He gripped his rucksack straps with both hands. ‘It’s Drew.’ Turning to go, he paused to add, ‘Oh, and if you’re going to mention it, you could also tell her that I liked the plait thing she did on Monday. And the curls on Tuesday. And the Princess Leia things on Wednesday.’

‘Why don’t you tell her yourself?’ My cheeks were turning pink on Steph’s behalf.

‘Oh, I will,’ he called, walking away. ‘But now she gets to hear it from you, too. She’ll be prepared.’

The next week, Steph had her first kiss, sitting on a park bench in the glow of the September sunset.

A year to the day later, Drew proposed to her on that exact same bench.

Eleven years after that, the most patient man on the planet finally got to marry the love of his life.

‘Even if he was flirting,’ I said, focusing my mind back on the present, ‘it’s irrelevant, isn’t it?’ I paused for a couple of seconds, before asking tentatively, ‘Is it?’

‘For now, then one hundred per cent yes!’ Steph replied firmly. ‘You can’t abandon the No-Man Mandate every time one bats his eyelashes at you. Short-term pain for long-term successful relationship gain, remember?’

‘Yes, sir!’

‘Having said that…’ Her voice softened. ‘It is going to be completely relevant once you’ve finished that list. It’ll be far easier to ask him out now you know he’s interested.’

‘Um, what?’ I retorted. ‘I wasn’t planning on asking him out, and I still don’t know if he’s interested. Even if I’m interested, which I don’t know yet, because I still don’t know what or whom interests me, hence the No-Man Mandate, remember?’

Steph burst out laughing. ‘Whatever, darling, you keep telling yourself that. For now.’

10

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful in comparison to the weekend. Of course, for me, simply waking up in my own house, and getting on with my own life was eventful enough. From Monday to Wednesday, it rained almost continually. I scurried through the woods with my hood up while Nesbit tumbled and sniffed and wagged his tail beside me, and stood huddled for hours under an umbrella while waiting for him to earn a sticker.

It was working, though. Between us, Joan and I had taught him to sit and wait, to answer to his name and to do what he was supposed to do where he was supposed to do it.

On Thursday, I woke up to another note:

Trampling about a lawn in wet weather destroys the grass. Please stop.

I posted one back later that day:

Thank you so much for erecting the shelter so I don’t have to stand in the rain! That was unbelievably thoughtful of you. Please accept my small gluten-free token of appreciation.

This time, the cinnamon muffin didn’t arrive back on my doorstep.