Except that’s unfair. It must seem to him that I’m the one playing games. ‘I don’t wish Sunday hadn’t happened. I can’t stop thinking about Sunday.’

He sighs. ‘Me neither.’

‘But . . . what I said then is still true. There’s a lot going on for me, and that kiss doesn’t make things any simpler.’

Silence. I picture him in his swanky penthouse, living his rock-’n’-roll life. Why would he bother with me?

‘I want to understand all your complications,’ he says. ‘I want to understand why it’s you I’ve connected with. Why you feel something for me. It’s driving me crazy, but so is not seeing you.’

‘Me too.’

‘So when can I see you again, Gemma? Tonight?’

The sound of his voice makes me want to head over there this minute, but it’d be wrong to do that today. ‘No. But soon.’

‘How about tomorrow?’ he suggests. ‘I’m planning to do something from Casey’s list and I know she’d love you to be there.’

Still too soon. I am improvising an excuse when Bear spots a squirrel and pulls me so hard that I stumble and drop the phone.

When I pick it up again, he’s still talking: ‘. . . having some mates round to meet Casey. Remember she said she wanted to go to a gig? Some of my friends are musicians, so there might be some jamming, or we’ll hang out, eat pizza, drink beer. Like we’re ten years younger than we actually are.’

The difference in our lives hits me all over again. ‘I don’t know, Dan. I’m not much of a party person these days, and I’m not very knowledgeable about music, so I can’t see me fitting in.’

‘It’s not going to be a party-party like that, I’d never put Casey at risk. But if I could talk you into coming, I need a decoy so it’s a surprise for her. Someone to take her to a cafe with Bear, so I can get ready and she’ll come back to this mini festival in the living room.’

Bear trots alongside me, now he’s given up on the squirrel. I can picture Casey’s delight at the surprise, and Dan’s too, when he sees her face. I don’t want to miss it, but I also don’t know how I’ll feel tomorrow.

‘Can I think about it?’

‘Why not say yes? Please. Now that I’ve started imagining you there, it won’t be the same if you’re not.’

I said yes to the transfer earlier. Could I say yes to this too? My other options are to spend tomorrow sitting at home, bent over my sketches, or go to my sister’s, where she’ll keep me under close surveillance the entire evening, watching for signs the transfer has worked this time.

There’s no competition. And I’m curious about his friends and what they might reveal about Dan. ‘OK. I’ll come. So much for not sweet-talking me.’

‘It’s a hard habit to break,’ he says, and I can hear the delight in his voice and I think, I did that. I made him feel that way.