‘I take your point,’ he said, sounding thoughtful. ‘But, to be fair, you only ruined about three months of my new job. Because, you were away for the first two weeks, didn’t really speak to me for the next two weeks and, since August, you’ve actually been pretty OK.’

I looked up to find him grinning. ‘It’s water under the bridge for me, Edie,’ he said. ‘And I’d really like it to be the same for you. Deal?’

He held up his beer and after a moment I raised my glass in response. ‘Deal,’ I said huskily, making use of the tissue. ‘I’m sorry for being emotional. It’s just been…’ I took a breath, ‘a lot.’

‘It’s not a problem,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Despite my gangland appearance, I’m surprisingly in touch with my emotions.’

I laughed, wiping away a couple more tears as I did so. ‘Oh, don’t,’ I sniffed. ‘I’m feeling bad enough about being deliberately mean to you, without being reminded of all the unintentional stuff.’

‘It’s fine, I’m actually OK with gangland.’

I looked across at him, his height and width making the armchair appear half the size it had when Ruby was sitting in it. He was, I decided, a much better fit.

‘Me too,’ I murmured and then, aware that I was beginning to stare, I blinked and cleared my throat. ‘I still can’t believe that Vincent brought Ruby along today without telling Alison.’

‘Yes, well, I’m not sure Vincent’s brain had much to do with that particular decision-making process.’

‘I know, I’m surprised he could stand upright.’

Cameron laughed loudly.

‘Sorry, but it’s true,’ I said, laughing along. ‘The guy made my skin crawl. Did you hear him call Ruby incorrigible? He sounded like a lecherous Edwardian uncle.’

‘Maybe Alison should have a word with him about never mixing the personal with the professional.’

‘So you’ve had that lecture too?’

‘More than once,’ he said. ‘But it’s fine, because I can see where she’s coming from.’

‘Same here,’ I nodded. ‘I always think it must be a bit weird being in a relationship with a work colleague. I mean, when do you get a break from work? How do you avoid bringing your domestics into the office?’

‘I think it’d take real determination.’

‘So you’ve never dated anyone you worked with?’ I asked, sipping my wine, my interest in the topic increasing as I remembered that who Cameron was currently dating was actually a matter of significant interest to me right now. It would be a much-needed, feel-good end to a very crappy day if I could go home to Giles with the good news that Kerry was single after all.

‘No, I haven’t’, he replied.