This realisation has ignited something in me. I want that date with Matt. It doesn’t need to mean anything at this stage. I can just have some fun and use it as an opportunity to get back into the dating scene.

As I scan the room, it becomes clear that Matt’s not here. It’s now chucking down domestic pets outside, so it’s not likely he’s in the outdoor seating area either. I feel a twinge of disappointment. What if it was complete coincidence that I ran into him before? What if I never do so again? My problem-solving brain immediately steps in to answer this: in that case you’ll move on and meet someone else.

I decide I’m not satisfied with this answer and refocus my attention on Sasha, who’s now being served. She passes my drink back to me and we make our way across the bar to see if we can find a seat. Luckily there’s a group just leaving, so we’re able to commandeer one end of their table.

‘Is he here?’ Sasha asks me again.

‘No, he’s not,’ I confirm, instead of trying to deny I was even looking. ‘Not that I can see anyway.’

‘That’s a shame. Maybe he’ll still turn up.’

‘Doubt it. It’s a bit late to come from work. He might not be out at all tonight. Or is somewhere else.’

‘Hey, how about we play detective and try and track him down?’ she suggests.

‘You mean stalker-style?’ I raise a judgemental eyebrow.

‘What? No. But you want to run into him again, don’t you?’

I let out a small groan as I sip at my drink. ‘Fine. You win.’ I relay some details while she taps them into her notepad app and stares at them thoughtfully.

‘OK, Sherlock. What do you deduce from the information I’ve given you?’

Sasha looks thoughtful. ‘Well… the most obvious lead to follow is his job. Let’s see if we can find him on LinkedIn.’

She opens up her mobile web browser and types ‘Matt Manufacturing Engineer Birmingham’ into Google. The search quickly returns a list of results.

‘Look, Lex. There’s quite a few.’ She clicks into the first one. ‘Is that him?’

‘Does that look like the kind of man I would be interested in? Think thirty years younger and one hundred per cent less grey hair.’

‘Right. But I need more info. What am I looking for?’

I conjure up an image of Matt. As I do, the memory of his easy smile immediately morphs into his defeated acceptance as I shamelessly palmed him off with my lame excuses. It makes me wish I had the flexibility of a contortionist, so I could give myself a good kick up the arse for being such a stubborn idiot.

‘You OK, Lex?’ Sasha gives me an odd look.

‘Eh… yeah. Just thinking. He’s tall and athletic, mid-brown hair, dark chocolate eyes and… a close-cropped beard that defines his jawline perfectly, a kind of Jamie Dornan look about him… and when he laughed, his eyes glinted with just the slightest air of mischief…’ I trail off dreamily.