Stuart was interrupted by the sound of three knocks against the glass of the café door, forcing both of them to look over. Stood on the pavement was a dark-haired, olive-skinned man in a beanie hat and puffer vest, accessorized with an armful of sourdough loaves. Stuart immediately issued Penny a smirk. She didn’t catch it.

‘Ah, yeah – I meant to say,’ she started, already in business mode, holding up a hand to the man outside to signal she was coming. ‘The bread delivery is going to be late today because Safiya had an issue with somebody falling off a bike and so had to ask her friend to help out.’ She bent down to unlock the bottom part of the door, opening it up to say, ‘Are you Safiya’s man-who-can? Come in.’

‘Safiya fell off her bike?’ Stuart said, worriedly, whilst also acknowledging the man Penny had let in. ‘Alright mate?’ Stuart had a crush on the bread supplier and did a terrible job of hiding it – even the way he said Safiya’s name betrayed him.

The puffer-vest-wearing man put the brown paper bags down on the table by the door and happily inserted himself into the conversation. ‘Not Safiya. A guy she’s dating. But I’m here to save the day! I’ve got more in the van. Croissants, I think. Nice to meet you. I’m Francesco.’ He shook Stuart’s hand and nodded at Penny, who’d already walked back across the café.

Penny caught Stuart’s face fall. A guy she’s dating. That must’ve stung. She went back to the counter just as the coffee maker roared into life and spat hot, syrupy espresso into her cup, and Stuart busied himself by filling up the sugar bowls on each table. She watched the man outside shift several delivery trays in his van around into a more orderly fashion. His complexion and hair colour made sense now she’d heard him speak – he had a slight accent. He wore a striped apron over his clothes and paused his work to pull out a phone from the front pouch. Whoever was on the other end of the line when he answered delighted him so much that he threw his head back, laughing. Seeing somebody so elated made Penny smile by proxy. A handsome man enjoying his life. She wondered if it was his girlfriend, and then wondered why she’d wondered about him having a girlfriend. She concluded it was because of the accent. And the smile. And the heavy-lifting.

‘I wish you’d let me do that for you,’ Stuart said, interrupting her reverie. ‘You don’t treat it with the respect it deserves.’

‘It’s just a double espresso,’ giggled Penny.

Stuart looked stern and held up a finger. ‘It is never just an espresso, Penny.’