‘Yes,’ Jo said, as she realised she would actually like that, ‘that would be nice.’ She felt as if they had shared a lifetime of secrets in the last few hours and while she did quite desperately want to be cosy in her bed with the duvet pulled up to her ears, she also quite liked the thought of spending just a little bit longer with this man, who made her feel safe and listened to.

‘That’s it settled then,’ Noah said. ‘And I’m happy that you’re not walking alone.’

‘I’m okay, you know,’ she said. ‘It’s very strange and all, but I am okay.’

‘I know,’ Noah replied. ‘But I still like knowing you’re being looked after.’

As she walked home a few minutes later, with Lorcan by her side and the rain thankfully having passed, she tried to harness those feelings of being okay and feeling safe.

‘It’s been quite the day,’ Lorcan said.

‘You could say that,’ Jo replied.

‘If this was a book itself, no one would believe it,’ Lorcan said with a smile.

Jo grimaced. ‘Stop,’ she teased.

‘I wonder if they would get McCreadie to investigate it all?’ Lorcan asked.

‘The Case of the Gobshite Author?’ Jo offered in response and smiled. Although, if she was honest, she still felt a little bruised by everything. She had been tricked by Ewan McLachlan and used by him. Maybe she’d been foolish to trust him so implicitly and so quickly.

‘You’re still beating yourself up over it?’ Lorcan said.

‘It’s that obvious?’

‘Yeah, well. That and I know I’d be beating myself up over it too.’

‘I’m not sure how to let go of that bit,’ she admitted.

‘Well, first of all, maybe realise that all’s well that ends well. You have an agent. A really great agent. And he loves your book.’

She nodded. ‘I suppose.’ And that was the great thing. Perhaps the thing she should really focus on. After they’d talked about Ewan and his dastardly ways, the conversation had moved on to more enjoyable grounds. He did love her work and he was ‘desperate’ (his words) to represent her. So, she was now officially agented.

‘And you pulled a proper Scooby Doo and uncovered the villain of the piece,’ Lorcan said, and Jo felt herself smiling.

‘I always fancied myself as a bit of Daphne,’ she said.

‘I’d be Shaggy,’ Lorcan remarked. ‘If it was me, you know. I think Paddy would make a great Scooby too.’

‘He would,’ Jo grinned.

‘But, seriously, Ewan won’t be able to do this to anyone again. Everyone will know what he’s really like. I’m sorry you’ve been hurt in the process. You really liked him?’ Lorcan’s voice was serious again.

‘I did,’ she said. ‘He is very charming. And he seemed very genuine.’