Again, a slightly off-kilter question, but she reasoned it was the sort of thing you asked someone when you were getting to know them. She took a sip of her drink to buy some time and settle the little flutter of unease in her stomach. ‘He was a builder, but he retired early because of a bad back. He was too young to sit around and do nothing, so he used to spend most of his time running around for other people. He was always taking someone to hospital or to the shops or to the airport. All for free. He said he liked the company and it helped other people by saving them the taxi fare.’ Something made her hold back on confessing her dad had worked for Max Sinclair. She wasn’t yet ready to reveal to Harry all her connections to his family in case it put him on his guard.

‘That was very generous of him.’

Steph smiled fondly at the memory. ‘That was the type of man he was. Always trying to help someone else. When he died there was very little incentive for me to return home. Most holidays I managed to wrangle an invite to one of my friends’ houses. It was better than sitting at home alone while Mum was at work.’

She felt an unexpected lump hit her throat as she thought of her dad. She hated the way grief could take her by surprise, often at the most awkward moments. She looked down at her hands and then up across the room, trying to prevent the tears from pooling in her eyes.

‘Hey, I’m sorry,’ said Harry. He reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’

Steph ran the tip of her finger under each eye and forced a smile. ‘It’s OK. Not sure where that came from. I’m usually quite good at keeping it together.’

‘Do you want to get some fresh air?’

‘No. Honestly, I’ll be OK.’ She poked at her starter some more and then, feeling her appetite dwindle, placed her fork on the side of the plate. Forcing a brighter tone to her voice, she changed the subject. ‘What time did you want to come over in the morning to see the pictures? I’ve been through the set this afternoon and uploaded some of the better ones to my laptop.’

‘I was rather hoping I could see them tonight,’ said Harry under his breath as the waiter appeared to clear their plates.

Steph smiled and thanked the waiter as he took her plate away. She could read the subtext and, if she was honest, she was flattered and excited by the idea of sleeping with Harry. ‘Tonight? Sounds like a good idea.’

‘Excellent,’ said Harry. ‘And I’m sorry if I appeared a bit distant earlier.’