‘No, poor Daisy has arthritic fingers, she’d not be able to pick up anything even if she were able to reach over her bedrails.’

‘Well then!’ He released her hand and spread both of his in a what’s all the fuss about gesture. ‘Sounds like they’re making a big to-do about nothing.’

‘Yes,’ Jodie agreed and smiled at him. He hadn’t a clue how bad this could be, there was no point in trying to explain, no point in ruining the rest of the night. Anyway, she’d reconsidered her decision to take him to the meeting. It wasn’t appropriate, they might see it as belittling the seriousness of the situation. More importantly, if everything went wrong, if she had made a colossal error, she didn’t want Flynn to see her as less than the ideal nurse, less than the perfect person she wanted to be in his eyes. ‘I’m probably making way too much of it. I’m going to a meeting with the manager tomorrow, it’ll probably all be sorted.’

‘Of course it will be. There’ll be a reasonable explanation and they’ll apologise for putting you through so much grief.’ He reached for her hand again. ‘I’m glad I was here for you though.’

Jodie returned the pressure of his hand. She’d made light of it. It wasn’t a meeting with the manager, it was a formal disciplinary procedure which could have huge implications for her career. But sitting there with Flynn, it didn’t seem quite so frightening.

The wine was gone, the restaurant empty, the staff throwing furtive looks in their direction. ‘We should go,’ Jodie said, putting her hand up when Flynn reached for his wallet. ‘No, it’s my turn to pay, remember.’

Minutes later, they were outside in the dry chilly night. Flynn draped an arm around her shoulder, pulled her close and they walked the short distance to her house with the comfortable familiarity of a couple who’d been doing the same journey for years.

In bed, they explored each other’s bodies, discovered what each liked, loved, wasn’t keen on, laughing at the latter as they made love through the night, falling asleep and waking in a delicious cycle of desire.

When Jodie woke again, she saw a line of light around the edges of the blackout curtains. Her brain wanted to start preparing for the meeting at eleven; her heart wanted to dwell on the warm body next to her, the arm resting heavily across her abdomen and the soft snore that came rhythmically from the face almost buried in a pillow beside her.

Her brain won.