All the colour might have drained from Joe’s face the night he spotted her in the pub, but there was no denying the loving look in his eyes, or the way he had subsequently flushed when I told him that Hope had thought that the plan for tonight was a good one.

It was more than obvious to me that the pair still felt some connection and that was even without taking into account Hope’s wistful tone when she told me all about her first love down at the beach huts or the cosy chat in the lane that I had witnessed.

‘Well,’ I said, stating the obvious because she seemed to have missed it, ‘having known Joe for so long and been in a relationship with him, you might have known how to put the idea of coming here to him in a more appealing way.’

‘Hardly,’ she said, now avoiding my eye. ‘And besides, I knew him years ago. I have no idea who he is now.’

‘Did you not get any sort of clue when you spoke to him yesterday?’

The way she shuffled from one foot to the other and focused on fiddling with a loose thread on her top, rather than answer me, confirmed what I suspected. She and Joe might have broken up after the crash and she might now be in a relationship with Sam, but there was definitely unfinished business between the pair. Hope might have said she had no idea who Joe was now, but I would have bet good money on her being willing to spend more time chatting to him to find out.

‘Anyway,’ I said, coming to the point because I felt bad for bringing up a moment she would clearly rather keep to herself, ‘it wouldn’t have made any difference, because he’s had to leave. There’s nothing we could have done to get him here.’

‘Leave?’ She said, sounding aghast as her gaze snapped back up to my face. ‘You mean he’s gone?’

Was it not for my concern about how, given her dramatic reaction, this particular love triangle had clear potential to develop, I would have been enthralled. By the looks of it, there was a real-life soap opera about to play out in front of my eyes, but feeling the way I did about all three members of the cast, I wished I could switch channels to something more soothing.

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘did he not say?’ She ignored the question. ‘But don’t panic. He’s going to be back in a few days.’

‘I wasn’t panicking,’ she said defensively. ‘Good riddance.’

She wasn’t very convincing, this female lead in the love triangle.

‘So, you wouldn’t have minded if he’d gone for good then?’