‘Sounds like you’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching, Quinn,’ Minnie said.

‘I have,’ he frowned. ‘I started seeing a therapist at the beginning of the year, started talking through some stuff I’ve never talked about before. I quit after a few months, though; thought I could handle it myself. Then, running out on you like that, I knew I had to go back. I don’t want to be that person, Minnie, not any more. I’ve finally come to a few important decisions.’

‘Like what?’

‘I need to move away from Primrose Hill. I need to apologise to you for the way I behaved. I need to start being open to letting people in.’

In her peripheral vision, Minnie could see him looking sideways at her with hopeful eyes. She kept her eyes on the path ahead.

‘Is this some therapy thing where you go around apologising to all the girls you’ve ghosted?’ Quinn made a short ‘huh’ exhaling sound. ‘I understand if you need to get on. It must be a very long list.’ Minnie elbowed him gently.

‘That’s not what this is. I meant every word I wrote in that letter. I knew I’d done the wrong thing the second I left your flat, but I couldn’t start something with you, Minnie, not until I knew I could do it properly.’ He stopped in his tracks and she turned to face him. He tapped a fist against his chest. ‘From the minute I met you, you’ve burrowed your way in here like a song stuck in my head. I can’t get you out.’

‘That must be very annoying,’ said Minnie with a little shake of her head.

‘It’s not annoying.’

‘Well, that’s not a good analogy then, because getting a song stuck in your head is incredibly annoying.’

‘Not if you like the song.’

‘Especially if you like the song. Best way to ruin a good song, having it go round and round in your head all day. It ruined Pharrell’s “Happy” for me.’

Quinn reached out to take Minnie’s hands. ‘OK, it’s a bad analogy. Look, I’m clearly no good at this.’ Quinn let out a sharp exhale of frustration, then took a breath and tried again. ‘Minnie, you were like this light coming into my life – you dazzle me. But your light also made me see all these shadows in my own life, shadows I finally realised I had to deal with.’ He frowned. ‘You see how I’ve moved from song to light analogies?’

‘Better,’ Minnie nodded, her mouth twitching into a smile.