She closed the notebook with a snap. ‘You haven’t taken any video.’

He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t know what to do with it.’

‘But video content’s such a powerful tool,’ she said, looking shocked. ‘Let me show you.’ Taking out her phone, she directed him to walk away from her, looking down and right towards the lavender and a circular bed of clipped dark red hebe. Nelson obligingly jumped up at Aaron’s approach and loped to meet him, hurdling the corner of the border like a deer.

Clancy tapped at her phone, beaming. ‘What a fab spontaneous clip this will make. I’ve got iMovie so I can do some editing, just to show you.’ She dropped back onto the bench in the shady arbour and worked over the screen for a couple of minutes.

Then she handed the phone to him. ‘Look. A few seconds of moody video is great for websites or blogs. Do you have a YouTube channel? You can host it on there.’

Smiling at her enthusiasm, Aaron took the phone, warm from the sunshine and her hands, and she tucked her hair behind her ears to watch him press the triangular ‘play’ symbol. What he saw was himself in soft-focus, walking down the path, the sunshine slanting from behind the hall, easing into slow motion just as Nelson flew into shot like a professional photo bomber, gazing up with doggy adoration when Aaron stooped to scratch him behind the ears. ‘That is amazing!’ he said, glancing at her with respect.

‘May I see your camera?’ After investigating its functions, she got him to put the sprinklers on and took slow-mo of sunshine through the spray, explaining what she was doing so he could try it himself.

‘Fantastic,’ he said, when he’d viewed the end result.

‘I wasn’t one of the creatives at IsVid but we all had to know the basics,’ she answered eagerly. The smile faded. Then it reappeared with an almost visible effort and she went on to suggest they end with a couple of fanciful shots, like with her sitting on the top of one of the stone columns of the arbour.

He took the photos from below, she tucking her dress artfully around her injured knee.

‘It must be time for lunch,’ he said finally, reaching up to help her down from her perch. Realising his intention too late, she half-fell, and he moved swiftly to catch her.

She landed so that they were toe-to-toe, his hands just above her hips.

For several moments the world went blank, as if an electric charge had shot up his arms and stopped his brain. Clancy gazed up at him, the sunlight highlighting each individual shade of gold and green in her irises.

‘You’re beautiful,’ he heard himself say.

She laughed, but breathlessly.

Slowly, so she had time to turn away if she wanted, he dipped his head and brushed his lips to hers, leaning in as he came back for another taste, letting his hands move around her until they came together on her back. Her lips parted slightly under his and he let the kiss deepen, feeling as if she were questing, trying it out, deciding. Then he brought the kiss to a close before she could and smiled tentatively.