Roman’s house was not what Ella was expecting. She’d pictured him in a trendy one-bedroom apartment filled with the latest technology, overlooking the High Street with a balcony – but here she was, driving past a period semi-detached cottage built in a gorgeous traditional stone. The garden was charming – an area of lawn with a shrub border and a sunken paved terrace which provided a wonderful place for outside dining.

‘I have fishing rights and a boat dock, so if I’ve forgotten anything I can sail across the river and moor the boat outside my house, even though I’ve had a few funny looks from the neighbours.’

‘How long have you been there? It’s a beautiful property.’ Roman’s house was the kind of place she’d imagined herself living in one day, but thanks to Alex, she’d be lucky to be able to just pay rent on a place one day.

‘A little over six months. I moved in when I started the job on the river.’

‘You have the best of both worlds – the tranquillity of the water and the local town for bars and restaurants. Just perfect. So where were you before?’

Roman was slowing down and concentrating on the cars in front of him. ‘Edinburgh.’

Ella was surprised. Her geography wasn’t up to much, but that must be around two hundred miles or so. ‘That’s a hell of move,’ she said, sharing her thoughts. ‘Edinburgh must be around three hours away, at a guess.’ Ella took a sideward glance towards Roman.

‘Yes, about that,’ he replied, not adding any more to the conversation.

Ella was curious. What had brought Roman over to Heartcross? ‘Have you always sailed boats?’ she asked.

Roman kept his eyes on the road ahead. ‘No, it’s a fairly new thing. I was a tour manager, making sure concert tours run smoothly. I looked after the finances, the road crew, and made sure everyone was where they were supposed to be and were on task.’

‘That sounds like an amazing job. You must have met some very famous people.’

Roman nodded. ‘That I did.’

‘So why the change?’ Ella was genuinely interested.

Roman paused. ‘Sometimes things happen.’ His answer felt quite guarded, he didn’t elaborate and kept his cards very close to his chest.

Ella felt that Roman was holding back; there was something he didn’t want to talk about. But she knew better than most that life sometimes throws you curveballs when you least expect them, and things in your life change and you have no control over them. She only had to look at herself. One minute she was a business woman with her own property and a hefty inheritance in the bank, and the next she was living with her friend and working as a waitress and was broke.

‘And what about you?’ he asked, swiftly changing the conversation back to Ella. ‘What brings you to Heartcross?’