Seconds later, Sam walked onto the stage, smiling. She obviously hadn’t seen Ryan – but how long would it be before she did notice him? He couldn’t be far away. ‘Hey. Knew you couldn’t be trusted. Why don’t you let a professional step in?’ she asked him.

Laughter and a few cheers rang out as Gabe pulled his headset off.

‘Are you OK?’ she murmured as they walked to the small backstage area. The audience were talking, and the buzz of voices grew louder.

Gabe’s heart was in his mouth, still fearing Ryan would appear again at any moment. ‘I’m fine, just caught my thumb. Like I say, occupational hazard.’

Sam pulled a face. ‘Tell me about it. Why don’t you get yourself sorted out while I help clean up and lay out fresh ingredients.’

‘You must be busy. There’s no need—’

She smiled at him, shaking her head in mock frustration yet her eyes told a different story. ‘Shut up and get your hand seen to, Mathias. That’s an order from your festival director.’

Gabe saluted with his good hand and had no choice but to submit to the medics’ attentions while Sam cleared away the prep area with the help of one of the volunteers. The medics cleaned his thumb and the blood eventually stopped flowing. The buzz of chatter rose from the audience, some of whom were standing up and stretching. A couple of gaps had appeared but there was no sign of Ryan, at least from what Gabe could see. Why had the idiot decided to turn up at the festival right at this moment?

‘Hmm. I don’t think it needs stitching.’ The medic prodded his hand with a gloved finger.

Gabe squashed down a wince. ‘I don’t have time for that anyway.’

The medic tutted. ‘You’d have no choice if it was any deeper. I’ll patch you up for now but you’ll have to be careful it doesn’t get infected.’

She put a dressing on and taped it up. Finally, Gabe was allowed to go. It seemed a ridiculously large bandage for a small nick, but it was in the crease of a knuckle and hard to stem. It was going to be difficult to continue the demonstration.

Sam came over. ‘How is it?’

‘The cut will heal, but they’ve bandaged me up like a mummy.’ He waggled his hand.

Sam screwed up her nose. ‘Does it hurt?’

‘Nah. I’ve had far worse, but it’s going to be tricky to prep and cook now. Plus, who wants to watch a chef with a bandage preparing food?’

Sam frowned. ‘Um … Why don’t you let me help?’