Friday evening rolled around and Lily turned up at The Three Fishes for her shift with a renewed rush of embarrassment at having to face Isaac again, but a fervent hope that he would have realised from the way she’d avoided him last weekend that her suggestion for a Christmas adventure was not to be revisited.

Unfortunately, Tina was off work with a heavy cold so Isaac tended the bar all evening. He tried to talk to her almost as soon as she came on shift but she sidestepped him. ‘I don’t think I should leave Baz alone in the bar.’ A couple of hours later he tried again and she whipped off with, ‘Sorry, there are loads of tables to clear and the kitchen needs stuff going through the washer or they’ll run out.’

It was as the kitchen staff were beginning to leave that, with misgivings, she heard him say to Baz, ‘You can go off at eleven tonight. Lily and I can clear up.’

Lily sent Baz a meaningful look. ‘But if you want the extra half-hour’s money, Baz, I can be the one to finish early.’

But Baz just beamed. ‘Nah, it’s epic if I can get off ’cos I’m going clubbing and there’s a girl I like.’

‘And they say youth’s wasted on the young,’ Isaac murmured. By the time they’d closed up and Baz had shouted ‘Bye!’ as he scooted out of the back door, half in and half out of his coat, Lily had decided attack was the best form of defence.

She turned to Isaac just as he approached with a purposeful look in his eyes. ‘I’m glad to have this opportunity to talk,’ she said crisply. ‘I shouldn’t have said what I did about Tubb having a relationship with Janice because you’re entitled to choose whether to get involved with someone and I’m not entitled to try and pressurise you.’

His expression flipped to one of astonishment. ‘That’s not what I was going to say,’ he began.

Face crimson, Lily cut him off. ‘But, see how right you were! Even this conversation is making us both uncomfortable – exactly what everyone says is the pitfall of workplace dating. Please can we just pretend the whole scene never happened? I’d really appreciate it. I only have two more shifts after tonight and then I’ll be off to Switzerland.’

His dark, unsmiling eyes remained fixed on her face for what seemed like hours. ‘You don’t seem to be leaving me a choice,’ he said eventually.

‘That is the general idea,’ she answered gently. ‘I honestly think it’s for the best.’

‘I see.’ He waited, but when she said no more he nodded once and she cleared the bar while he took a till reading and carried the drawer away to cash up.