‘Um… about what?’

‘That’s your lunch, isn’t it?’ She nodded at the now cold panini. ‘I was going to pretend I hadn’t noticed, but one of the reasons I gave up my job was because I’m fed up with putting on a polite face and pretending all the time. And now you think it’s rude to eat your sandwich in front of me, when I’m the one who was rude for turning up here out of the blue and interrupting your lunch.’

‘Um… it’s fine.’

‘Please, eat your sandwich.’

Deciding that was probably the least awkward thing to do at that point, I took a token nibble.

‘Okay, so while I seem to be on an honesty roll, I’m going to take a risk and lay it out there.’

I reminded myself that Daniel thought Becky was a nice, normal person, and tried not to visibly brace myself.

‘I like you, Eleanor. I know this is a bit primary school, but I’ve spent too many years schmoozing and charming people and I’m done with being fake. I sort of felt like we clicked. Friends at first sight. Is it too weird for me to ask if you’d like to skip all the faffing about and just be friends? Friends who can say, yeah, come in, but make your own cuppa because I’m in the middle of a panini. Without the need to be polite or worry about what the other one’s thinking?’

I took a long, slow breath. Not because I wasn’t sure what to say – because I wanted to savour the moment. I was done with being fake, too. And I wanted to eat my panini.

‘That would be lovely.’

My business plan shoved to one side, we spent the next couple of hours doing the general getting to know you thing. I explained how I knew Charlie, and the tentative plans for the farmhouse, both of us weeping as we shared our memories of someone who had been a friend to both of us. I did skim over my previous job situation, but that was because we were ‘done with being fake’, and Nora Sharp was nothing to do with the real me. Becky filled me in on her old job, and how she left because she couldn’t bear the loneliness any more.

‘I pretended I felt lonely because I travelled around so much, but the truth is I was a big, fat fraud who couldn’t trust the drivelling hogwash that came out of her own mouth. How could anyone get close to me, when there was no real me any more?’

I nearly told her, then. I would have told her, only Hope started crying because she was long overdue a nap, and by the time I’d settled her the moment had passed.

‘So, you and Daniel,’ Becky pronounced. I waited for her to expand, but no, that was it.

‘What about me and my friend’s brother who is also my landlord?’ I asked, eventually, just to stop her from smirking.