She was savvy enough not to attempt a similar makeover downstairs – it certainly wouldn’t suit the boys’ grungy image to have fresh flowers on every surface and gingham cushions on the holey old sofa. But she had bought a plain navy-blue throw to cover up most of the damage to the sofa, and a large sheepskin rug that made it a hell of a lot more comfortable when they were all playing Scrabble on the floor. Dan called it their ‘Bond villain’ rug.

Before she’d moved in, the boys had lived on takeaways, and the fridge had been stocked with little more than cans of Stella, with the inevitable bottle of cheap vodka in the freezer. Now there was always milk, butter, bread, cheese, ham, salad, yoghurts and plenty of fruit. Sam was far from being a domestic goddess, but she did know that it was important to have proper fresh food inside you. She also emptied the ashtrays and cleared away the empties, with the result that the Crack Den, while still retaining the essence of its former self, was a far more pleasant place in which to live.

‘So then, clever clogs,’ Dan said now, cracking open two cans of Stella and handing one of them to Sam, ‘how’s the first week of term gone?’

It was Saturday afternoon, and they had the house to themselves. Sienna and Mikey had gone to the cinema, while Olly was shopping for some essential additions to his drum kit. They were all planning to meet at the Hawley later, to celebrate Ross and Katie’s engagement.

‘It’s been fine, thanks. I showed that dickhead Josh up in two seminars, which is always fun …’ Dan raised his beer at her. ‘And I got a first for that dissertation I was working on over the summer.’

‘Doesn’t surprise me, but well done anyway. You really are a brainbox, aren’t you? What did you get in your A levels?’ He was still young enough for this to be a valid question – besides which, he wanted to impress Sam with his own results.

‘A stars in Maths, English, Chemistry and Biology.’ Sam tried, in vain, to keep the pride out of her voice.

‘No way?’ Dan nearly dropped his beer in astonishment. ‘Snap!’

‘Really? Same subjects? Same grades?’

He nodded, smiling at her. He really did have an engaging smile.

‘We got exactly the same A-level results?’ Sam couldn’t stop smiling back at him. ‘What are the chances of that?’

They were looking at one another now in the same way that they had that time on the roof at the Hawley, and Sam could feel her heart starting to beat faster.

‘Um, so what made you turn to music then?’ she added hurriedly. Moving into the Crack Den had made it a hell of a lot easier to get over her break-up with Mark, but he had been her first proper boyfriend, and she was still a little bruised inside. So she purposefully ignored the sexual chemistry that occasionally flared up between her and Dan, and concentrated on enjoying the very real pleasure of his friendship instead.