‘What I think is this,’ Duke begins, not getting up from his seat. Evie props herself up on her elbows and stares unblinkingly. It makes him nervous, but he is able to sound more confident than he feels. ‘They’ve all said they can’t make the articles go away, that the press will now be interested no matter what. And now they want to mould the press intrusion into something that helps everyone. The film, Daphne’s reputation too, because it’ll be a new piece of gossip and a nice neat ending to the drama of her affair with Brad. It helps me, because … well, it makes me look more down-to-earth, et cetera, dating a civilian or whatever you want to call it. And you will get a bigger profile, press for your books. That’s good, right? Your book is being made into a movie! Like it or not, you’re going to have your face known for a little while, so you may as well make the most of it whilst it lasts. Because, please don’t take this the wrong way, but … you’ll just as easily be forgotten. And you don’t need to do any red carpets or do your own social media – literally just some public dates whilst we’re both in the same place. Nothing confirmed or denied.’

Evie sighs, eyes narrowed.

‘Fine,’ she says, finally, and Duke can’t hide his surprise. But before he can say anything, she looks at him and says: ‘But first, we need some ground rules.’

Duke can tell the others are palpably relieved.

‘Thank you,’ Marnie says. ‘We’ll make it as painless as we can for you both. And who knows? You might even end up having fun.’

The look on Evie’s face lets Duke know that no such turn of events will be possible.

When everyone else has gone, Evie stands looking out over the square at the double window, her hands on her hips, breathing loudly. In, and out. In, and out. Duke waits for her to turn around, but she doesn’t. She just stands there. Breathing. In. And. Out.

‘I’m trying to relax,’ she says, eventually. She’s obviously been aware of his impatience. He has been lightly tapping his foot – she was the one who called this little tête-à-tête. She wants further ground-rules clarification, but in order to do that, Duke is going to need her to actually speak.

‘Sure, in your own time,’ Duke says.

She turns around. ‘Right,’ she starts. ‘Let’s just get on the same page here, okay?’

‘I’m all ears,’ Duke tells her. ‘Hit me.’

‘Rule one: no kissing.’ Duke bursts out laughing. She gives him that look. That scowl.

‘Oh, you’re serious,’ he says. ‘Right, yeah. No. No kissing.’