‘Not at all,’ said Steph. ‘I’ve just got to nip into town and thought I’d clear my room while I was at it. Save me having to do it later.’

‘Are you sure you should be driving after that knock to your head?’

‘Absolutely,’ she replied. Her headache had subsided and she didn’t feel groggy any more. ‘I feel fine.’ She went to tug on the door but his grip was firm.

‘Maybe I should drive you,’ he suggested.

‘Not at all,’ said Steph quickly. She could hardly meet Sonia with Harry in tow. ‘Besides, I don’t know how long I’ll be.’

A frown creased his forehead. ‘Aren’t you supposed to still be working?’

‘I’ll make the time up later,’ she replied, slightly irritated at his tone. He wasn’t her boss – not yet. ‘Don’t worry, Conmere Resort Centre will get a full and glowing report, if that’s what you’re worried about.’

‘I wasn’t actually,’ said Harry tersely. ‘I was thinking more about you getting into trouble with your boss for skiving off.’ He let go of the door and stepped back from the car. ‘Enjoy your trip.’ He gave the door a push and turned on the spot, before marching across the car park and towards the house.

Steph let out a sigh. She wasn’t quite sure what had happened just then. There was an underlying tension between them since last night which kept rising to the surface.

She put the car into gear and headed out of the resort, her mind still occupied by Harry. Perhaps what happened yesterday at the lake should be put down as a one-off with no strings attached and no expectations from either of them. It certainly seemed to be the way Harry wanted to play it. Perhaps he was regretting their kiss now but didn’t know how to tell her he wasn’t interested in taking it further. She was an adult; she didn’t need treating with kid gloves. She’d tell him once again it was OK, she didn’t expect anything else from him and they could put yesterday behind them. She certainly wasn’t some sort of bunny-boiler.

Twenty minutes later Steph was parked in the pub car park. She opened her phone and scrolled through her messages and emails. There was one from her editor asking when she would be able to deliver the report and could they have it asap as he wanted to get ahead of the curve and be one of the first, if not the first, to publish a report on Conmere. Steph tapped out a reply, confirming she’d have it with him before six that evening. She knew her boss would be working on a Sunday, as the website and the company were his baby, meaning he rarely took time off.

There was a text message from her ex-colleague Adam Baxter.