I drank my wine and flapped a hand. ‘Forget the loungewear. The important thing is that when Kerry found out about Melissa, she guessed that Giles might be feeling a little bit low and so suggested a coffee to cheer him up. That’s when she prised open his glued-together pages and made him talk about relationship and that’s when they sorted everything out.’

‘So you didn’t have to drop yourself in it for meddling.’

I frowned at him.

‘I meant “for helping”, obviously. I misspoke.’

‘Hmm.’

He smiled. ‘Well, I’m pleased there hasn’t been any awkwardness.’

‘Yes, me too,’ I replied, placing my empty wine glass on the coffee table. ‘And talking of awkwardness, I’d better head next door. I want to be out of the way and in bed if Kerry comes back for coffee. The last thing they’ll want is me hovering in the kitchen.’

I stood up and Cameron stood too. ‘I’m not planning to get in Kerry’s way either. I’m staying over, so I’ll be heading upstairs soon myself.’

He walked ahead of me into the hallway, stepping to one side to let me to the front door.

‘Thanks for keeping me company,’ he said, as I turned the latch.

I smiled at him over my shoulder. ‘No problem. Loved Megamind.’

‘It’s my favourite, you know.’ He scratched his jaw. ‘Although, strangely, I don’t actually own a copy of it myself.’

I laughed, stepping outside and beginning to walk away. ‘See you Monday.’

‘How about a drink next week?’ he asked suddenly.

I turned and then hesitated, slightly thrown by the proposal. ‘A drink?’ I asked a little breathlessly, shivering and pulling my bathrobe more tightly around me.

He propped his shoulder against the doorframe, leaning casually. ‘Yes, I feel a need to know more about the loungewear, and Luke pointed out yesterday that we haven’t all made it out for a while.’

‘Oh yes, sure. That sounds great. Bye!’ I said hurriedly, scuttling away while feeling slightly ridiculous that I had been on the verge of mistaking Cameron’s suggestion for anything other than after-work drinks with our colleagues. After all, I reminded myself, this was a man who had made it very clear, less than a week ago, that he had no interest whatsoever in dating me.

I frowned slightly at the recollection and tried hard not to be bothered by it as I completed the short but freezing journey home. But as I reached Giles’s front door, and raised a hand in response to a final, smiling farewell over the hedge, I had to admit that the prospect of never dating Cameron Grange actually felt like rather a shame.

Chapter 34