‘Liam’s brother got married in Liverpool this weekend,’ I say, the words tumbling out even though I promised myself to make any chat with him short and sweet. ‘So I headed up there as soon as I got back. In fact, Liam met me off the flight, which was so thoughtful of him, and we had so much to catch up on. It was a good wedding too, and I just didn’t want to be looking down at my phone all the time. I think not having signal when I was away and having to actually look at the world has made me think of my phone a bit differently.’

I look over to him and find his eyebrows starting to knit together.

‘Yeah. Of course,’ he says hesitantly. ‘It’s just, I messaged you …’

‘I haven’t had a chance to look,’ I shrug, feeling embarrassed as I say it.

‘I’ve messaged you a fair bit, actually,’ he says, nursing the mug in his hands.

‘Oh right …’

Something like a confused grunt escapes his mouth.

There’s no denying he’s good-looking. He really is a beautiful man and he takes great care of his appearance with his clothes and how he puts it all together. There’s also a cheeky glint in his eye and a manner about him that’s charming and inviting, hooking you in instantly. The thing about Albie, though, is that he knows the effect he has on others and how to use it. I’ve dated men like him before and all of this is almost a game they play to lure you in, but really you’re just another ‘thing’ and once they’ve got you they get bored, finding themselves something newer and sparklier to play with. Of course, he might be guilty of none of those things. I might be judging him entirely wrongly when he’d be a perfect boyfriend for someone – my point is, that someone is not me.