‘I got the email with the change of venue,’ he explained. There was something oddly hesitant about his demeanour, something I wasn’t used to.

‘That’s not what I meant and you know it. What are you doing here?’

Underneath his umbrella, Patrick’s face fell. ‘I came to see you,’ he said quietly. ‘I was really hoping you might be pleased to see me.’

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. ‘Are you being serious? After everything we said yesterday?’

‘It was just a fight,’ he said, coming closer. I backed away, towards the door of the bar, listening to the happy sounds mixing with music just a few steps away. ‘Couples fight, don’t they? I know we never did before but they do, you know. And I’m sorry, I’m truly very sorry.’

And I thought I was lost for words before.

‘We never fought before because I didn’t let us,’ I told him as the rain fell with more enthusiasm. ‘I always agreed with you so you wouldn’t be upset, that’s why we never argued.’

‘It doesn’t have to be like that this time,’ Patrick said, his light blue eyes clouded over like the sky. ‘It can be the way we said it would be, total honesty. After you left, I tried to sit down and write and I couldn’t. You know how easy it is for me to turn everything off and focus on the work? But I couldn’t do it, there was something blocking me. I thought I was angry with you but eventually I realized, I was angry with myself.’

It was a lot to take in all at once. I’d fantasized about being with Patrick for so long but it turned out hearing him apologize was more erotic than anything else I could have even dreamed of.

‘I haven’t been fair. I wasn’t fair last time either and I’m sorry. And I won’t lie, I liked seeing you all fired up like that,’ he said with a hint of a wolfish smile. ‘Let’s give it a real try this time, all in, double or nothing.’

He reached an arm out from underneath his umbrella to hand over a small package, carefully wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. He held the umbrella over my head as I took it in my hands, and the rain fell on him instead of me, his light grey suit shifting shades, drop by drop by drop.

‘This is for you.’

‘Patrick,’ I gasped as my cold fingers worked their way through the packaging. It was one of his copies of Jane Eyre. His only first edition. I looked up and saw his blond hair plastered to his forehead, half a smile on his face.

‘I can’t take this.’