‘Sorry,’ Jeanie said, although she didn’t look that sorry, to be fair. ‘I’ll be doing all my flirting with your dad from now on, don’t worry. But . . . do you think I’m awful? And if so, do you think you can forgive me for it?’

Paula looked at her mahogany-tanned, choppy-haired mother and smiled. ‘You’re not awful,’ she assured her. ‘And as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to forgive.’ Then she tapped her nose. ‘Mum’s the word.’

The conversation turned, thankfully, to more cheering subjects: first, to the fact that Bunny was coming out of hospital later that day and, even better, that she and Dave were going to get married in the spring. ‘A wedding to look forward to, isn’t it lovely?’ Jeanie cried, clapping her hands together happily. Then they discussed the details of Luke’s birthday tea, due to be held in two days’ time, and whether Paula was sure she didn’t mind having it at her house this time. (Yes, Paula was sure. Her mum had been an admirable captain of the Good Ship Mortimer for decades, but now it was Paula’s turn to step up to the wheel.)

All this talk of parties reminded Paula that she still hadn’t got very far with her present-buying for Luke. There was something about working in the city centre and having all the shops on her doorstep that meant she rather took them for granted, always ending up in a panicked last-minute rush before birthdays and Christmas.

Luckily, just as she and her mum parted ways, full of tea and scones, Paula’s phone flashed up a message from Matt: a photo of him posing with an electric guitar in the music shop. Present idea? read the caption.

She smiled to herself. That husband of hers was a mind-reader sometimes. Perfect, she typed back. Then, because her mum’s words about flirting were still echoing around her head, and because she had been struck by a rush of warmth for Matt, she sent another message immediately afterwards. The present idea’s not bad, either, she typed with a winking-face emoji.

Her phone rang in the next second. ‘Shall I buy it, then? I mean . . . it’s a bit more than our budget, but he’ll love it,’ Matt said. Then, with a rather sheepish air, he added, ‘I quite love it as well. Had a little go at “Stairway to Heaven” in the shop, I think the guy was impressed.’