‘Whoever said you can’t have too much of a good thing got it wrong.’ He tilted his head, his expression serious. ‘How about meeting me for a drink sometime, or even better, dinner. There’s a good train service between Gravesend and Woolwich.’

The second coffee had sent a caffeine spike to wake Jodie up. This man was gorgeous, but he was way too young for her. There was no point in being stupid. ‘I think I’m a little too old for you.’

His laugh was infectious and drew the eyes of every woman in the café, and a couple of the men’s.

It drew a reluctant smile from Jodie. ‘Perhaps I should have said you were too young for me,’ she said, pulling on her jacket.

‘How old are you, Methuselah?’

‘If I remember correctly, Noah’s grandfather was supposed to be nine hundred and sixty-nine. I’m not quite that old yet.’ She held her bag to her chest like a shield. ‘I’m thirty-four.’

He wagged his head side to side. ‘Okay, and I’m twenty-eight. Are you going to deprive us both of what might turn out to be the best relationship we’ve ever had… either of us… for the sake of six years?’

When he put it like that, it did seem petty. She relaxed her grip on her bag. ‘Okay then, let’s meet up for a drink and go from there. My name is Jodie Armstrong, by the way.’

‘Flynn Douglas.’ He held out his hand.

Jodie gave an embarrassed laugh before extending hers. She thought he might push it, hold her hand for too long and make her regret agreeing to meet. But he didn’t, he shook it formally and dropped it immediately, leaving her with a faint sensation of loss.

They swopped numbers and arranged a mutually convenient day. ‘I’ll come to Gravesend for our first date, and maybe you could come to Woolwich for our second.’ His smile was mesmerising. ‘And for our third…’

‘If there’s a third.’

‘There’ll be one,’ he said with such certainty that it brought a flush of colour to Jodie’s cheeks. She’d never met anyone quite like him before. It wasn’t only his physique and good looks, there was something captivating about his smile, about the way he looked at her as if she were someone special.

‘There’s a pub next door – how about we go there,’ she said, getting to her feet. ‘Eight o’clock?’

‘Perfect. Message me when you’re on your way and I’ll wait for you outside, okay?’

She should have argued that she could easily have waited inside the pub, that she wasn’t helpless, but she didn’t, finding his consideration charming. She might as well make the most of it in case, despite his certainty, there wasn’t a third date.