Behind them Stuart appeared, lingering in the doorway of the café. He scowled a bit, a way to ask Francesco if he should interrupt or hang back. Penny sensed him, though, and so squeezed Francesco’s waist twice, a little morse code of release, and then pulled away.

‘Don’t ruin my café whilst I’m gone,’ she mock-taunted Stuart, who stepped forward to issue his own hug.

‘You have my word, boss,’ he smiled, doing a captain’s salute at her. ‘I’ll send updates all the time, and you can look at the accounts whenever you want.’

‘You’re a legend, Stu. Thank you for this.’

She opened the driver’s door and started the engine. As she slammed the door shut, she could see Francesco panic that that was it, that their goodbye was over and she would be gone. She laughed through both her tears and the glass, winding down the window.

‘Don’t look so worried,’ she insisted. ‘Everything is going to be fine.’ She wiped her eyes, all pretence of not crying disappearing. Then: ‘Tell me it’s all going to be fine.’

‘It’s all going to be fine,’ Francesco nodded, his own eyes stinging, his own vision blurring.

Isn’t that how falling in love so often works? Some stranger appears out of nowhere and becomes a fixed star in your universe.

- Kate Bolick

1

A few months ago, in March

It wasn’t so much that Penny Bridge was unlucky in love as it was that love seemingly didn’t know she existed. It had been five years since her last proper relationship – five years since romance, prolonged passion, or even since a bloke had stayed interested for longer than a week. It was getting pretty hard to pretend it might ever be any different, and keeping positive was really starting to take its toll, especially after last night.

‘I just can’t believe I’m here again,’ she sighed, explaining to her head barista Stuart about the text she’d received after getting home from her date. It had read:

Hey, so I didn’t know how to say this earlier but my ex is kind of back in the picture. I don’t want to string you along or anything, so I don’t think we should see each other again. All the best!! xx

‘Ah,’ replied Stuart. ‘That really sucks.’