‘Nice to meet you, Laura.’ He smiles and my heart flips. He’s tall, dark, handsome. He looks like he’s stepped straight out of the pages of one of my romance novels.

I start to fill in the paperwork, my skin still warm beneath his gaze. ‘Dog’s name?’ I ask, glancing up at him.

He shrugs. ‘How about Isis?’ he suggests.

*

‘Where did you grow up?’ I ask Liam on our first date.

His gaze, so direct up until now, wanders for a moment. He looks around at the other customers and then at the table. ‘Kent,’ he says. ‘A small town. I got out as soon as I could. But my roots are Scottish.’

‘I’d love to visit Scotland,’ I say, slightly wistfully. I’m addicted to the Outlander books, but I don’t tell him that’s the reason. ‘Do you still have family in Kent?’ I ask instead.

He shakes his head. ‘No. My father disappeared when I was young,’ he says. ‘And my mother died eight years ago.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I tell him.

He shrugs. ‘It’s OK. We weren’t very close. She was a difficult woman.’

I cock my head. It’s an unusual way to describe a parent. He gives a tight smile.

‘She must have been proud of you for being a detective.’

He shakes his head. ‘Not really, no. Nothing would have made her proud. She was very religious. I could never do anything right. Black sheep and all that.’

‘I’m sorry again,’ I say, moved by his honesty.

He smiles at me, and it’s such a lovely open smile that the butterflies in my stomach multiply. I feel almost giddy with excitement.

‘What about you?’ he asks. ‘Any family? Ex-boyfriends I should know about?’

I pause, thinking about Paul, who I haven’t heard from since Christmas Day. I’ve sent him several texts, but I think he’s ghosting me. I shake my head. ‘No,’ I say. ‘No boyfriend. Just my mum.’

‘Good,’ he answers with the smile that I’m growing to love.

*

‘Oh, he’s ever so lovely,’ my mum giggles as we watch Liam mending the fence in the back yard. ‘It’s nice to have a man around here who’s good with his hands.’

I bite my lip to suppress a smile.

‘I’m amazed he’s not married already,’ my mum says.

‘He was,’ I tell her.

My mum looks at me, her expression eager. ‘What happened?’