‘Not at all. But being somewhere on holiday is very different to living somewhere. You have your life in England. I just want you to think through what it would really be like to walk away from that. From the good things there, because there have to be good things too.’

‘There are plenty of good things there,’ Lorcan gave a lopsided smile. ‘But I’m starting to think there might be even better things here.’

She blushed, before realising that he probably wasn’t actually talking about her.

‘The way of life is slower,’ he explained. ‘The air seems fresher, somehow. And the people are good. Plus, Grandad isn’t getting any younger and while I know you have all been so amazing keeping an eye on him and making sure he has what he needs, I can see that he gets lonely. I can see him becoming a little frail and I want to make sure he’s okay.’

The way he spoke about Harry warmed Jo’s heart. She couldn’t believe she’d ever thought of him as an entitled brat, or that she’d accused him of being selfish to the core.

‘That’s very admirable,’ she told him.

‘It’s not really. It’s just the right thing to do. Or it would be, if I could bring my work with me.’

‘You do know there’s a pretty big computer sector here?’ she asked him. ‘There are quite a few tech jobs, but surely you’ve also just proved that you can do some of your work remotely. Have laptop, will travel?’

‘You have a point,’ he said. ‘I think I have some thinking to do.’

Jo found she really, really liked the thought that Lorcan could make a permanent move to Derry. She could see how he could slip into her friendship group, how it already felt as if he was part of the Ivy Lane community. She knew, in him, she had found a kindred spirit. Someone who thought like her, who brought out her silly side. Someone who knew what pain she had been through and could truly understand how much damage that had done to her.

But she realised that was also scary. What if it all went wrong? What if she got to rely on him and he’d decide Derry wasn’t for him after all? What if he left her? This was the real test, she realised. Not being brave about her book, but being brave enough to let someone in – someone who she knew she could be more than friends with.

Afraid to delve into this conversation any further, Jo took a sip from her now cold coffee and grimaced. ‘You’d better get back to the shop,’ she told Lorcan. ‘That heavy lifting still needs doing.’