‘There’s only one thing Sabine really wants in this world,’ he continues, ‘and that is to be an artist. It’s a tightknit group here in Paris. If she fucked me over like that, she’d be a pariah. She’d never risk that.’ He takes a sip of his wine and leans in a little further as if about to tell me a secret. So I lean in too.

‘Agnès wouldn’t thank her for it either. She’d pull her exhibition immediately. I mean, she doesn’t even like Sabine’s work, she calls it a Hallmark card on steroids. Getting Agnès to agree to an exhibition was a big win for Sabine. Agnès can make a career. So no matter what she threatens, no matter how upset she might be right now, there’s no way Sabine’s going to mess that up.’ He smiles at me. ‘So don’t worry.’ Then he reaches out for my hand again. And this time I let him take it. His eyes move to my wrist and his thumb traces the pale outline of that broken heart he drew on Friday night.

‘Don’t you shower?’ he asks.

And I start to laugh.

Then he lets out a big sigh and our eyes meet again.

‘Grace,’ he says, in a tone that is so very serious.

‘Noah,’ I say, mimicking him.

‘I need you to promise me something. You won’t tell anyone about all this,’ he says. ‘About what happened on the roof. Agnès is a very private person and her image is everything to her. The one thing she asked of me when we decided to split was that we do it amicably. That I don’t humiliate her. If she knew that footage was out there, that people could see it…’ He trails off, shaking his head. ‘It would complicate things. I don’t know what she’ll do if she’s humiliated like that.’

And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen, the real reason why he’s here. It’s not about me and wanting to make sure I’m okay with things. He just doesn’t want me telling anyone what happened between us and ruining his divorce settlement.

I pull my hand away. ‘Who am I going to tell?’ I ask like I don’t care.

‘I don’t know,’ he says, and something softens behind his eyes. The edges turn down in the smallest of ways, like he’s sad. He opens his mouth to speak but it takes a moment for any sound to follow. ‘That thing I said on the roof,’ he says. ‘It was true. I liked you. I mean…’ He flinches slightly. ‘I still like you.’ His voice cracks as it hits the air. And my heart blips. If I were hooked up to a heart monitor in a hospital right now there would be bells and sirens going, nurses would be running to my bedside. And that means it’s time to leave.

‘Noah, I’ve got to go,’ I say, standing up and hooking my bag over my shoulder. ‘I’ll see you around.’