Isaac grinned lazily. ‘I’m not shy with a woman I’m involved with, if that’s what you mean. If I thought I could take you back to my room and make love to you now without embarrassing you in front of your friends, I’d be desperate to make it happen. I want very much to go to bed with you.’

She giggled at the note of frustration in his voice and Doggo’s lead went zzzz as he came back to bark at them, obviously not impressed by standing still when there was a perfectly good walk to be had. It was an odd, snuffling bark: ‘Hnuh, nhuh, WOAH! Hnuh, nhuh, WOAH!’ He pricked his ears and tipped his head on one side. ‘Hnuh, nhuh, WOAH!’

Isaac regarded him balefully. ‘Trying to train your human, Doggo?’ Reluctantly he dropped a last kiss on the end of Lily’s nose and they returned to their walk, Isaac showing Lily that the square of plastic she’d noticed on the front of his hat was actually a lamp, which lit their way as the track took them deeper between the fields and away from lamp posts or lighted windows.

Although her injured hand seemed to ache more in the cold Lily enjoyed the icy, starlit walk, the sharp smell of frost on soil, Doggo patrolling in and out of the wavering light from Isaac’s hat, happy again now they were keeping moving. When, half an hour later, they felt they’d walked far enough, they retraced their steps.

Before they got within proper range of the car park lights they paused again. They were close to the main road here and aware of a constant whoosh of traffic. Lily snuggled against Isaac – after he’d turned off the headlamp in his hat so as not to blind her – and pressed kisses against his neck, his five-o’clock shadow brushing her cheek.

‘Mm,’ he breathed, stroking her back through her coat. ‘I’ll be glad when—’

‘Oh! Sorry!’ And suddenly Carola was there, a hat with side flaps over her blonde hair, hands dug in her pockets.

Lily sprang away from Isaac as if she’d been caught snogging a boy behind the bike sheds at school and Doggo gave her a puzzled look as if to say, ‘Didn’t you hear her coming? I did,’ then wagged his tail at Carola and flattened his ears.

Carola regarded Lily with a discomfited expression. ‘I didn’t realise,’ she said stiffly. ‘Excuse me.’ She turned and hurried away.

‘Don’t worry—!’ began Lily, but Carola was already scurrying out of earshot. Lily said sadly, ‘That was awkward. I suppose when you’re feeling a bit broken-hearted you don’t want to see your friends getting together. Poor Carola. I think she really fell for Owen. If he’s ghosted her he’s a cowardly bastard. How could anyone be so horrible to such a nice person?’