‘Useful, then?’

‘Useful in that it’s made me realise that the most important thing about what we’re doing isn’t trying to please everyone, but in making sure we decide what we want to be, being clear about that, and then sticking to it, so the people who do find us aren’t disappointed.’

‘So who are these people, and how do you know what they want?’

I thought carefully about that, even as I felt a stab of shame at my cowardly censoring of the answer. ‘I’ve met a lot of people through work in the past few years. People like Stephe and Saskia, who have worked so hard to get where they are, whether that’s a job, or a look, a social media following. The right postcode, the right partner, all the right hashtags. Even being on holiday has to be the most fabulous experience. It’s exhausting trying to appear so chilled out and relaxed. I think maybe our target market is people who just want to not care about what other people think for once. To be a total mess, scrabbling in the dirt for potatoes, while possibly crying about how they’d love to feel this way all of the time, not just while on some quirky retreat. To imagine that if it was completely up to them, which at the end of the day it usually is, who would they be and what would they do.’

I shrugged, finishing off my dessert. ‘Those sorts of people.’

Daniel screwed up his forehead. ‘Ugh. You don’t get many of those in Ferrington.’

I gave a pointed look. ‘It could be argued that you fit into that category.’

His eyebrows shot up in horror. ‘What? I’m the complete opposite of that category. I don’t even go on social media.’

‘Working yourself half to death, refusing to accept any help in order to prove some sort of point. No time for friends, no energy for fun, not once asking yourself if you might actually prefer to give it all up and grow fruit or teach your daughter how to drive a tractor instead.’

He ran a hand over his mouth, but it didn’t hide his grin. ‘Fair enough. There is one clear difference, though, between me and those sorts of people.’

‘Just one?’

‘I’ve figured out that things need to change without spending £2,000 on a life-regeneration retreat.’

‘No.’ I risked a smirk as Daniel paid the bill. I was tipsy, and happy, and so stuffed with delicious feelings for Daniel that I was having trouble keeping them from tumbling out. ‘It took picking up a random stranger in a ditch to get you there.’

‘Best random stranger I ever found in a ditch, that’s for sure.’

‘Only random stranger. I hope.’

He held the door open for me, pointing to the taxi waiting by the roadside.

‘Could’ve been a thousand random strangers stinking of ditchwater, you’d still be the best.’

Then he turned, face bright in the night air, and bent his head close to mine, eyes burning right into the deepest heart of me. ‘It was the second-best decision I’ve ever made.’