Finch stretched, letting out a luxurious groan, his long body suddenly taut beside her. ‘You don’t want to cook. Let’s do the café.’ He grabbed her up and rained kisses down on her face until she pushed him away under protest.

Downstairs, she opened the doors to the garden and sucked in the spring sunshine. When she had left Michael, she had not been sure she would adjust to country living, after decades in the centre of the capital. But she had dreamt of moments such as these, on those days when, instead of breathing in the fresh salty tang of the estuary, she had opened the windows of the London flat to the metallic whiff of exhaust fumes.

They strolled the short distance to the café and chose one of the tables on the tiny balcony overlooking the sea. No one else was there yet; the coach parties who stopped by for tea and cake in this destination café would not arrive for another hour or so.

Two bacon sandwiches and coffee – cappuccino for him, a latte for her – were slapped on their table by the sullen middle-aged manager, who always succeeded in making Romy feel she was inconveniencing her by being in the café at all.

‘What are your plans for the rest of the day?’ Finch enquired, grabbing his sandwich, squashing it between his fingers and stuffing it into his mouth.

‘Well … I’ve got to follow up on a job I saw advertised on the Sussex Wildlife Trust website, in the environmental education programme. I’m probably not qualified, but it might be a toe in the door. I volunteer on a nature reserve at the moment, but I’d like to find something I can really get my teeth into.’

‘So this is part of the new life you talked about?’

Romy nodded. ‘My parents were dyed-in-the-wool greens before greens were invented. It’s in the blood.’

‘I suppose Ma was green, too, in her own way, given that she never went anywhere or washed anything and the house was always freezing cold.’

Romy laughed. ‘So was ours.’

They ate in silence for a minute or two.

‘Maybe I could come with you to the nature reserve one day?’ Finch asked tentatively. ‘I’m interested … and I love a physical challenge, particularly outdoors.’

Persuaded for so long by Michael to consider her passion a sideline, almost a joke, she was surprised by Finch’s interest and willingness to take her seriously.

She gave him a smile. ‘OK, why not?’ Glancing up at the sky, she noticed the clouds were white and unthreatening. ‘Listen, I could do the job thing later … If you’re free, maybe we could have a walk on the beach.’

But Finch didn’t answer. He was cocking his head, listening to something. ‘Is that your phone?’

Romy, now hearing the buzzing too, dug for the mobile in her bag by her feet.