Sarah lifted the brush and ran it through her nana’s hair. The old woman was unaware of her granddaughter’s actions, but for as long as Sarah could remember, she’d never had a hair out of place. To not maintain that tradition now would be to let Nana down.

As she brushed the hair into its usual style she recounted her day to her grandmother. She told her of the different test drives, of the customer who came in complaining that the cruise control didn’t actually steer the car, and how her boss had praised her for the way she’d managed to sell a top of the range car with every possible optional extra.

She even told her nana about the date she had arranged for Friday night. The old woman lay unmoving as she described every detail of her encounter with Kevin Ingersoll. Sarah chatted about the date and how she was looking forward to eating at Sharrow Bay. That would be a treat in itself. To dine there with a rich man who found her attractive would be even better.

The biggest issue for her was choosing the right outfit. Sharrow Bay was a classy place and, as such, she’d have to dress appropriately. While on the one hand she wanted Kevin to be attracted to her, she also wanted to create the right impression. What she had to achieve with her outfit was a mixture of sensual, alluring and respectable.

Sarah gave her wardrobe a mental rifling through and remembered a pale-green wool dress. She’d got it last year and had only worn it once. It was perfect. Mid-calf; it was appropriate for the venue and the way it clung to her legs as she walked would add a level of sensuality.

When she settled down with a cup of tea, she contrasted the two test drives she’d had today. The old man with his military tie had been a waste of time. He’d never tried to put the car through its paces and had spent more time leering at her than paying attention to the vehicle he was supposed to be interested in.

It hadn’t taken her long to realise that his main interest was in her.

Her next thoughts were about Kevin and how he’d driven with flair and confidence. He’d been interested in the car and his questions had all been about the vehicle. He’d wanted to know about performance, the car’s statistics and the range of extras.

When he’d taken the car up to 150 it had been all she could do not to squeal in pleasure. An ex-boyfriend had once got his clapped-out Golf up to 120, but that had been during an argument and had left her scared rather than exhilarated.

By comparison, Kevin had been his normal self and hadn’t shown the slightest hint of fear or concern about the high speeds he’d reached. Nor had he shown exhilaration. He’d been flat, dispassionate to the point of being emotionless.

He had been indifferent to her charms at first and she’d had to become more brazen than she’d expected. She’d begun to think he wasn’t attracted to her, when he’d sprung the invitation to dinner. Her agreement had been given at once and it was only when he’d left the showroom that she realised Friday was her night to be here with Nana.

Her mum had agreed a swap, although it meant Sarah would have to cancel her night out on Saturday. If things worked out with Kevin, missing a Saturday night in Kendal with the same faces telling the same stories was a tiny price to pay.

As she kicked off her shoes, Sarah caught the whiff of hypocrisy from her recollections of her day. She’d had two encounters with two very different men. Both had been polite and neither had touched her beyond a polite handshake. One man had paid attention to her body. His wandering eyes had creeped her out and made her feel like she was being ogled by a pervert, while the other had kept his eyes on her face and had shown indifference to her physique, even when she’d flashed a bit more leg.

It was counter-intuitive, because she knew she had a good figure and was used to the attention she got when she wore a short skirt or a low-cut top. She dressed for work in a way that attracted male attention, to help her make sales, while still looking smart and professional. Perhaps that’s what was responsible for the way she felt about the older man, the fact that somewhere in her subconscious, she knew he was never going to buy a car and was only there to perv over her.

Her choice of outfit for Friday night was another indicator of her shifting boundaries. The wool dress was sexy in a non-revealing way. It would showcase her figure to perfection without revealing anything more than a few inches of ankle and calf. It would be suitable for dinner in a posh hotel, and yet she also wanted it to be a catalyst of desire.

There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to sleep with Kevin, but she wanted him to have to work for it first, to prove that he wanted her for more than just a one-night stand. Then, and only then, would she let him make love to her.