‘This is Lucky. Lucky hates moving so we have to trick him and pretend it’s some kind of cat game show and he’s won a holiday. You can play the part of the glamorous assistant.’

Minnie had far more boxes than she remembered. It would have taken her at least two trips in an Uber. Willesden was only fifteen minutes’ drive south of her parents’ house. It wasn’t quite as edgy and cool as her previous address in east London, but it had character and her flat wasn’t far from the Tube station. She could afford a place to herself here, even if it was on a rundown estate next to a noisy main road. She and Quinn finally got her boxes and an unhappy cat unloaded into the hall of the new ground-floor flat.

‘It’s nice,’ said Quinn, craning his neck to look into the various rooms of her tiny one-bedroom apartment. To the left of the front door was a small wet room, estate-agent speak for a shower with a toilet in it. ‘Who doesn’t like to wash while they’re on the loo?’

‘I’m sure it’s not as palatial as you’re used to in Primrose Hill, but it’s all mine and it’s blissfully quiet,’ said Minnie. As though on cue, several lorries went roaring past on the road outside, which made them both smile.

To the right of the front door was a kitchen the size of an ant’s nostril, with cupboards stacked three layers high all the way up to the ceiling. There was a small stepladder, presumably used to reach the highest level.

‘You don’t want to keep the booze up there,’ he said, pointing to the top cupboard. ‘Three gin and tonics and this kitchen’s a deathtrap.’ He banged a hand twice on the stepladder.

‘Thanks, Dad,’ she said.

‘OK, I’ll admit that did sound very dad-like. But can I just say, Minnie, I never had a father figure, so dad jokes are very triggering for me.’

Minnie’s face fell, her eyes darted up to look at him.

‘I had you for a second,’ he said. ‘You had a very concerned look in your eye.’

‘No I did not,’ she said, flicking him on the neck with a finger. ‘You’re an idiot.’

‘Ow,’ he said, laughing as he rubbed his neck. Then he reached out and squeezed her shoulder affectionately.

He walked back through to the hall and picked up another box marked ‘kitchen’. There was a bottle of champagne poking out of the top of it. ‘Good to see you’ve packed the important stuff,’ he said, nodding towards the bottle.