Oh. That’s right. I didn’t currently live alone, and here I was with scary bed hair, a dressing gown that had seen better days, legs that definitely needed a shave, and welly shoes. Opposite me stood a tanned, currently half-naked Adonis. I stared at him for a moment. I was never great for conversation first thing in the morning but today had an added level of difficulty. At least, right at this moment it did.

‘Put some clothes on!’ I blurted.

Jack was still batting his chest with his T-shirt. ‘I had some clothes on until you chucked boiling water over me!’

‘It wasn’t intentional, and I only have it at ninety degrees for herbal tea.’

He gave me a look that suggested he didn’t think either of those made much of a difference right at this moment and strode off towards the house, returning a few minutes later wearing a fresh, clean T-shirt.

‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘You gave me a fright. I didn’t expect to see anyone out here this early.’

‘It’s fine. You gave me a third-degree burn so I guess we’re even.’

I pulled a face at him, and he relinquished the hint of a grin.

‘Are you all right?’ I made a gesture that sort of encompassed his chest area while trying not to look at said chest area, although the image was most likely burned into my retinas forever now.

‘Yes. I’m fine. It was just as much my fault. I didn’t expect you to be out here this early either and I wasn’t looking where I was going.’

‘What are you doing out here, anyway?’

He looked down and smiled. ‘Come with me.’

‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’

He laughed. ‘Not these days. Come on.’

Just around the corner lay a huge pile of greenery and brown stuff that had once been green. Behind it, a tiny part of my garden no longer looked like an out-of-control mess. I was immediately transported back to the moment that I’d come to view the house, falling in love with the building, the garden and the tranquillity it promised. A wave of emotion swept over me, and I turned away from Jack so that he couldn’t see the tears threatening in my eyes.

‘Did I do something wrong?’ His voice sounded pained.

‘No! Oh, gosh, no! Not at all. It looks amazing. Thank you.’

‘So why are you crying?’

‘I’m not!’ I returned in a voice that sounded exactly like I was crying.

I felt Jack move closer to me. He bent down, his cheek almost touching mine as he leant forwards over my shoulder. ‘Fibber.’

A small laugh escaped, easing the tension for both of us.

Jack straightened up behind me. ‘You sure you’re OK?’

I nodded. ‘Yes. And thank you for this. I think I thought it was all lost, but you’ve shown me perhaps there’s something redeemable here after all.’

‘I like to think there’s always something redeemable, even when it looks like all hope is lost.’