Her phone rang out and she gave an apologetic smile. ‘Oh, excuse me. I’m so sorry but I must take this urgent call. I won’t be a moment.’

She went outside to have her conversation, leaving Gabe alone in the restaurant and giving him a chance to have a look around on his own. He climbed the open staircase to the mezzanine, which had a small bar at one end and doors onto a small balcony at the other. Gabe unbolted the doors and stepped onto the balcony, the fresh breeze and sharp sea scent immediately refreshing him after the stuffiness of the interior. From here, he could see the busy life of the harbour, watching the boats coming and going, listening to the shouts of the fishermen landing their catches and the gulls squabbling for scraps. He spotted a few familiar faces from his past. A man with a pot belly hauling nets who’d taunted him when he was younger … and an older lady with a wheeled trolley chatting to two other pensioners. Gabe smiled. Evie Carman. Some people were always a pleasure to see.

Gabe went back inside and locked the balcony doors, turning his attention to the mezzanine area and the floor space below. Yes. He could really make something of this place. With some TLC, he could refurbish the dining areas and balcony so people could enjoy cocktails overlooking the harbour on sunny evenings. In his imagination, chatter and laughter filled the space and delicious aromas wafted from the kitchens.

Ideas for the menu invaded his mind. Seafood dishes, of course, and local meats and produce. He could take on young chefs from the area and give them a chance just as he had been given in his first chef job in Cornwall.

On a fine evening such as this, it was all too easy to imagine putting down fresh roots in Porthmellow.

Was that why he’d asked Suzy to rent a place for way longer than he actually needed?

He hadn’t done anything so impulsive for a long time and he still didn’t quite know why he’d leased the place way beyond the time of the festival. He didn’t need to be in Porthmellow for all that time. His curiosity to see the town again – and most of all, to see Sam – had got the better of all rational sensible thinking. After their first encounter he was beginning to regret his decision. It was far too big and, yes, far too close to Sam for comfort.