‘Look, I gotta hang up,’ Ali said, and she did, because she was in Rundle Street and could see Dan waiting further down, on the kerb outside the Ex, in faded blue shorts, khaki T-shirt, a grey canvas holdall slung over one shoulder. All that doubt, all those qualms, and yet the sight of him made her heart leap. He reminded her of his younger self, waiting for her at a bus stop, but not watching for her, just standing where he said he’d be, and reading the NME until she showed up. He was listening to music, and seemed completely relaxed, didn’t even appear to be checking out the drivers of the cars that had passed him already, and when she pulled up in front of him, he jumped slightly, as if he’d forgotten why he was there. He pulled out the buds, opened the passenger door, grinned at her and said, ‘Hey,’ then slung his bag into the back and got in. Incredible. Daniel Lawrence was in her car, and they were driving north to Sheila’s. And yes, she thought, this was betrayal and the world beyond Cass might judge her harshly. But it was also an avowal of the unspoken pact she’d once had with Daniel, so wasn’t there some integrity about that? Wasn’t there a truth?

He leaned forward and kissed her, once on the lips, again on the cheek, then sat back, strapped in and smiled. ‘All good?’ he asked.

‘A-OK,’ she said.

He didn’t ask how she’d arranged this trip, what hoops she’d jumped through, what lies she’d told, just as he didn’t share the cock-and-bull story he’d told Katelin an hour ago when she wanted to know what he thought of Hong Kong Island because that’s where he’d said he was. Perhaps it was because she was happily absorbed by her own adventure, her trans-America drive, but she was helpfully incurious about the full details of his trip, bursting with her own stories about people and places. Dan was happy for her. He’d have to find a way to forgive her for not planning to stop in Nashville on the way through Tennessee, but Austin was on their radar, so that was something. And – as she kept saying – this was her road trip, not his. Too right, darling, Dan had thought, and this is my road trip, not yours.

‘So, where you taking me?’ he said now to Ali.

‘Wait and see,’ she said. She pulled out into the traffic and moved smoothly down the street. ‘You look after the music, I’ll watch the road.’

‘Did you like John Martyn last night, by the way?’

‘Loved it. Play me some more.’

‘You watch the road,’ he said, ‘and I’ll choose the music.’

She laughed and he studied her for a moment, then said, ‘Alison Connor, how good it is to see you.’