‘Why be so hard on yourself? I mean, you’re not planning to open a restaurant, are you? Or write a cookbook?’

‘Good God no! Can you imagine it?’

‘So just enjoy yourself. Have fun learning a new skill. Maybe it will come a little easier if you relax a bit.’

‘I don’t think I’m very good at relaxing.’ It was true; she was always on her guard, always trying to be, not the best, but her best.

‘You managed just fine today.’

She nudged him in the thigh with one of her feet. ‘Are you talking about the sex again?’

He caught her foot and began to tickle it. She tried to yank it away. ‘No! Don’t.’ She squirmed under his relentless fingers.

‘Ticklish?’ He loomed over her and the next thing she knew they were kissing again – not that she was complaining – and she’d somehow ended up in his lap. He handed her her wine glass and they sat snuggled on the sofa as the rain began to spatter against the windows.

‘This is lovely, all snug and warm when it’s peeing down outside,’ said Hannah. ‘From this angle I really don’t mind the rain.’

‘Another reason to make the cottages so cosy. It’s not called the Emerald Isle for nothing. You don’t get all this greenery without a fair lashing of rain.’

‘I’m used to the rain. Manchester is fairly wet. And that’s what makes a green and pleasant land.’

She smiled at him, feeling the intimacy of the moment and both of them in complete accord. Conor wasn’t as sophisticated and world-weary as she’d first thought, or maybe she was just getting to know the real him, rather than the face he put on for the world.

After the most wonderful dinner of slow-cooked lamb stew with Conor’s own twist – aromatic carrots cooked in butter and star anise (he had to tell her what the slightly aniseedy flavour was), soft creamy potatoes, and thick pieces of translucent onions served with warm broccoli and barley pilaf sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds – they retired to the lounge where he’d lit the fire.

‘I’m absolutely stuffed! That was delicious.’ She still marvelled at how he’d managed to get so much wonderful flavour into what she’d thought of as a rather boring dish.

‘You saw how easy it was.’ He sprawled lazily back on the corner sofa, stretching and rolling his neck. His jumper rode up and she tried hard not to look at the dark hair on his stomach.

She swallowed and dragged her eyes back to his face with a wry smile. ‘Easy, yes. Time-consuming too.’

‘And was it worth it?’ He tilted his head in that knowing-the-answer sort of way.

‘Yes, you know it was.’

He leaned over and kissed her full on the mouth. ‘I’ll convert you yet.’