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Trev’s thoughtfulness was still on Zennor’s mind when she walked into the yard behind the office but was rapidly replaced by surprise at seeing Matt locking up his van.

In a vest and cargo shorts, he looked very different from the suited and booted man who’d been at the Piano Bar. Zennor’s cheeks grew hot. When he’d last been in here, they’d had that spine-tingling moment together in the office. Before she had time to wonder at the rapid shift of seeing both him and Trev within five minutes, he held up his toolbox with a grin.

‘I just want to fix that new fire blanket and extinguisher in your kitchen. Hopefully it won’t be noisy and I won’t interrupt you.’

Zennor realised that she was going to be alone with him again. ‘Thank you but we could have done that,’ she said, more haughtily than she meant. ‘I can use a cordless drill, you know.’

‘Don’t like to leave a job unfinished. Won’t be two ticks,’ he said in the kind of chirpy way no tradesperson had used for decades.

‘OK, if you must – and actually, I’m glad you’re here.’

‘Really?’ One eyebrow quirked.

‘I wanted to ask if you’d seen Sybil recently.’

Settling himself in Roo’s chair, Matt said, ‘I called in on her yesterday on my way home from work.’

‘What did you think?’

He thought for a moment. ‘She sounded as if she was recovering from the accident but you know she hates a fuss. Why? Have you seen her yourself?’

‘We met for coffee in town yesterday. She’s looking a lot better although she couldn’t really have looked worse than she did after that fall.’

‘I know what you mean. Are you worried about her?’

‘Not worried. Oh, I don’t know …’ Zennor shrugged. ‘There’s been something a bit … off … about her for months now. A while back, she told me she’d lost a close friend. It feels like the spark has gone out of her. Then again, she’s had a very busy programme of events. For which I feel responsible, if I’m honest.’

‘It’s your job to find work for her and she loves performing. You aren’t responsible for her, Zen. Like you say, she’s probably been overdoing things. I’ll call and see her on my way home.’

‘Thanks.’ Zennor felt a rush of warmth towards Matt.

He smiled and suddenly dropped six inches. ‘Argh. What’s wrong with this bloody chair?’

She laughed. ‘Nothing. You keep fiddling with the mechanism.’

‘I think it needs adjusting.’

An hour later, with the fire equipment fixed and Zennor having convinced him that Roo’s precious chair must remain exactly as Roo had left it on pain of Roo throwing Matt into the harbour, Matt was back in the office with his tool bag.

‘That’s it. Finished. If there are any glitches, just call me. The main thing is, you’ll be delighted to know, you won’t be seeing me again.’

‘I’m sure you’ll be delighted too. You seem to have spent an awful lot of time here and I’m sure you have other clients who need your time and attention.’

Hurt flickered in his eyes but he covered it with a grin. ‘Don’t worry, I haven’t neglected anything important for you.’

Despite his joke, Zennor still felt she’d inflicted a blow she hadn’t meant to. ‘Well, it looks so much better than it did. Really. I know I was a bit shocked when I heard your plans back in May, but it’s been worth it. The building wasn’t safe and it’s a relief to have a watertight roof, safe electrics and working loos. Thanks for trying to minimise the disruption too, especially when you must be so busy with the renovations at the Surf Club and your other clients.’

‘I like being busy.’ Matt eyed her with suspicion. ‘Was that a compliment?’

‘It was me making a statement of fact. We don’t have to be at war all the time, do we?’

Matt came closer to her desk. ‘No. We don’t …’ His eyes twinkled and a half-smile crept over his handsome face.

Zennor went hot and cold, thinking about their kiss in this very office. ‘I think the music night proved that,’ she said, trying to keep things businesslike. ‘It could have been – awkward – for all of us but I’m glad it went well.’

‘There’s no point in dragging up the past,’ he said firmly. ‘It was a public event and, as I told Trev, I’d support anything that helped the club.’

‘I know. I just wanted you to know that I appreciated the way you handled things … all round.’ She met his eyes. ‘Perhaps, finally, we have put the past well and truly to bed.’