Jo felt herself start to relax. Erin’s teasing had helped her put what had happened – or almost happened – into perspective. There was a chance, albeit a small one, that Ewan hadn’t even realised she was pouting seductively at him. She didn’t even want to kiss him. Not really. He was, as Erin said, ‘very ridey’, but lust was not the same as genuine attraction. It wasn’t the same as a meaningful connection. Lorcan came into her mind again and she swore under her breath.

‘It was. It definitely was,’ she told Erin. ‘And, really, it’s the argument with Lorcan that is getting to me the most. I wonder if he’s telling Harry what a horrible person he thinks I am right now.’

‘Harry wouldn’t believe him, love,’ Erin soothed, over the noise of The Ivy Inn. Jo could hear the chatter of the Friday-night revellers and the thrum of the music from the live band. It sounded exactly like her comfort zone, and she felt an aching for it as if she hadn’t been there in months, and not just a day and a half.

‘I know this seems like a huge deal, but it will pass,’ Erin said. ‘Lorcan has to go home sometime, and given his track record, we probably won’t see hide nor hair of him for years. By that stage, you’ll be a hugely successful writer and will have proved him wrong about Ewan McLachlan. But on the off-chance you do need to run away and change your name, can I suggest the name Phoebe made up in Friends. Princess Consuela… Oh, what is it again?’

‘Banana-Hammock,’ Jo said, and she couldn’t help but smile. It was fairly hard to remain grumpy in the face of such silliness.

‘And your backstory will need to be fantastic and mysterious,’ Erin said. ‘Always keep people asking questions. How good are you at Russian accents?’

Jo found herself laughing. ‘Thank you, Erin,’ she said. ‘You always know exactly the right kind of ridiculous thing to say.’

‘It’s a special skill,’ she replied. ‘Try not to let your argument with Lorcan take away from your time with the ridey author. Do what you’re there to do. Don’t be letting someone’s jealous tantrum get in the way.’

‘Jealous tantrum?’ Jo asked, not entirely sure what Erin was getting at. Lorcan couldn’t be jealous of her. It wasn’t as if he wanted to be a writer or that her life was any more stable than his. ‘There’s no way Lorcan is jealous of me.’

‘Jo Campbell, sometimes I despair. He’s not jealous of you. He’s jealous of Ewan. Have you not considered the possibility that he would quite like spending a few days holed up in a hotel with you himself?’