His head shot up. ‘Yes.’ Then a smile played on his lips. ‘But can we talk about the mermaid outfit now? And is that wig in the living room part of it because, if so, I think I need to see the whole get-up.’

Minnie gave him a playful shove as she hopped past him, but she pushed him a little too hard, lost her balance and fell into him. He caught her, clasping both hands around her shoulders. She breathed him in; he smelt like every good Christmas she’d ever had. The owls went into overdrive, pulling crackers and chirping owlish Christmas songs.

‘Maybe you have something I could change into,’ she said, righting herself and stumbling backwards.

Quinn found her some of his gym shorts and a T-shirt to wear. She went to change in the downstairs bathroom. She didn’t have another bra with her, so she just put the T-shirt on over the coconut bra. Once she was back in the living room, she realised how ridiculously big and solid this made her boobs look. While Quinn was in the kitchen, rather than go back to the bathroom again, she decided to subtly perform the magic trick that all girls know – the one that involves taking your bra off beneath your T-shirt and pulling it out of an armhole. Unfortunately, this was not a smooth operation when the bra in question was made of two giant coconut shells.

Quinn came back in with a bottle of wine and averted his gaze when he saw what she was doing.

‘Is my T-shirt attacking you?’ he asked. ‘Do you need some privacy?’

‘All good,’ said Minnie, finally pulling the coconuts out through the bottom of the T-shirt. Oh, why hadn’t she thought to pick up her change of clothes?

Quinn poured them a glass of wine and she told him about Leila’s engagement. She covered her face as she told him about Leila’s reaction, how she hadn’t remembered the conversation at all. The lines around Quinn’s eyes creased into deep grooves and he let out a low, hearty laugh.

‘So she had no idea what this whole scene was in reference to?’

‘Not an inkling,’ Minnie gave a wincing smile.

‘Oh Minnie,’ Quinn leant back against the arm of the sofa, laughing. ‘That’s very sweet of you to plan all that for your friend.’

As he looked over at her with his warm blue eyes, she couldn’t help but feel again that she’d known this man for far longer than the time they’d spent together. They sat in contented silence for a minute and then Quinn leant over to top up her glass. She shouldn’t have anything else to drink; if she did she’d say something stupid. She’d mention the elephant in the room and she’d ruin things again.