She stared at him with level blue gaze. ‘And then?’

He felt himself tighten at a vision of exactly how he’d like to progress. ‘That’s a conversation I would very much like to have.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘But it’s nearly five o’clock and I told Tina I’d be back by five thirty to hand over so she could be gone by six. During my shift, I have to ring round the staff and finalise the rota, make sure the beer cellar’s as sorted as possible and make up the wholesaler order for Monday morning. And pack. And I have to get some sleep as I’ll be up early and driving a minibus all day tomorrow.’

‘We definitely need you awake,’ she agreed, but a crease had dug itself above her eyes. ‘But,’ she said, ‘just to be clear on the headlines: you want us to begin something? Going against what you said you’ve believed in your whole working life?’

He took a moment to think about that because he hadn’t put it that way to himself but what she said was true. Did that mean he wanted her more than he wanted his job? Wow. He’d never acknowledged such a situation before. ‘I am,’ he agreed.

Suddenly, her face cleared. ‘I suppose we’re both in temporary jobs, so we can have temporary rules.’

‘Right.’ He mulled this over. ‘What are the rules of temporariness?’

Her eyes smiled. ‘We enjoy each other while we can? And we stay in it as long as it’s what we want. Now you need to hurry back to The Three Fishes and race through that long list of jobs so you’re fresh as a daisy to drive us into France tomorrow.’

He began, reluctantly, to prepare to withdraw, but her hand landed lightly on his knee. ‘After we seal the deal with one of those kisses you promised.’

He barely made it to the pub by five thirty.

Chapter Twelve

Monday the 2nd of December began with the kind of energy that felt like chaos.

Excited and anxious, at six Lily gave up even trying to sleep. Her uber-tender hand was like a big fat claw that had tried to keep her awake all night, even while the painkillers had tried to drag her into sleep. The resultant restless dozing had made the short night seem long.

She showered, discovering how difficult it was to dry herself with one hand, and dressed in ski pants and a purple jumper with a pink unicorn wearing a holly wreath. Ski pants and leggings were easier to manage than jeans, with their zips and buttons, so she coaxed the zip of her suitcase open a few inches and stuffed a couple of pairs inside. Then, hand pounding, swollen and stiff, she managed to thread herself back into her sling.