Sorted.

I walk briskly back to the cafe, pulling along a reluctant Bear, who wants to wee on all the weeds that have sprouted in the hot weather. But the minute he spots Casey, he drags me towards her, his tail blurring as it wags.

‘Hey!’ I call out, focusing on Casey and not even acknowledging her dad.

As we get closer, I can see Pepe has worked his magic. With her wig on, Casey seemed like she was hiding. But her real hair is now perfect: shaped into soft waves around her sweet face, and cropped into the nape of her long neck at the back. It’s sophisticated enough for a girl who will soon be a teenager, but still fresh and sweet.

‘Oh, that is gorgeous,’ I say. ‘It really suits you. A brand-new Casey.’

She blushes. A haircut from Pepe never, ever fails.

‘Oh, this is my dad,’ Casey says, and there’s pride in her voice. ‘DL, this is Gemma and her amazing dog, Bear.’

I look at him as briefly as I can get away with, but it’s enough to throw me. Those bloody eyes. I see recognition in them, and surprise. Of course he hadn’t known it’d be me.

‘We’ve met,’ Dan says and Casey frowns.

‘Yes. We have,’ I say, trying to sound matter-of-fact.

‘Where? When?’ Casey asks, and I am so curious to hear how he remembers our very brief encounter.

‘Outside the hospital. The first morning I came to meet you. I was nervous, and Gemma was very kind and calmed me down.’

Casey stares at me. ‘How come you never mentioned it, Gemma?’

‘I didn’t even make the connection till now.’ I’m a bloody awful liar, but it’s not the fib that’s making me dizzy.

It’s him.

Every cell in my body responds to his presence. I can hear the familiarity of his breathing and smell a resinous, summery scent on his skin. In my peripheral vision, Dan is crouching down. ‘So you’re the therapy dog?’ he says, and I catch a tremor of nervousness in his voice.

Bear’s rolling onto his back to be scratched. It shouldn’t matter what my dog thinks, but I trust his instincts about people way more than I trust my own.

‘We were going to eat inside the cafe, but as it’s so hot we thought we’d have a picnic. Would you like to come with us?’ Dan asks.

Casey holds up a bag. ‘I got my dad to buy you a cheese and mushroom croissant because you said they’re your favourite.’

It’d be rude not to go. Plus, those are the best croissants this side of Paris. ‘OK, but I can’t stay long.’ But as we head towards the Downs I’ve forgotten how to walk normally and it’s a relief when we can sit down on the yellow grass.

Except now I have to eat without showering golden pastry flakes all over myself. Bear watches me, ready to hoover them up.

‘When Casey told me about the volunteer she’d met at hospital school, I did wonder if it might be you, but I thought it’d be too much of a coincidence,’ Dan is saying. ‘I’m glad it is you, because I wanted to thank you.’