She didn’t look up as he sat. It gave him time to decide if, close up, she was as interesting as he’d hoped. This near he could see her creamy skin was without makeup. Her fingernails were short and unpainted and she wore no wedding ring. In fact, she wore no jewellery of any kind, not like Carly, the last woman he’d been seeing, with her collection of diamond rings and silver bangles that had to be taken off before they made love. When he’d suggested that maybe she shouldn’t put them on, she’d looked at him as though he’d taken leave of his senses. It wasn’t surprising the relationship didn’t last more than a month.

He wished the woman would lift her head from her book. It would be nice to see her eyes. Flynn sipped his coffee. He needed to say something neutral, not the usual lines he’d try in a bar or a club. He considered the book she was so engrossed in. It was bent back on itself, her hand holding it down as she read. Perfect.

‘That damages the spine, you know,’ he said, raising his voice to be heard over the general hullabaloo. As an opening gambit it had the advantage of being unusual. But it didn’t work, she continued to ignore him. Now more determined, he carried on as if she’d replied. ‘It splits the spine and loosens the pages.’ He chatted on about his experience but there was still no reaction. He decided to give it one more go. ‘It must be a good book.’

She looked up then and his perseverance was rewarded. Her eyes were sunny sky blue. They sparked with irritation for a second before clouding with confusion. He wasn’t surprised. He’d felt it too – an instant attraction.

It was so sudden it caught him unawares. Had it been in a bar or a nightclub or any one of the fashionable events he went to, he’d have known how to proceed and would have known the night would end in bed, hers, of course, never his. Never, ever, his. Meeting an interesting woman in a rather downmarket café wasn’t something that had ever happened to him before. But he knew he wanted to see her again.

He was delighted when she accepted his offer of coffee and when he queued to get it, he felt her eyes assessing him, much the way he’d assessed her earlier. He wasn’t vain, but he knew he was considered handsome, he worked to keep his body in shape and had enough money to spend on a good haircut and expensive clothes. But she wasn’t his usual type of girlfriend, maybe she wanted something more than he could provide.