Tori was sitting outside on the wall of The Cherry on Top, staring out at the sea, waiting for Melody. There was something about this place that just made her smile so much. It felt a world away from London and its fast-paced, non-stop life. It was peaceful and quiet, and everyone seemed so friendly. Already that morning, she’d stopped at the little post office shop to get some milk and been presented with a few chicken drumsticks for Beast from the owner, Mary Nightingale. She’d met Trevor, the owner of all the sheep, who had apologised about blocking the road and given her an apple pie that his wife had made. It was easy to see why Isla and Melody had felt so settled here so quickly. She didn’t know if she could ever live somewhere like Sandcastle Bay but there was definitely an appeal to it.

She watched Mark and Mindy jog past on the beach in their high-vis gear again, Mindy jogging way out in front of her poor husband. Mark looked over wistfully at The Cherry on Top as they passed and stopped. He looked at Mindy, who hadn’t noticed, and suddenly he started rubbing his leg and moaning about cramp. Tori smothered a laugh. Mindy came running back to help him and he waved her on, saying he would just have a little rest here for a while and then catch her up. After a bit of persuasion, Mindy carried on jogging and, as soon as she was far enough away, Mark hurried into The Cherry on Top with seemingly no cramp problems at all. Tori smiled to herself. Sandcastle Bay held some right characters.

Nearby a radio was playing the news, reporting a hurricane off the coast of America that was predicted to change course and head across the Atlantic towards the UK. It was hard to imagine this calm, tranquil haven being the victim of a hurricane.

She saw movement along the sea front and looked over. It was Leo Jackson. He had this air of confidence about him that said he didn’t care what people thought about him. The way he carried himself, she got the impression that he was angry with the world but that hadn’t been the Leo she had met the night before. The Leo who adored Elliot and invited Isla to stay just so she wouldn’t have to go up the hill at the end of the night. He saw her and smiled. Tori thought he would just carry on straight past into the café, so it surprised her when he sat down next to her on the wall.

‘I’m glad I caught you alone, I wanted to talk to you,’ Leo said.

Why would he want to talk to her? He looked out over the sea as if embarrassed to be talking to her about this.

‘About Isla?’ she asked.

He frowned. ‘No, definitely not.’

No, of course not. If something was happening between them and they were keeping it top secret, he certainly wouldn’t be asking advice from someone he’d just met.

‘About Aidan then?’

‘About Matthew.’

‘Oh.’

That wiped the smile off her face. She had been sitting there, enjoying the view, feeling the relaxed atmosphere of the place seep into her bones, and now she felt herself tense in response to that one word.

‘There weren’t lots of girls. I wanted to clarify that. I only said that yesterday to cover over the fact that I had clearly dropped you in it. Matthew talked about you often. In the last three or four months before he died, you were pretty much the only thing he did talk about. He wasn’t seeing anyone else. Thought you should know.’

Tori stared at him, emotion clawing at her throat as all those buried feelings for Matthew came flooding back.

‘I have no right to care about that but I do,’ she said.

‘Why do you not have any right?’ Leo asked.

‘I pushed him away. I told him I didn’t want a relationship with him, just before he died.’ She paused. ‘And that wasn’t the first time either.’

She looked at Leo and he sat there patiently, waiting for her to talk if she wanted to, not pushing her for any more than she wanted to give. She had never talked about Matthew with anyone and all these suppressed feelings came bubbling to the surface now.

‘We were best friends growing up. Me, Melody and Matthew, and mostly Isla too, would always hang around together, inside school and out. He was my first kiss and later, at eighteen, he was the first person I made love to as well. I don’t know why we did, we hadn’t been dating or anything. But one night, it just sort of happened. I was scared about getting involved in any kind of relationship, it destroyed my mum when my dad left, and I didn’t want to go through that. He was due to go on a gap year anyway, which turned into a gap three years, and so the morning after we made love and he asked what it meant for us now, I told him I wasn’t interested in starting anything, that we were better staying friends. I think I hurt him, though he never said anything.

‘He left for America and later Australia and I always thought it was for the best. I didn’t want to lose him as a friend. We stayed in touch over the years, but we were never as close as we were growing up. I don’t know whether it was the distance; he went to university down this way when he eventually came back to the UK, and after a brief stint in London, he got work down here. Or maybe it was that I’d driven a wedge between us after such a wonderful night together.’

Tori looked away over the sea as she remembered the first time she had laid in his arms.

‘And Isla and Melody never knew?’

‘No. I don’t know if they noticed the change between us, but he was away from the UK for three years; of course things would be different between us.’

‘Then you got together again years later?’

‘Sort of. One night, probably about four months before he died, he phoned to speak to Melody and she wasn’t in. We ended up chatting for hours. Then he phoned again the next night and the night after. It was just like old times again. We spoke every day for about two months. It was quite clear that something a lot more than friendship was going on. One night he said he wished he was with me so he could kiss me and I said I wished for that too. The following weekend, he came up. The worst thing was that he told Isla that he had to go away with work and could she come down here and look after Elliot. She leapt at the chance, she loved spending time with Elliot. Melody decided to come down here too. And me and Matthew spent the whole weekend in London making love. After that we’d chat two or three times a day and it was quite clear that Matthew wanted it to be something. He kept talking about me coming down here. I was busy with work so I kept putting him off, but I knew in reality I was scared about getting involved in a relationship again. I’d had one serious relationship that had ended badly and the thought of being in another relationship, especially with my best friend, freaked me out. He knew that too and he confronted me about it. We ended up having a big row and I called things off. I regretted it as soon as I’d done it and I deliberated about whether it was the right thing or not, changing my mind and changing it back again over the next few days. Five days after our row, he was dead.’

She swallowed down the pain of the grief and guilt that lay heavy in her heart, but she felt a bit lighter for finally talking about it.

‘And Isla and Melody don’t know any of this?’

Tori shook her head.

‘In reality, we didn’t have any kind of relationship to tell them about. A one-night stand when I was eighteen, one amazing weekend and a few months of flirty, phone calls.’

‘So, you didn’t have a conventional relationship with dates and actually seeing each other on a regular basis, but you guys talked more each day than most happily married couples. I know he wanted you to come down and visit but you were scared. He understood that. So, I know something of your tentative relationship. Whatever it was between you, I know that it was more than just friends; that he absolutely adored you, probably even loved you, so don’t dismiss that.’

She swallowed, tears pricking her eyes. Leo was the only person who had validated what she had with Matthew. No one knew about them and when he’d died she didn’t feel she had the right to grieve for him to the extent she wanted, at least not publicly. Melody was his sister and she was distraught. Tori had to be there for her, not impede on her grief with her own. Their mum had specified that the funeral be small, family only, so she hadn’t gone. Visiting his grave had been one of the things that she planned to do while she was here, though she wasn’t looking forward to it. She thought she had let him down somehow.

‘He wanted more than I was willing to give, and I will always regret that,’ Tori said, quietly. ‘We were friends for so long and I was scared of losing that, of trusting in a relationship again. I knew I loved him. I was just too scared to do anything about it. The worst thing was that he died never knowing how I really felt and he probably died hating me too.’

There was silence for a while as they sat on the sea wall, looking out over the waves.

‘There was an email,’ Leo said, quietly.

Tori looked at him.

‘Isla asked me to go through his things, his emails, his computer, take care of anything that needed taking care of. She asked me to email people from work or other contacts and let them know what had happened. There was an email to you in his draft folder. It was written three days before he died. I read it to see if it was anything important and…’ he trailed off.

‘And?’

‘Well, it was, but I couldn’t bring myself to send it to you. I didn’t know you, though I knew how much he cared for you. When I casually mentioned you to Isla and asked about your relationship with Matthew, she said that you were just friends. I wasn’t sure what to do. People write email messages to people all the time with no intention of ever sending them, just as a way to pour out their feelings, but it’s not something they actually want the other person to see. In my mind there was a reason why he hadn’t sent that email when he’d written it and not in the following days before he died either. I wondered whether he was still refining it, trying to get the right words, or if he never meant for you to see it at all. I didn’t want to betray Matthew. But now I think you should see it.’

‘Do you still have it?’

‘Yes, I think so. I forwarded it to my own email, just in case. But this was a year ago. I’d need to look for it. Give me a day or so.’

She nodded, wondering what it was Matthew had wanted to say after their row. God, what if it was something horrible, she didn’t know if she could cope with that.

‘You shouldn’t take all the responsibility for the relationship never really taking off. You were both busy with work and long-distance relationships rarely work. Who’s to say if he was still alive that it would have worked out between you anyway? I think Matthew’s death taught me one thing, that we can’t live our life with regrets. Be happy with what you had – a wonderful, very close friendship – and perhaps learn from it in the future.’

‘How do I learn from it?’

Leo sighed as he looked out to sea. ‘I’m not in any position to give you advice about love, my life is a bit of a mess when it comes to that side of things. But sometimes you have to take a risk because the reward can be amazing. If you think the reward is good enough, then you shouldn’t let fear get in the way. If it doesn’t work out at least you tried, rather than regret that you didn’t.’

Tori nodded. ‘Very true, but in many cases, it’s a lot harder than it looks.’

‘I know. In life it’s very easy to take the safe path, where you think you’ll never get hurt, but life is short, and we never know what is around the next corner. Life can change in the blink of an eye and no matter how careful you are, how safe you think your life is, you will always end up getting hurt one way or another.’ Leo grinned. ‘The other path is much more fun so maybe take some risks now and again.’

Tori smiled. He was so right. She had been so careful with her heart and in one awful moment she had lost Matthew, and then Melody shortly after when she had moved to Sandcastle Bay. She had ended up hurt anyway so maybe it was time to have some fun.

He looked down the beach and stood up. ‘Melody’s coming. I’ll let you get on.’

‘Thank you for talking to me.’

He nodded and moved away, and Tori watched him go.

‘Leo.’

He turned back to face her.

‘He loved you too. Whenever we’d talk, your name would come up often. I could tell he adored you.’

He stared at her for a few moments and then nodded and walked away.

A few seconds later Melody bounced up and gave Tori a great big hug. ‘Hey, you. Did I see you talking to Leo?’

‘Oh, yes, not anything important, just, well, mundane stuff really: weather, Sandcastle Bay, nothing special,’ Tori said, vaguely, hating that she was lying to her best friend. She didn’t know why she didn’t feel she could tell Melody the truth. When she and Matthew had started their… relationship, it had been just two friends catching up. She’d told Melody he’d called, and they’d chatted for a bit, and Melody clearly hadn’t thought anything of it. And at that time there really wasn’t anything to it. When he had called the next night to talk to her this time, not Melody, Tori still hadn’t mentioned it to her friend and it became this private thing, a wonderful, delicious secret just between them.

As time had gone on, it became even harder to tell Melody, because how did she tell her friend that she had been flirting and chatting with her brother every day for four months, or that they had secretly spent the weekend making love, while Melody and Isla had been babysitting Elliot? She felt bad about that, but Matthew had deliberately lied to his sisters so he could spend the weekend with her and she didn’t want to betray him by telling the truth. After his death, it became almost impossible to tell Melody and Isla. She didn’t want them to think Tori was laying some claim over him and the lie over that weekend sat heavy on her conscience. What was the point of hurting them over a relationship that had never really taken off? Melody seemed to take her word for it, which made Tori feel even worse. Melody linked arms with her and they walked into the café.

The place was quite busy, again filled with elderly couples. Mark was sitting in one corner, eating what looked suspiciously like a bacon sandwich. She gave him a wave and he blushed guiltily, moving the menu stand subtly in front of his plate so she wouldn’t see what he was eating, but it was a little too late for that. Melody made for the corner where there was one table empty and Tori followed.

‘I think I might get the waffles,’ Melody said, excitedly. ‘Emily makes the most amazing waffles and then you can get either savoury or sweet toppings. The cheese and mushroom toppings are delicious, but then so is the banoffee. Maybe I’ll get both.’

Tori smiled at her friend, at how something as simple as a great lunch could make her so happy. ‘That sounds good, shall I go and order? My treat.’

‘Oh no, let me pay. You’ve come all the way down here to see us, I can at least buy you lunch.’

‘Well, if you buy me lunch, I’ll buy the pudding,’ Tori insisted.

Melody smiled. ‘Deal.’

Emily came over to take their order and, after she had written it down, she nudged Tori. ‘So, hot date with my brother tonight?’

‘It’s not a date, just dinner,’ Tori tried, knowing it was no good. ‘And why didn’t you tell me yesterday that the Aidan Jackson that your aunt was predicting I would marry was the brother I was going to work for?’

‘I’ve mentioned Aidan before, in our emails, I’m sure I have. I thought you knew.’

‘No, actually you never mentioned his name, just referred to him as your brother. I didn’t really think much of it at the time. And yesterday you called him Parker.’

‘Oh yes,’ Emily laughed. ‘Sorry. But I hear you two have hit it off already, so maybe Agatha will be right after all.’

Tori shook her head, laughing. ‘Never going to happen.’

‘We’ll see,’ Emily said, disappearing back behind the counter.

Tori turned back to Melody. ‘What is it with this village and their desire to see everyone married off?’

‘I think it’s the silly legend surrounding the heartberries and that all those that eat them will be happy in love. They have this heartberry festival which is basically a big festival of love every year, I guess they have something to prove to the outside world. The more loved-up couples the better. Don’t take it personally, they try to get everyone together.’

‘Who are they trying to fix you up with?’ Tori asked and watched Melody blush.

‘The other Jackson brother.’

‘Jamie?’ Tori had guessed as much. ‘He seems nice.’

‘He is, he’s so lovely. Of course, Agatha announcing to the world that me and him would get married has made him keep his distance a bit. Bit awkward really when we work in the same courtyard and get to see each other every day. His studio is right opposite my shop, I literally look out my window and see him working away. He’s caught me staring a few times, but I’ve caught him staring too. He never really says a lot to me, smiles at me, occasionally waves. I’ve tried talking to him a few times, but I never know what to say to him.’

Tori had wandered round Starfish Court that morning, a little alleyway just off the beach that had a collection of crafty shops, including Melody’s jewellery shop, a pottery store, a shop that sold handmade chocolates, Jamie’s art studio and a few others. It was a cute little place. Melody had been dealing with a customer at the time, so Tori hadn’t gone in, but she had seen Jamie and he had been staring across the alley into Melody’s shop at the time. Maybe the two of them needed a little help. Tori shook her head at that thought. She didn’t like the villagers interfering in her love life, why should she interfere in Melody’s?

Just then the door opened, and Agatha walked in. Tori almost didn’t recognise her at first, her hair was a candyfloss pink today.

Agatha went over to the counter to chat to Emily, no doubt putting in her order, and then came straight over to their table and plonked herself down.

‘Love the hair, Agatha,’ Melody said.

‘Thank you, thought I’d go pink, it is the colour of love. I might even add some red for the festival.’

‘And do you have a date for the festival?’ Melody asked, and Tori liked that she had turned the tables on Agatha for once.

‘Well, I’m hoping that sexy Stefano from the Italian might ask me. He’s been giving me the eye every time I walk past. Of course, at our age, it could be cataracts or glaucoma that makes his eyes go funny, not me, but we’ll see,’ Agatha said.

The café door opened again and this time Jamie walked in with a young pretty blonde in a pink flowery dress. They were laughing and chatting easily, and Tori wondered what Melody’s reaction would be to seeing him with another girl.

She glanced at Melody. Although she was looking wistfully over at Jamie she didn’t seem too perturbed about the other girl.

Tori noticed that some of the old folk had gone quiet since they had walked in and some were even glaring at them, well mainly at the girl, not Jamie.

‘That’s Rosie,’ Agatha whispered. ‘She and her wife Eva have just moved to Sandcastle Bay. They have a young daughter, Merry. But nobody is particularly happy about them being here.’

Tori stared at her in shock. ‘Because they’re gay?’

It seemed strange that in the twenty-first century there were still people who had homophobic views, but for a whole village to think like that really surprised her.

Agatha looked aghast. ‘Of course not, what kind of backward regressive place do you think this is? We have several gay people that live here in Sandcastle Bay, no one cares. No, it’s because they’ve opened up a tattoo studio in Starfish Court. Rosie is a wonderful tattoo artist and her wife does body piercings. Many folk think that Sandcastle Bay and especially Starfish Court is not the right place for a tattoo studio. Starfish Court has been associated with art, sculpture, paintings, jewellery making for many years, it’s supposed to be a place of culture and art. Tattoos are not everyone’s idea of culture. The young people of the village think it’s great. The old fogies are too stuffy in their way of thinking.’

‘But tattooing is a form of art,’ Tori protested.

‘I know, I think it’s wonderful. The village needs some fresh life. These people need to wake up and move with the times. I’m going to do something about it,’ Agatha said.

‘You going to get a tattoo then?’ Tori teased.

Agatha nodded. ‘That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Rosie! Rosie dear, come over here.’

Tori’s eyes widened in surprise. Agatha was well into her eighties. Was she really going to get a tattoo?

Rosie smiled at Agatha and wandered over, leaving Jamie by the counter.

‘Rosie, I would like a tattoo,’ Agatha said, loudly, so everyone in the café could hear. ‘I’ve always wanted one but never got around to doing it.’

‘Oh, that’s great,’ Rosie said. ‘What would you like?’

Agatha faltered, clearly not having thought that far ahead. She looked over at Tori for some suggestions.

‘I’ve always fancied getting a dragon,’ Tori said. ‘Maybe you could get your favourite animal.’

‘Yes, there you go, me and Tori will come and get a tattoo on Monday. She’ll get a dragon and I’ll get a giraffe.’

Tori’s eyes widened in shock and Melody giggled.

‘Wait, I’m not sure if I want something permanent. I can’t change my mind if I don’t like it. And I’m not sure if I want something that would be visible all the time.’

‘Of course, you do,’ Agatha said. ‘What’s the point of getting one if no one sees it?’

‘Lots of people have them hidden,’ Rosie said. ‘It’s a private thing just for them or for their partners to see. If you’re not sure you want to commit to something permanent, I could do you a henna tattoo, they wash off in a couple of weeks, then you can get used to having it before you go for something permanent.’

‘Well, that might be a good idea,’ Tori said.

‘And maybe somewhere a bit discreet,’ Melody suggested. ‘So if you really didn’t like it, no one else would see it. Maybe on your back.’

‘I can do that,’ Rosie said.

‘Let me choose one for you,’ Agatha said, excitedly, clearly getting into the swing of things. ‘If it washes off anyway, why not let me choose one for you, something that I think would suit you perfectly.’

Melody subtly shook her head at that suggestion, but Tori was distracted by Emily’s assistant who came over with a tray and placed their order on the table before hurrying back behind the counter.

Tori picked up her mug of chamomile tea, playing for time before she answered. Did she really trust Agatha to choose something tasteful for her? Although, if it was going to wash off in a few weeks and it was hidden on her back, it didn’t really matter what tattoo she had done. And if it made Agatha happy then why not? If Tori was going to follow the fun path for a while, she could start with something small like a temporary tattoo.

‘Sure, you can choose for me,’ Tori said.

Melody’s eyes widened in shock, but Tori just shrugged. What was the worst that could happen?

Agatha clapped her hands together happily. ‘I have the perfect design for you. I’ll draw it out and bring it along on Monday.’

‘Great. I might even get my belly pierced,’ Tori said.

‘I might get a piercing too, maybe a nose stud,’ Agatha said. ‘I’ve always thought they look so exotic.’

‘Oh, my wife can do that for you.’ Rosie looked really pleased to have this new custom, even if it was through an unlikely source. ‘I better get back, she’ll be wondering where her lunch is. I’ll see you Monday. Pop in any time.’

Rosie moved back over to the counter and took a brown paper bag from Emily, before waving goodbye to them and Jamie.

Jamie took a brown paper bag from Emily too and was just about to leave when Agatha called him over.

‘Jamie! Come and join us for lunch,’ Agatha yelled across the café.

‘I probably should get back,’ Jamie said, eyeing Melody who had suddenly gone several shades of pink.

‘Nonsense, that young Klaus can take care of things for a bit, surely you can spare a bit of time for your dear old aunt. I might be dead in a week and then you’d regret not having lunch with me.’

Jamie smirked and then came across the café toward them. Agatha immediately shuffled around and grabbed a seat from a nearby table and pulled it over, so it was next to Melody. Jamie awkwardly sat down in the empty seat.

He cleared his throat. ‘Hi Melody.’

‘Hi,’ Melody said, smiling at him and then, clearly embarrassed, she focussed her attention on her food. She scooped up a bit of cheesy waffle on her fork but before it reached her mouth it splatted on the table, which actually was a step up from splattering down her top, which was what normally happened with Melody.

Jamie handed her a napkin as she blushed furiously. He then opened his bag and spent a long time unpacking his lunch onto the table.

Silence descended in their little corner of the café and Tori looked at Agatha in exasperation. Agatha rolled her eyes.

Jamie turned his attention to Tori. ‘So, how are you settling in? I hear you had an intruder last night.’

Agatha gasped. ‘Someone broke into Blossom Cottage?’

‘No, Beast turned up to give her a welcome party,’ Jamie laughed. ‘Apparently he was hoping to spend the night in Tori’s bed.’

Tori marvelled over how easily he could talk to her and with Rosie when he had come into the café, but found it so impossible to talk to Melody.

‘He didn’t spend the night in my bed. I drew the line there, but he did sleep on the sofa. He was gone again this morning when I got up, no doubt off to terrorise some other poor unsuspecting soul, but I guess he’ll be back again tonight for his dinner.’

‘Oh, that bloody dog,’ Agatha said. ‘I don’t know how Aidan expects to run a professional holiday let from the cottage when it comes with a stray dog. It’s hardly a selling point.’

‘What can he do though?’ Tori said. ‘He’s called the animal shelter to come and get him and he’s escaped from them three times. Blossom Cottage is Beast’s home.’

‘Aidan encourages him. You know there’s a mattress and a heater in the shed, so the dog has somewhere to go if it can’t get in the house.’

‘I think that’s really sweet that he’s done that,’ Tori said before she could stop herself and Agatha’s eyes lit up.

‘You think he’s sweet? Oh, this is wonderful, you like him. Oh, you two would be perfect together.’

‘No, I just think it’s sweet, it’s not—’

‘I knew it!’ Agatha said, practically bouncing out of her seat.

‘There’s nothing to get excited about, we barely know each other,’ Tori tried.

‘But you do have your hot date tonight,’ Jamie said, grinning as he added fuel to the fire.

‘Oh yes, you do,’ Agatha said. Rooting around in her handbag, she pulled out a handful of condoms. Jamie choked on his sandwich and Melody stifled a giggle as Tori stared at them in horror. There were five strawberry and three chocolate-flavoured ones and they looked like they had probably expired a long time ago. ‘Take these just in case.’

‘Agatha, why do you have condoms in your bag?’ Jamie asked.

‘Well you never know, do you dear? One day, I might go into Stefano’s Italian to get my meatball Bolognese and he might just decide to have his wicked way with me right there on the restaurant floor or on one of his pristine white tables. I mean, just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean it will never happen. I like to be prepared.’

‘Well, I don’t want to ruin your chances by taking all your condoms,’ Tori said, trying to push the condoms back across the table towards Agatha.

‘Oh, no need to worry, I have loads in here.’ Agatha peered in her oversized handbag. ‘There’s probably fifty of them in there. I have mint-flavoured too but I find that a bit tingly. You take them and go and enjoy yourself.’

Melody snorted, and Tori was aware of the muted conversations in the café as everyone tuned in to what was being talked about at their table. She looked around and saw a few people looking over in their direction. She firmly pushed the condoms back across the table.

‘It’s not a date Agatha, no matter how much you’d like it to be, it’s not. It’s dinner and he will probably want to talk me through the berry-picking and how to do it,’ Tori said. Though she was aware that, after their interactions the day before, they had already progressed much further than talking about work.

‘Berry-picking, my arse, what do you need to know? You pick berries off the plant, it’s not rocket science. And my sources tell me that you said you want to lick him all over, so I definitely think you will be needing these.’ Agatha pushed the condoms back towards her.

‘What sources?’ Tori said. Surely Aidan hadn’t told his aunt what she had said.

‘Mary Nightingale from the post office was in the pub last night at the next table to you. She said it was quite an informative evening.’

Tori stared at her in shock and replayed everything that she’d said. Even after Aidan had gone there had been much talk about him. What else had they said that had now worked its way back to Agatha?

‘I’m not denying that I find your nephew attractive,’ Tori said, awkwardly. ‘But nothing is going to happen.’

Agatha pushed the condoms even closer to Tori. ‘Take them, just in case. You never know when the mood will strike, one of those wild, impetuous, go-with-the-flow moments.’

Tori sighed and decided that just taking the condoms and discreetly changing the subject was a lot easier than arguing against it.

She picked them up and shoved them in her bag.

Jamie laughed. ‘Eight condoms. Looks like Aidan is in for a wild night.’

‘I’ve been reading this Fifty Shades of Grey,’ Agatha said, rummaging in her handbag again. ‘That bondage stuff does sound like a lot of fun. Why not give it a go?’

Agatha produced a pair of red furry handcuffs, a blindfold and something long, black and sparkly that looked like it might be a vibrator but there were other bits coming off it, so she wasn’t really sure. Thankfully, it was still in its wrapper and Tori was too afraid to ask what it was.

Jamie’s laughing went up an octave and even Melody was no longer trying to suppress her laughter, her shoulders shaking, tears running down her cheeks as she laughed so hard.

‘What the hell is this?’ Jamie said, picking up the black thing.

‘It’s a vibrator, dear,’ Agatha said, simply, and Jamie let it clatter to the table and then burst out laughing again. Melody put her head on her arms, her whole body shaking with laughter.

‘I’m not taking those,’ Tori said, looking around the café and realising everyone in the café was suddenly taking a strong interest in what was happening on their table. All other conversations had fallen silent and some people were openly laughing at their exchange.

‘Look, just put them in your bag, you and I both know I’m going to win this argument, so you might as well take them now. I’m not saying whip them out on your first date tonight, but maybe on the second date you might like to try a bit of spice in your sex life.’

Tori grabbed the stuff and shoved it in her bag in the desperate attempt to stop this conversation once and for all.

‘You’re going to be sorry I took these once Stefano decides to have his wicked way with you,’ Tori said.

‘It’s fine, Mary Nightingale runs a sex toys catalogue in her spare time, I get a discount. You should have a look yourself.’ With impeccable timing, Agatha produced the catalogue. ‘You never know what Aidan might be into.’

Tori rubbed her forehead. ‘You’re going to be so disappointed when I see you next and you hear that the only thing that happened tonight was dinner and conversation.’

‘Ah yes, but it depends on what the conversation is about,’ Agatha said, waggling her eyebrows.

‘Berries and berry-picking I expect,’ Tori said and looked around the table at three disbelieving faces.

Tori sighed because she didn’t believe that either.