‘Speak of the devil,’ says Matthew. ‘I suppose your ears were burning, Doctor. I was just telling my sister about you.’

I do a double-take and so does Matthew’s new doctor.

‘I think we’ve met before,’ he says, when I stand up to shake his hand. ‘Charlotte, isn’t it?’

I nod, feeling my cheeks flush pink with embarrassment. It’s him, the guy from Pip’s Bar! It’s the lovely man who bought me a drink before I did my disappearing act that night before Christmas. Jack. Yes, that was his name. Jack Malone!

‘Hello Jack,’ I stutter. ‘I mean, Doctor Jack, or Malone. Doctor Malone, sorry.’

He smiles and his blue eyes crinkle at the sides.

‘Just Jack is fine,’ he whispers.

He pulls over a chair from against the wall opposite the bed and sits down, confident and astute and no way as embarrassed as I’m feeling, it seems. He wears a pristine navy suit, and a crisp white shirt that’s wide open at the collar, showing off his tan. I wonder where he goes on holiday to pick up a tan like that? His brown hair is cut shorter than it was when I first saw him and he’s cool all right. Plus, he’s handsome, even more handsome than I noticed before. He smells good, too, of bergamot and the sophisticated scent of Creed, an expensive aftershave I know from an early Saturday job in a pharmacy when I first came to Dublin. What was I thinking leaving such a beauty? I must have had a few more beers than I remembered. He’s a real dish.

‘I’m a bit mortified at how I left your company that night in the bar,’ I say to him, wishing I hadn’t bothered the minute the words leave my mouth. He is flicking through notes, his stance casual and confident, and I realize how it’s hardly appropriate to discuss social activities in front of his patients. He rubs his knuckles on his chin as he contemplates his notes in front of him and gives a brief smile my way, then looks back at his notes, which tells me he doesn’t want to chat about it any further.

‘Anyhow,’ I continue, ‘I’ll go grab a coffee in the canteen and leave you to it. Lovely to see you again, Jack, I mean, Doctor. Doctor Jack.’

I scurry out of the room, knowing that Matthew is now left with a million questions in his head as to how on earth I know this lovely man who has been doing such great work with him. I lean up against the wall outside Matthew’s room and want to kick myself for being so unprofessional, then hide in the canteen for almost an hour until I see him come in there too, telling me it’s safe to go back now to my brother.