He perched on the edge of a large corduroy chair and read the first few pages of his paper all over again, trying to look absorbed. A tic bounced under his left eye.

‘Adrian.’

There she was in a soft white shirt with belled sleeves, knee-length skirt and sensible shoes. Little studs in her ears, one silver bangle on her wrist, a whiff of elegant perfume. Infinitely more grown-up and serious than the erotic night-time vision he’d been holding in his head. Impossible.

‘Hi.’ He sprang up, dropping his paper to the floor. ‘I just – I was passing and I saw …’He ground to a halt.

‘Good,’ she said. ‘I’m glad.’

‘I bought you these.’ He thrust the bag containing the gloves towards her.

‘For me?’

‘Christmas present.’

‘Oh! But they’re lovely. You shouldn’t have.’ She pulled the gloves on and held up her hands to admire them. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘Don’t say anything.’

She put a hand on his arm then withdrew it.

‘Thank you very much, Adrian.’

‘I guess I ought to go. Christmas shopping, you know.’

‘Wait,’ she said.

‘Yes?’

‘You’re just going, like that?’

‘Well, I mean, you must be very busy, and so I thought I’d just, you know –’

‘Adrian,’ she cut in.

‘Yes?’

‘Why are you really here? You’ve never come to see me before.’

‘I don’t know,’ he said. He bent down and gathered together the sheets of newspaper, bundling them messily together. His cheeks felt hot.

She tugged off her gloves. ‘Are you sure you want to give me these?’

‘Of course. Yes.’ Though now he wanted to take them back, take back the whole sorry episode, and leg it out of the pompous office, away from her cool stare and grown-up, daytime self.

‘I ought to get back.’ She paused, then added: ‘Unless you want to invite me to lunch.’

‘Yes. Lovely. Sure – but what if someone sees us?’ he asked, and then stopped in confusion at what he was implying. She smiled at him and he saw she had one faint dimple in her right cheek.

‘Wait while I get my stuff.’

‘All right. But I just want to tell you something.’ Oh no no no, you ought not, screamed a voice in his head. He ignored it. ‘You’re very beautiful. That’s why I’m here, I guess.’

She didn’t move yet he had the impression that she softened and the air between them grew warmer. Then she said: ‘You’re married to my sister’s best friend.’

He made an inarticulate noise, signifying nothing.

‘I’ll be back in a minute.’