‘Better than I could do! I need to take a picture,’ I giggle, grabbing my phone from my bedside and unplugging it before lifting it above his beautiful creation.

I quickly post it to Instagram with a hint of Lark filter, then pop a simple heart emoji and #valentinesday in the copy.

‘Practice run,’ Liam chuckles, sidling up next to me with his own tray that looks just as good as mine.

‘Thank you,’ I say, putting the phone away.

‘Anything for you,’ he beams, taking his phone out of his pocket and quickly pulling up some music – James Bay’s ‘Us’ starts playing softly, another reminder. Another pull to my fiancé and intimate moments we’ve shared. I smile at the memory of two years ago. We’d met up for dinner after work and decided to walk along the South Bank towards Borough Market. Along the way there was a busker standing, guitar in hand, eyes closed, completely lost in the music he was playing. Hand in hand we stood and listened, then, with a gentle bend of the wrist, Liam guided me into his arms and we danced in the twinkly lights of the river, lost and found all at once. We searched for the original song on the way home, and even though nothing would ever quite beat the magic of the mystery player we stumbled across, I’m still aware of my heart softening as soon as I hear it.

‘All good?’ he asks, sitting close enough for our shoulders to touch.

‘Absolutely,’ I say, holding out my fork to his so we can chink them together – a gesture that’s become our tradition whenever there’s an absence of alcohol at a mealtime. I can’t even remember when that became a thing or even the first time we did it. A first I can’t remember …

We sit and eat. It’s delicious so I make groans of delight with every bite which makes Liam laugh. He looks so pleased with himself. He really is so very sweet. This is all very romantic and everything my single self from years ago would’ve longed for.

As soon as the cutlery returns to the plate after the last bite has been eaten, Liam takes the tray and plate away from me and puts it to one side.