‘That’s it?’ she asked. ‘That’s what you’re proud of? That’s how you want to be known. Why not the guy who was kind enough to help out a random stranger with her cannoli order?’

He rolled his eyes.

‘I told you – you were holding things up and making me late. And come on, what kind of person doesn’t have even a couple of bucks on them?’

‘Well, what kind of business doesn’t take electronic payment?’

‘The kind that maybe can’t afford to?’ he shot back. ‘Frank’s place has been around for years – it’s a family business, but he won’t be there much longer if the tech bros get a piece of everything he sells.’

She had to admit that maybe he had a point there. The rent in that location alone must have been eyewatering.

‘And you have eyes yes? You didn’t see the sign?’

‘Obviously I didn’t.’ Hannah felt riled up and embarrassed all over again. ‘And I’m so sorry for holding you up to the point that you felt the need to pay for my stuff. Though I can’t imagine where you could’ve been rushing off to,’ she added, unable to resist the jibe.

‘To physio,’ he retorted. ‘An important session as it turned out, thanks to you.’

‘Oh, so you admit that you were hurt then. What happened to the tough-guy act?’

‘What happened to minding your own business?’

Annoyed with herself for allowing him to unsettle her like this, Hannah glanced around looking for a server, hoping to get things back on a more even keel. ‘Have you eaten? The least I can do is buy you dinner to apologize and pay you back for the cannoli too. You’re right, it was incredible.’

Though she had been too embarrassed to go back to Frank’s ever since. And now truly hoped that this place wasn’t cash only also.

‘I’m good. But you’re wasting your time if you think you can tap your way out of this one too.’ Her face must have revealed what she’d been thinking because he chuckled and shook his head. ‘Good luck with the apocalypse.’

‘Ah, a conspiracy theorist, I see.’

‘Just because someone has a different opinion they’re automatically a conspiracy theorist? When did the world turn Borg?’

OK, Hannah definitely hadn’t pegged this guy as a Trekkie. And felt herself automatically soften towards him. He truly was full of contradictions. ‘Well, cash aside, if you’re that paranoid about being monitored,’ she pointed out teasingly, ‘I’m assuming you have a smartphone, rendering all this caution pointless anyway?’

‘Nope.’ He reached into his pocket and took out an old-style flip phone that Hannah didn’t think was even operational anymore, sliding it onto the table.

Yep, conspiracy theorist, for sure.

‘Well, it’s pretty apparent that you don’t trust easily anyway,’ she murmured.