‘A little,’ Ava admitted, dunking her hair backwards in the water and screwing up her face at the cloudy swirls of red that came out of it. ‘Hey, thanks for looking after me. And I’m sorry for what I put you through up there. I haven’t even asked if you’re hurt.’

‘Couple of bruises from when you landed on top of me. For someone who can’t cook, you can certainly eat.’

Ava laughed. ‘Bastard,’ she said, throwing a wet flannel at the back of his head.

They both knew it wasn’t true. Ava was thinner than ever. Callanach had only been away a couple of weeks, but he’d noticed it as soon as he’d seen her at the city mortuary.

‘So, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but of all the medical suggestions you had, you didn’t mention Selina. Is everything okay, only it seemed logical to me that you might have offered to let your accident and emergency doctor girlfriend take a look at me?’

Callanach stretched his arms above his head and breathed deeply. ‘Ex-girlfriend. Very amicable and I’m sure if I’d have asked, she’d have been only too happy to have helped out. It just felt like I’d be taking advantage, given how badly I’ve let her down.’

‘Your decision then, not hers? Stop me if I’m prying.’

‘Good. I’m stopping you. You’re prying,’ he replied gently.

‘Did she not go to Paris with you?’ Ava continued.

Callanach tutted. ‘Really?’ he asked.

‘Well, I am naked in your bath, so I feel somewhat entitled to be questioning you about your private life, especially given that I’ve just poured my heart out to you about what a pathetic loser I am.’

‘You recognise that I just saved your life, right? Was that not enough, or do you still feel as if I owe you the extra pound of flesh?’

He turned to stare at her, forgetting his promise to remain facing the other direction, not that her modesty was compromised from his angle. All he could see was the top of her head and her eyes, beneath which he knew she was grinning wildly.

‘We talked about her joining me in Paris, but I had too much to sort out with my mother. Selina suggested we book a holiday together later in the year – something to look forward to in the summer. I knew it wasn’t right. She’s an amazing woman.’

‘Way too good for you,’ Ava said gently.

‘Agreed. Anyway, I told her just before I left. She wanted me to think about it while I was away and maybe give it another try, but I’m wasting her time. She needs to be free to find someone who can be everything she deserves. I’d planned to call her tonight and make that clear, but then you decided to pull this little stunt.’