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‘Oh. Is your mum okay?’ Frankie said, full of concern for the older woman.

‘She’s fine. Better than fine, actually.’ He smiled, fine lines crinkling around his blue eyes; lines Frankie didn’t remember being there from before. ‘She’s currently cruising around the Canary Islands. Dogs weren’t allowed so Toffee’s been left in my care. I went over to France and brought her back.’

‘You’re staying here?’

‘Yup,’ he nodded, ‘I’m sort of in between houses at the moment.’

‘Right. Okay, well, I guess you won’t need me walking Toffee.’

‘I wanted to call to… um…’ He looked down as he scuffed the toe of his trainer against the loose chips of gravel, ‘to say hello.’ He looked back up at her, a flicker of doubt clouding his eyes. ‘But I wasn’t sure…’ He trailed off.

‘Well, hello,’ Frankie said with a little wave, then felt her face get a little hot with embarrassment at her woeful attempts to act natural.

‘How have you been?’

‘Fine, good,’ she said. ‘You? Well, clearly it has been great, being an international rock star and all that.’ She did a strange little jazz-hands move and inwardly cringed. Dear God. Why can’t I act like a normal person?

Jay wrinkled his nose. ‘It’s had its moments,’ he said with a slight shrug. ‘It’s nice being back. And a bit weird.’

‘I didn’t think you ever planned to come back here,’ Frankie said, feeling her chest tighten.

‘I know…’ He looked as if he was going to say more but then changed his mind.

‘Well, everything is pretty much the same as when you left, although we’ve got a new bookshop which is cool.’ Frankie mentally slapped her forehead. How could a new bookshop compete with travelling the world many times over and having sell-out stadium tours in multiple countries? Drive With Care had been number one all over Europe and the States countless times and here she was espousing a new bookshop.

‘I saw that. I’m looking forward to checking it out.’

There was a pause.

‘How is everyone?’ Jay asked.

‘All good.’ Now was probably not the time to get bring up Valentina being in her third trimester of pregnancy as Frankie wanted to wind up the conversation and leave.

‘Your mum and dad well?’

‘Yup, all good. Mum’s still teaching and dad’s lawyering. And Nonno is exactly the same. We all suspect he’s got a portrait in the attic that’s ageing, just like⁠—’

‘Dorian Gray.’ Jay smiled.

‘Yeah.’

‘I’ve still got your copy of the book, remember you lent it to me?’

Frankie nodded. That seemed a lifetime ago.

Jay cleared his throat. ‘I was sorry to hear about your grandmother. Mum told me, although it was a bit after the event… I wasn’t sure if I should get in touch.’

‘Oh, don’t worry,’ Frankie said, with a dismissive wave of her hand, cursing herself for remembering how she’d wondered if Jay would reach out at that time. How she hoped he would. ‘You were focused on the band and your music.’

‘No.’ Jay shook his head vehemently. ‘Don’t say that. It was really shitty of me not to write to you, or phone. I adored your grandmother. She treated me like one of the family. I have very fond memories of us all sitting up at the bar eating those massive ice-cream sundaes until we felt sick. And running in for bottles of Coke in the summer holidays and getting shouted at to wipe the grass off our shoes first. She could be quite fierce.’

‘Yeah, she could.’

There was another stretch of silence until Frankie answered the unasked question.

‘Rocco’s also doing well. He’s an architect now.’

‘Mum said.’ Jay gave a sharp little nod then asked, ‘Have you got time for a coffee?’