Eager to oblige she sat down, aware as she did so that is was a rather small bit of plastic and they would have to sit hip to hip on it. Then ruefully she remembered that other things they had done together made sitting side by side while fully clothed, even if touching, completely respectable.

‘Right now.’ He produced a brown paper bag and stared into it. ‘We have hard-boiled eggs, but they need peeling, I’m afraid, some rolls, cheese, ham, and a couple of cans of lager. Are you OK drinking it from the can?’

‘Of course.’

‘Chocolate for afters,’ he said.

‘My favourite. And I’ve got toffees in my pocket. I forgot about them earlier. They were to make the journey go quicker but it seemed to go quite quickly anyway.’

She realised she was twittering and tried to calm down. He was just a man, after all. But she realised that to her, he wasn’t just a man, he was the equivalent of Seamus Heaney and how many young women who’d studied him at university would feel perfectly relaxed in his presence? Lots, probably, she concluded dolefully, but not her. When they’d been walking she’d felt comfortable in his presence but now they’d stopped she suddenly felt shy and self-conscious again.

He handed her a roll and produced a bit of kitchen foil that had butter in it. ‘I’ve tomatoes and cucumber, but no lettuce. I’ll cut it up.’ He produced a Swiss Army knife from his pocket and divided the cucumber into chunks. The tomato followed. He seemed anxious to please her, which was touching. ‘How are you doing? If you pile it all into your roll you can add your ham and cheese. I’ve mayonnaise as well.’

‘Yummy!’

‘I should have brought plates, really,’ he said. ‘Or one of those nifty little sets.’

‘I read somewhere that you should never trust a man who had his own picnic set,’ she said, relaxing a little and then suddenly realising she’d strayed into territory she’d rather have avoided. You should never trust a man with a voice like molten gold, eyes as blue as the sea either, but reading that it was a bad idea didn’t stop you doing it.

‘Well, you’ll be perfectly safe with me then.’ He looked at her quizzically.

She forced herself to meet his teasing gaze. ‘That’s all right then.’

‘So, tell me about yourself, Laura,’ he said after a fair amount of munching.

In spite of her huge breakfast, Laura found herself eating with enthusiasm. When it was all gone she lay back and stretched. The sun was shining in her eyes and she closed them. She heard him lie down next to her.

‘Not much to tell. Only child, good girl at school, went to university, got a good degree and ended up working in a bookshop. What about you?’