‘OK, actually. Mum seems a little more settled with the new carers. I mean, I still have to be there for her a lot, but it doesn’t feel quite so intense and it means I can have lunch with my favourite A & E nurse without worrying that I have to rush back quite so fast.’

‘I see,’ I tell him, attempting a flirtatious look. ‘Well, it’s nice to have you to myself for a bit longer too.’

To my surprise, he suddenly looks earnest, leaning over the table and taking both my hands in his. ‘Tilly, I need to be honest with you,’ he says. ‘I know I said I wanted to make friends, but I feel a bigger connection with you. If I’m misreading the signals, tell me now, but I think you feel it too.’

For a moment, I’m not sure what to say. I’m used to things being more organic, and this declaration feels almost formal. I’m reminded a little of the proposal scene in Pride and Prejudice – the TV version, obviously. Nobody has time to read the book, do they?

‘What are you suggesting?’ I ask eventually.

‘I’d like for us to be… more, I guess,’ he says.

I smile. ‘Are you propositioning me, Luke?’

He blushes. ‘I might be. Look, I’m not very experienced in this kind of thing and I know I’m probably making a mess of it, but I really like you⁠—’

‘It’s fine,’ I interrupt. ‘I like you too.’

Relief washes over his face. ‘So what happens now?’

‘We finish our lunch and then we’ll go for a walk. If that walk ends up at my flat, then I might offer you a cup of coffee.’

He grins. ‘I’d like that very much. Coffee, I mean. I know it’s a euphemism for, well… but I meant coffee, honest.’

‘Luke?’

‘Yes?’

‘Shut up.’

* * *

I do like Luke a lot, but he’s strangely reticent about his dating history. I know he’s been single for a while, which is unsurprising given his job and the fact that he spends so much of his free time dealing with his mother. However, I can’t believe he hasn’t had girlfriends in the past, but he either shuts me down or changes the subject whenever I try to probe. Maybe he’s had his heart broken and doesn’t want to talk about it, I decide eventually. He does seem very hesitant around me, which leads me to believe he’s not as experienced with women as I’d expect, given how good-looking he is. At one point, I reach to take his hand, but he lets go after a few minutes, shoving it into the pocket of his jacket.

‘It’s OK,’ I tell him as I unlock the bottom door to let us into the building where our flat is. ‘I won’t bite.’