Isaac picked up her left hand from the table. ‘Still multicoloured.’ He turned it gently. The Steri-Strip had come off and the tear in her skin was healing cleanly.

‘The swelling’s going down.’ Her head was close to his as she inspected the maltreated member. ‘It’s just sore now instead of going durr-dum, durr-dum all the time.’

He touched the pad of his thumb to the purple and blue bruise on the palm as he asked her about all the things he’d never had a chance to discuss with her: where she’d gone to uni, whether she’d been brought up in Peterborough, whether she’d ever been to Juno Lounge – he was surprised to realise he felt a distance of more than miles from the Juno now – and where she liked to go on holiday. What kinds of films did she like? What music did she play while she worked and how was her design business going?

Her mouth drooped glumly. ‘I’ve put so much into this project that once it’s over I don’t have much on the boil, to be honest. I’m going to have to either find some more project work, though it isn’t thick on the ground, or admit defeat and try and get a full-time job.’

He hadn’t realised this last was a possibility. ‘What will happen about The Three Fishes?’

She shrugged. ‘I suppose I’ll leave. It’s great to work a part-time job around a business but I can’t see how it would work with a full-time job. I like the community aspect of working at the pub but I only took that job to get to know Tubb.’ She arched a brow. ‘By that time you’ll probably be a qualified instructor in all that yomping and climbing stuff and be working in another country.’

He shrugged. ‘That’s the plan.’ It didn’t seem as important as usual because it wasn’t his most immediate objective. He lifted her injured hand and pressed a soft kiss on its back, where the counter flap had slammed into it. ‘Let’s not think about that now.’

After another drink Doggo emerged from under the table to nudge Isaac as if encouraging him to do something more interesting, so they pulled on their coats and hats and set off around the lake on the path lit by lanterns.

‘This is beautiful. Cold but beautiful.’ Lily sighed contentedly as she gazed at the pools of light each lantern made, shading the areas in between.

As they left the ice rink behind and were alone Isaac let Doggo’s lead out and the big dog vanished to snoop around the shadows. Isaac chose a dim area between lanterns to stop and pull Lily against him, to find her soft lips with his and explore her mouth, to nibble along her jaw to her earlobe.