Her answering smile was equally unsure … like: ‘OK, so that came out of nowhere.’

But she didn’t complain and so he kissed her again, once, twice, softly. Then Nelson rushed up, nails clicking on the shale, and reared up on his hind legs as if to join in the fun. The waft of dog-breath definitely brought proceedings to a halt. Aaron grumbled, ‘How to destroy a moment, Nelson. Get down!’ and Clancy giggled.

‘I wish I’d brought a picnic now.’ He turned towards where the truck waited, handily close to a fountain Nelson could drink from. ‘Near the woods is a wildlife meadow. It’s full of wildflowers.’ Although, when he thought of it, also full of bees and wasps. Probably deer droppings too. ‘Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to eat?’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know the area. Good seaside fish and chips would be lovely.’

He laughed. ‘OK, let’s go to the pub in Thornham, where Nelson’s welcome. We can walk on the marshes after.’ He was happy to extend their time together.

Once again they drove along the A149, past the cottages, churches and garden centres, tourists enjoying the early summer sun at the outdoor cafés.

Over lunch, he told her about his childhood, days out in Wells-next-the-Sea and crabbing on the quayside. ‘I don’t know what the attraction was,’ he added. ‘We always put the crabs back in the sea before we went home.’

Clancy cut into her crispy fish batter with the side of her fork. Her nails were painted with tiny silver flecks that glinted as she moved. ‘We rarely got to the British seaside. It was more scuba diving in Belize or white-water rafting on African rivers. I took a few trips to Brighton or Hastings when I stopped travelling and came to the UK to go to uni so I’ve ticked the really big boxes like eating seaside rock.’

‘Whelks, winkles, jellied eels?’ he suggested.

She wrinkled her nose. She’d put on sunglasses and he caught his own reflection whenever she turned to look his way. ‘I’ve eaten alligator in New Orleans. Are they anything like that?’

‘I haven’t eaten alligator so I don’t know.’ He looked around at the other wooden tables filled with tourists, chatting and smiling. He loved Norfolk. He knew its beaches and cliffs, salt marshes and largely flat landscape. ‘I suppose I seem a real stay-at-home to you, born and brought up in the village I still live in. Working in a thirty-mile radius.’

She gazed at him. ‘There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve lived in some wonderful places but also some pretty manky ones. I’ve had more inoculations than I can count. I changed school ten times and never kept friends until I came to the UK to live. I finally made what I thought were lasting friends but now they aren’t really available to me,’ she added. Then stopped.

He gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

She smiled and said, ‘This is lovely,’ indicating her golden fish and crispy chips.