‘I’m not going to end up with anything. It’s just fish and chips – for three!’ They were drawing closer to the city now. The paths were more worn here, where late-night walkers had slushed up the freshly fallen snow before it had a chance to carpet softly underfoot. It felt as if they were gliding quickly towards not just the end of another year, but the end of an era.

‘Still, it would be nice if he turned out to be The One, all the same,’ he said.

‘Come on, Pete, the truth is, you’ll always be my knight in shining armour – you know that!’ She was making fun of him. The streets were empty, but the freezing temperatures had coated everything with a dusting of glittering ice to remind them that they needed to move with caution.

Liv sank back into the passenger seat, relaxing in the warmth and comfort. It was, she had to concede, much nicer than taking the bus. Pete managed to get a parking space along the Grand Canal just a five-minute walk from her favourite Italian chipper in the city. The aroma of frying fat and cooking chips and fish made Liv instantly ravenous. She texted Finn to let him know where they were and they leant against the bridge while they waited for him. She listened as Pete explained exactly how things had ended between himself and Anya. He was definitely over her.

‘Tinder?’ She held out her phone, making fun of him again.

‘Not likely.’ He laughed. ‘No, I think I might as well face the fact that there was only one girl for me.’

‘Don’t say that; Rachel wouldn’t want you to give up.’

‘I’m not giving up, but the fact is, I just don’t want to settle for anything less. I’m happy, knowing that I’ve already known the great love of my life and who knows…’ He smiled as if he knew something no-one else would ever understand.

‘What?’

‘Well… who knows what the future holds; perhaps one day, Rachel and I…’ He sniffed loudly, working hard to keep his tears at bay, but he was still smiling, impossibly optimistic, in spite of himself. Liv put her arm around him, pulled him close to her. She loved him so much, almost as much as she’d loved Rachel, and she knew Rachel would want him to move on.

‘She’d want you to be happy here, in the real world, not looking forward to hooking up again on some existential plane that only exists for soul mates.’ Liv shook her head. Honestly, she was going to make it her resolution to fix him up with a decent girl, someone who would let him put Rachel to rest, finally.

‘Hey.’ Finn kissed her cheek lightly, slicing through the maudlin direction of both their thoughts.