‘How can I help you, Superintendent?’ asked the assistant nervously.

‘A man came in here a little while ago, fortyish, six foot one, wearing a dark grey suit and a red tie.’

‘Yes, sir. He left a few minutes ago.’

‘Did he buy anything?’

‘Yes, sir. An engagement ring.’

• • •

It had been the happiest month of his life. Ross couldn’t believe how lucky he had been following that chance meeting. The very idea of falling in love had always been anathema to him. He was a hunter-gatherer, and always the one who decided to cast the latest conquest aside and move on. He considered it a compliment to be accused of playing the field.

That was until he met Josephine, and she didn’t need to explain to him what the words head over heels meant. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful, and far brighter than him; she was the first woman he had ever been fearful of losing. He couldn’t understand why she had ever given him a second look, let alone a third. For the first time in his life, he was not always the first to arrive at work in the morning and the last to leave at night. Everyone else noticed. The loner was no longer alone. They didn’t sleep with each other for a couple of weeks, another first. After that, he would have robbed a bank for her.

Jo had already told him about her unhappy marriage that had lasted for only a couple of years. The divorce settlement had meant she could live comfortably without having to work and, like him, she thought she could never fall in love.

Tonight, he was going to take her out to dinner and propose. He’d spent more than he could afford on the ring. Jo had once told him she would never marry again, but that was before she’d called Madame Blanche to tell her this was her last job.

When he got home that night, even earlier than usual, he found her sitting in the front room crying. He tried to comfort her, but nothing he said seemed to make any difference. She looked up, and he couldn’t help thinking how enchanting she appeared even with tears streaming down her face. She tried to smile. ‘I love you,’ she said. The first time she’d admitted it.

‘And I love you, too,’ he replied. Another first. Unable to express how he truly felt in words, he decided he wouldn’t wait any longer to prove just how much he loved her. He dropped to one knee, and fumbled in his pocket before extracting a small leather box. He opened it and said, ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?’

He waited for her reply, but none was forthcoming. She finally looked up, but still said nothing. He leant forward and gently took her left hand and tried to place the ring on the third finger, but she pulled her hand away.