‘It’s nothing.’ I said again.

‘Look,’ he said, squashing me even flatter as he flicked a switch, ‘I’ve got my hands full right now, but—’

‘That you certainly have!’ shouted a voice from below, making us both wobble. ‘What the hell’s going on here, Hattie, Beamish?’

My heart was suddenly beating a tattoo and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. It was a wonder I could keep hold of the torch because my palms were covered in sweat. I didn’t need to shine the beam down the ladder to see who was standing at the foot of it.

‘I said,’ roared Jonathan’s voice. ‘What the hell’s going on?’

‘Good evening, Jonathan,’ said Beamish as he climbed down and Jonathan thankfully took a step back. ‘Hattie has been helping me sort a problem with the fuse-box.’

My legs had turned to jelly and I had to summon every ounce of courage I had to climb back down the ladder. I reached out to steady myself grasping Beamish’s arm as my feet touched the ground.

‘How do you know his name?’ I stammered, fumbling to turn off the torch. ‘How do you know who he is? How long have you known?’

I knew I was gabbling, but it was all such a shock. Not just Jonathan turning up when I had finally begun to think that he wouldn’t, but both men casually dropping each other’s names into the conversation as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

‘Which one of us are you talking to?’ sneered Jonathan.

Shakily, I pointed at Beamish.

‘I’ve known about Jonathan for a few days,’ he said, ‘courtesy of your Facebook profile. I had been going to send you a friend request, but decided against it when I realised that I didn’t know you after all. You need to check your privacy settings, Hattie,’ he told me, ‘if you don’t want the world knowing your business.’

I shook my head, still not believing what was happening. His words, and the sad tone in which he delivered them, made my head pound.

‘According to your relationship status and timeline pictures,’ he carried on. ‘Jonathan’s been your boyfriend for quite some time.’

‘Fiancé now, actually,’ said Jonathan, pulling a ring box out of his coat pocket. ‘I’ve come here tonight to ask you to marry me, Hattie. I know I should have done it earlier but with one thing and another the timing was never quite right.’

How could he possibly think that the timing, given that I’d already broken up with him, was ever going to be right?

‘And how is it, that you know Beamish?’ I asked Jonathan, my eyes darting between the two men who couldn’t have been more different.