Chloe threw him a smile that hid the turmoil inside her. ‘Good thinking. The dustbins are in the store behind the building. Thanks for helping out with such a dirty job.’

‘I’ve done a lot worse than this.’ He grinned and held up the bag, showing off his muscular, tanned arms without even realising it. Drew did so many things that showed what a lovely, sexy guy he was without him ever having a clue. He was so different to Fraser who was handsome, yes, but carried his attractiveness around like a Rolex, keen for everyone to notice.

Chloe delved into the pot on the counter top. ‘Hold on. You’ll need the keys to the bin store,’ she said.

She handed him a key on a wooden penguin fob. Hannah had given it to her. Drew let the bag rest on the floor and pushed the key in his jeans pocket.

‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ he said.

His blue eyes twinkled. Chloe felt a twinge of lust, which was most inconvenient when a man was holding up a bin bag and you’d resolved not to fancy him anymore. She also reminded herself that he probably had a girlfriend and that, in a way, she would be two decades older than him in a few hours’ time, but even this unhappy thought didn’t dampen down the fire.

‘I’ll take the mezze onto the balcony,’ she said.

After Gabe’s dishes had been hoovered up, it was time to re-heat and serve the hot food. The smells were divine, with an array of aromas competing with each other.

Chloe had pre made the jiaozi. The horn-shaped dumplings were filled with pork and chopped leek, spring onion and celery. They were a little misshapen, and not consistent, as always, but then Chloe didn’t get much practice these days. Hannah had loved making them when she’d been younger and had been surprisingly good, calling them ‘mini stegosaurus’. Her daughter had been proud of her Chinese and Welsh heritage, still was … Perhaps, one day, Ruby would be too.

She put the dumplings on to boil. The flat would get a little steamy, but she couldn’t help that. They needed to be served hot. She lifted them out of the pan with Sam’s help and fried them before serving them up on a large platter to ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ and squeals of delight.