Thomas took a long gulp of water and then used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth.

‘Charming banter,’ he settled on. ‘Long walks in the country. Snacks. Gig tickets. My sexual prowess. Compliments on how good their arse looks in yoga pants.’ He shifted his gaze to her rear and Penny smirked.

‘Sounds very tempting,’ she sniggered.

‘Does it, now?’

‘And the non-monogamy?’

‘Look, I tour for months at a time. I wouldn’t expect anybody I was with to live their life waiting for the moment I walk through the door again because I don’t “come home” as such. I love being out on the road. In so many ways that’s how I feel most at home. The tour bus, the planes, the people. I love the buzz of it all. I love fixing problems and clearing paths and everyone thinks the person on stage is the star but anyone I’ve ever worked with has known they can’t do what they do in front of an audience night after night without what happens behind the scenes. And I am so, so hooked on managing all that. It sounds silly but it makes me feel like a rock star, too, a bit. I just don’t do it in front of stadiums of people.’

‘Work is the real love of your life?’

‘No. I don’t mean it like that. That would feel like a sad thing to say because work can’t wipe your arse for you when you’re old, or suck your dick when you’re young.’

‘Ah yes, the two hallmarks of everlasting companionship,’ observed Penny. ‘Bodily fluid management.’

‘I’m just being realistic. Isn’t that what people want from each other?’

‘What, to know they won’t die alone and that there will always be somebody to hump?’

‘Basically.’

Penny considered it. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that. Isn’t it about a witness to your life? Somebody who is on your team, who is there for the big moments, yeah. But a lot of people will be there for those. Holidays and birthdays and babies and illnesses. We’re normally surrounded by people for those things. But I think a partnership is about a witness to everything that happens in between. It’s the smaller moments, isn’t it?’

Thomas drank from the water bottle as they continued to hike. ‘You’re proving my point,’ he said. ‘I travel so much. Most of the year, in fact. So my person – they deserve other people in their lives to be that witness. And out on the road, so do I.’

‘Do you have a woman in every port?’

‘Hardly. But I meet new people all the time, and the team is so big, and there’s a freedom in possibility. I think that’s the thing for me – non-monogamy means there’s always possibility around the corner. I like that.’

‘And everyone you date knows this?’