‘Listen, I’m at my appointment so I’ve got to go. I’ve got a job interview. I don’t know how much longer I can be at Anthony Farrah’s. I need something new. He’s driving me mad.’

‘Okay. It’s good that you’re being proactive. I know you’ve been wanting a change for ages. Good luck! And sorry again for being a grumpy grump.’

‘Thanks for telling me what you did. I’m honoured you’d trust me with it.’

Penny pulled a face. ‘Friends share their secrets, so …’

‘So,’ he finished. ‘I’m glad I am a friend who you trust.’

‘You are,’ she said. ‘Call me later to tell me how this interview goes?’

‘Will do,’ he said. ‘Love ya!’

Penny took out her ear buds like they were on fire. Had Francesco just said, I love you?

Penny saw Thomas a handful of times before the day arrived for him to leave for the tour. She’d loved his company and she loved, in a funny way, that she had totally misjudged him and every time they’d spent time together there was something else that he revealed about himself that surprised her. She liked being surprised, and he was a kind man with a very good heart. He’d really made a difference to her past couple of weeks with his jokes and adventures.

‘We’ll text, or do those voice notes you’re obsessed with,’ he’d said, before he left. ‘Or, even better, you can come out and see me.’

Penny had kissed him intensely and replied, ‘Let’s not promise each other anything, okay? It’s fine. It’s more important to me to be surprised by staying in touch than disappointed if we don’t. Just let me know when you’re back in Havingley.’

‘Okay,’ Thomas had agreed, ‘I’m definitely back in the new year, once these December gigs are done and we’ve finished the Asia dates. But you really should come to one of Lizzo’s London shows.’

‘Let me know,’ she said, vaguely, because she knew he’d be in bed with somebody else by the end of the week, if not by that night. It was in his nature, and he’d told her as much right from the start. It made her think of Francesco. They were friends who’d been lovers and gone back to friendship, and knowing him was one of the pleasures of her life. She could be friends with this lover, too – only, with Thomas, she’d leave the sexual door open for his return because she’d always known this is how it would end, and that’s what made it possible.