Trying to keep her feelings from showing, she followed him as he showed her around the rest of the house. Thankfully, most of the rooms still needed a lot of work. Some of them were not yet plaster boarded and so the electric wires were hanging down and the waiting copper pipes were ready to be connected to radiators, which meant she didn’t have to pretend to be too effusive when her stomach was so tied up in knots. However, there was enough done in the master bedroom, with its corner window that took in the sea view and the range of hills away to the right, to see what it would be like and to increase her longing to stay. From the bed you’d be able to see the sea and through the Velux windows the sun would shine down on you. The en suite shower room was half tiled with simple cream tile bricks, with tubs of grout and sealed boxes of tiles filling one corner of the room. ‘No porn star shenanigans in there then,’ she teased, even though there was a lump in her throat as she admired the glossy rectangular glazed tiles.

‘No, although I’m game if you are.’

‘I’d be worried it might be a health and safety issue. I don’t fancy finding a tile spacer digging into my bottom.’ Pretending to be funny when she felt anything but was getting harder by the second.

‘And it’s a bit chilly. The heating’s not quite finished yet. The boiler’s being fitted this week.’

‘When do you think you’ll move in?’

‘Officially it’s all supposed to be complete at the end of October. There’s not too much more to be done – there’s only the fridge and the cookers to arrive in the kitchen – so I might move in earlier and live with the chaos.’

A dart of alarm shot through her at the thought of Conor moving out of the cottage. It signalled an ending. An ending she wasn’t ready for. She trailed a hand down the banister, revelling in the smooth texture of the solid oak, wanting to grab hold of it to anchor her to the spot. She had nothing and everything to lose.

‘Conor,’ she said in a rush of breath, the words tumbling out without proper thought or planning. ‘I’m thinking about staying.’

‘Staying?’ He looked around at the beautiful hallway and stiffened. She saw him closing himself off, in the sudden straightening of his posture, the tensing of the sinews in his hands, and the almost imperceptible tightening of his jaw. It gave her all the answers.