I eyed the dark ale then took a sip. It absolutely hit the spot. I’d got out of the habit of drinking real ales since moving down south, but I’d realised I had a craving as soon as we’d walked into the pub. ‘Ooh, lovely. Bit like Old Peculiar. The boy chose well. Can I try yours? It looks a bit lighter.’

‘It is. Similar percentage, though.’

He handed it over and I took a sip. ‘I like it but I prefer mine. Thank you.’

Sam pulled out a stool and sat down opposite me.

‘You’re not one of those men who hates women drinking pints, are you?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t know why some men have an issue with it. Or some women. Nikki sometimes drank pints too, although she was more of a fan of bottled lager than real ale.’

I studied his face. That wistful look and the glint of tears had gone when saying her name.

‘Have I got a beer moustache?’ Sam rubbed across his lips.

‘No! Nothing like that. I noticed that it seemed easier for you to talk about Nikki just now. Have you had a breakthrough?’

‘I have. On North Bay last Sunday, thanks to you. In fact, I had two, but one of them came later.’

‘I’m assuming visiting the spot where it happened was one of them.’

He nodded. ‘I faced my past and it wasn’t as hard as I expected. That moment when the sun appeared was amazing.’

I could picture it vividly. ‘It was stunning. I feel quite privileged to have seen it.’

Silence.

Either I was going to have to ask or he was going to have to tell me. I sipped on my pint. Damn. I knew I’d break first. ‘And the second breakthrough…?’

His eyes held mine with a look so intense that my stomach did a flip. He had the most beautiful eyes. Deep blue with flecks of grey, like the ocean after a storm.

He broke eye contact and glugged down at least half of his pint in one then chewed on his lip. He seemed nervous and I couldn’t think why.

‘Did it have something to do with what the delightful Kirsty said?’ I prompted.

‘She has a way of getting under a person’s skin. She knows the exact buttons to press to make someone fall for her or to hurt them like hell. When she suggested that I hadn’t loved Nikki and had moved on already, she knew what she was doing.

‘But you hadn’t moved on. We were – are – just friends.’