Cara lifts her cup to drink, holding it with both hands to steady it and resting her elbows on the table. Nevertheless, her hands tremble a little and she sets the cup down again very gently. She remembers Joe’s little Fiat rushing them through the traffic from Fiumicino Airport, the heat, sex in the high bedroom looking over the city … Her mind clamps down on these memories and she sees that the young man, who is not Joe, has glanced towards her. The discipline of years kicks in and she relaxes, dropping her shoulders, lifting her chin and smiles politely at him.

His answering smile is friendly, humorous, and he gestures to the message chalked on the beam above their heads.

‘Dolce far Niente,’ he quotes. ‘I love it.’

That his first words should be in Italian is another shock, but Cara continues to hold on to her self-possession and nods.

‘It says it all,’ she agrees. ‘From which I gather that you’re on holiday here.’

‘Sort of,’ he answers, and indicates the dog lying at his feet. ‘House-and-dog-sitting for a couple of months. What about you? Are you on holiday here?’

‘Sort of,’ she answers, deliberately mimicking him. ‘I’m staying with my brother, Max. He and his wife have owned a house in Salcombe for years and now they’ve retired to it.’

‘It’s just great here, isn’t it?’ he says almost wistfully. ‘I mean, it’s not a bit like London.’

‘No,’ she agrees, amused. ‘Salcombe is definitely not like London. You’ll notice that especially when the winter kicks in. But by then you’ll probably be heading back to the bright lights.’

The dog is struggling to sit up, encouraged by this interchange, and Cara reaches to fondle the brown silky ears.

‘His name is Reggie,’ volunteers the young man. ‘And mine is Cosmo.’

Cara keeps her head lowered, stroking Reggie, not wanting to reveal her own name but knowing she must return his friendly gesture.

‘And mine is Cara,’ she tells him.

‘Cara.’ He laughs delightedly. ‘We’re having quite an Italian morning, aren’t we?’ he exclaims. ‘How odd, although there is an Italian connection on my father’s side of the family.’

She experiences a swift stab of panic but luckily Reggie is standing up now, encouraged by Cara’s attention, wagging his tail and causing a disturbance amongst the tables. Cosmo gets to his feet.

‘Better be moving,’ he says. ‘I expect we’ll meet again.’

‘I expect we shall,’ Cara answers.