‘Yes, boss!’ Jo replied, and plugged her laptop in and switched it on. It would take at least five minutes to fully power up. If she did get a publishing deal, the first thing she would do is buy a new one. One that didn’t occasionally smell like burnt toast or need the charging cable to be wiggled in just the right manner to get it to work.

Once she set to work, she felt her fingers fly over the keys, as her characters came to life at her hands. Before she knew it, her coffee had gone cold and her caramel square remained untouched. But her word count had jumped up. She ordered a warm coffee and returned to her seat. She read over the notes Ewan had scribbled in the margins of her notebook. He had been so full of compliments, she felt a pang of regret at how things had gone between them the day before and decided she’d send him a quick message.

Jo took her phone from her bag and tapped in a message wishing him all the best for his meeting with his editor and agent, adding that she hoped he felt better. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed when her phone remained silent but did her best to push those feelings aside. Work, she discovered, was a great distraction.

By the time the bell above the door tinkled to announce Lorcan’s arrival, she had written almost two thousand words and she was happy with most of them. She’d also received an email from Graham Westbury to arrange a phone chat with her the following day.

She realised as soon as she saw Lorcan that she desperately wanted to tell him her news. She wanted things to be okay between them. It was, she realised, important to her, and not because she wanted to prove to him she was a good writer. She just wanted someone – and him in particular – to share in her happiness. Whatever was said between them as they sat together drinking coffee, she really hoped that they could get back to a place where they could share each other’s happiness.

Lorcan gave her an awkward smile, and pulled out a chair to sit down. ‘Thanks for agreeing to meet me,’ he said.

‘Thanks for asking,’ she replied. ‘First of all, I’m really sorry for how I spoke to you on Friday.’

He shook his head. ‘No need to apologise, Jo. I’m sorry for inserting myself in your business on Thursday evening and for all the things I said…’

There was a pause and they looked at each other and she felt the tension between them melt away.

‘Now,’ he said. ‘Let me get you a coffee and let’s have a proper talk.’