‘I . . . I . . .’ he starts, then sighs, his cheeks turning red. I don’t know what he’s about to say, but I interrupt it just in case it’s what I think it might be.
‘See you soon, Doc. And say bye to lovely Kiko for me.’
‘Yeah. Yeah, I will do.’ His shoulders slump for a second before he opens the boot of the cab and helps me to put my bags inside.
‘Well!’ I smile. ‘See you soon, I guess. I’ll ring you. Maybe we could go for a drink. Kiko too.’
‘Sounds great . . .’
‘Fab.’
‘Be good, Jess,’ he says tenderly, his cute face stretching into a warm smile.
‘Never!’ I yell, climbing into the cab and slamming the door behind me with a clunk.
The engine starts up with a roar, and as we trundle down the road I wave madly at Jamie through the back window. He waves back until eventually the car turns a corner and I can’t see him any more.