancy, but it was a job. She didn't love it."

I could hear both of us wondering whether that made us more compatible: because we both had absorbing careers. Whether I'd say ‘yippee’ if he went to the South Pole for months on end, whilst I holed up in the attic with my easel and plenty of canvases. Yes. Probably. In fact, definitely. The cogs were whirring too loudly, though, and in another moment, I'd instinctively shied away. Found myself looking at my watch. I think he might have been about to suggest a cocktail at the bar but instead he said: “Time to go?"

I was relieved but cross with myself. Come on, Flora. Join in. Lovely man. Unattached, clearly likes you, very attractive, too, as Babs had so succinctly pointed out. In fact, as he paid the bill, it struck me rather forcibly that I wasn't at all sure I would mind him kissing me. I inwardly boggled as he smiled up at the waiter, pocketing his credit card. Lordy. Had I really thought that? This was surely progress.

As we wandered outside into the cool night air, a canopy of stars twinkled down from above. The estuary glittered with lights from the boats. Suddenly I was bold enough to say:

"Walk along the beach?"

He'd been looking around futilely for a taxi, but he glanced down at me, delighted.

"Capital idea."