And here she was, ready for her first ‘first date’ in well over a decade. It all felt very strange. Anna glanced at the clock again. Ten minutes.

The waiter approached. ‘Is there anything else you would like, madam? An aperitif? Some olives for the table?’

‘No. No, thank you,’ Anna replied, so he busied himself straightening the cutlery and filling her glass with water, even though it didn’t need topping up. He’d been like this since the moment she stepped in the door, always bustling, fussing over little details. It was as if someone had set him on a gentle mode of fast-forward. She supposed he thought it made him appear attentive and efficient but, frankly, he was starting to tire her out. It made her jitters twice as bad.

She was on the verge of ordering a cocktail, just to make him go away, when her phone buzzed. She fished it out of her handbag, and when she opened up her messages, she saw the text was from Gabi.

Good luck!!! xxxx, it said with a row of hearts and flowers and champagne glass emojis following in procession afterwards.

Another one popped up as she was reading: Just relax.

Easier said than done, thought Anna.

Gabi finished off in a manner that was so typically Gabi that Anna had to smile, even while her heart galloped: And don’t forget to kiss him at the end of the night! (That’s an order!)

Anna closed her eyes and did the long, slow breathing out thing. Oh, Lord. She couldn’t even think about that. Dealing with the beginning of the night was hard enough.

And as if fate knew her level of jitteriness was maxed out, Jeremy chose that moment to walk through the door. Anna resisted the urge to slide under the table and hide, but instead stood and smiled as he walked towards her. He always looked good, but he looked particularly handsome tonight, in a nice shirt and jeans. Thankfully, Jeremy’s effortless, easygoing charm papered over the cracks of her nervousness, and by the time the waiter had come to take their orders and had retreated again, she was feeling on much more of an even keel.

Jeremy took a sip of his wine and sat back in his chair, looking at Anna with a thoughtful expression. ‘I must admit, I was surprised when you called.’

Anna laughed nervously. ‘Me too.’

‘I’m glad you did.’

Anna didn’t reply with words but with a smile that started off small and just grew bigger and bigger, seemingly of its own accord.

‘Back in the summer, you told me you weren’t ready.’

Anna nodded. ‘I know.’

‘But you are now?’

Anna could see the questions in his eyes, but they didn’t annoy her like those of her friends and family did. These questions belonged there. He had a right to them after all the mixed signals she’d been giving him. If Anna was a traffic light, she’d been flickering between amber and red where Jeremy was concerned. ‘I am.’