‘Is that what he does? Messes with your head?’

‘I’m beginning to think that’s all he’s ever done. Telling me how special I am one minute, then cold as a bloody fridge the next …’

‘The man’s a prat. Not worth thinking about.’

‘Oh, believe me, I am trying, really hard, not to think about him.’

‘And succeeding?’

‘Most of the time.’

‘It’s his loss, you know. He was probably regretting your break-up as soon as it happened.’

‘Oh, I don’t think so. But let’s not have any more talk about Joe, okay?’

‘Okay. How about you then? Prue. Where does that name come from? I don’t think I’ve ever met a Prue before.’

‘Short for Prudence. As in careful, which I suppose I am. My mum’s called Faith, and my gran was Verity, meaning truth. All good, old-fashioned, God-fearing names. A family tradition.’

‘I like them. All of them.’

‘Well, Aaron’s pretty Biblical too, isn’t it?’

‘Sure is. Although not in my case. I was actually named after my mum’s favourite auntie, Nora. Spelt backwards, see? Or as close as she could get it and still end up with a real name. Would have been so much easier if I had been born a girl!’ He gazed out across the sparkling water. ‘So what names do you have lined up for your own kids? And don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. Most people have. You girls, especially. Like knowing what sort of wedding dress you want to wear before you’ve even met the right bloke.’

‘We do not!’

‘Okay then. For the first time, as you’ve never given it a moment’s thought before, what names would you choose?’

‘Boy or girl?’

‘Both.’

Prue pretended to ponder the question, although she did, just as he’d suggested, already know the answer. ‘I’ve always liked Bobby, actually. For a boy, or with an i at the end for a girl. But that probably had a lot to do with it sounding good with Barton after it. Now I’m never going to be Mrs Barton, I may have to think again.’

‘Oh, good grief. I was right! You have been planning it for ever! And I thought the wedding-dress thing before you’re even engaged was bad enough, but choosing baby names to fit with your potential, possible, might-not-ever-happen, future surname … that’s crazy.’

‘I suppose it is. Maybe that’s what I am. Or was. Crazy.’

‘More like blinkered, or stuck in a rut. Blimey, Prue, did you ever do anything in life that didn’t revolve around this Joe character? Whatever happened to having a life of your own?’

‘I do have a life of my own. A cottage, a job …’

‘The cottage was handed to you on a plate, and the job bores you rigid but pays the bills. Hardly earth-shattering stuff. No wild thoughts about travelling the world, or going up in a hot-air balloon?’

‘I told you I’m scared of heights. And that includes flying.’

‘So you did. And may I remind you that you are currently hanging four hundred feet above London in nothing but a glass bubble? What about an adventure? Like zipping round a track in a racing car?’