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‘Yeah, I do, but I’m not a huge fan of takeout curry.’

‘As opposed to what?’

‘Homemade.’

‘It’s not the same?’

‘Do you think that ordering Pizza Hut would be the same as eating pizza in Italy? Or is Maccy D’s the same as you’d cook at home?’

‘No, of course not.’

‘So why do you think a curry house would be any different?’

‘Umm…’

She took pity on his awkwardness. ‘In my experience, most curry houses usually serve very… commercially orientated dishes. They tend to cook with heavy sauces and often use the same base sauce for lots of dishes instead of layering flavours from scratch. And they use preservatives that home cooks wouldn’t. It’s different from what you grow up with and learn to make yourself. I don’t think you can compare the two. In my opinion nothing beats home-cooked, don’t you agree?’ She hesitated and reached for her coffee, not sure what to do with her hands. ‘Assuming you do cook?’

‘I can cook. A bit.’ He laughed, running his hand through his hair and dishevelling it a bit more. ‘Sorry, I did have some more menus somewhere.’ He stood and checked his desk, seemingly confused, then reached for the desk drawer. It stuck for a second, and there was a weird moment – a half-heard sound – and Jamie rolled his eyes before muttering something and slamming the drawer shut. ‘Let’s see… We have pizza or Chinese, and our local pub will do takeout too…’

‘Don’t mock me for this,’ she warned. ‘Because even though I’m sure it’s about as authentic as a chicken tikka masala, I do like a good chow mein and prawn crackers.’

‘Chinese we can definitely do. Hang on… What do you mean about tikka masala not being authentic?’

‘It’s not a traditional Punjabi dish,’ Amrita explained. ‘I’m pretty sure it was invented in Scotland.’

‘Really? Scotland. Huh. You learn something new every day.’ He was smiling now, and she couldn’t help smiling back.

‘If you really want to learn something, I should cook for you sometime.’ She surprised herself with the offer.

‘Would you really?’

‘Maybe. Seems that someone should educate you.’ Still not sure why she’d said it, she nudged him with her elbow instead. ‘If we can’t rely on apps or mobiles, how do we order?’

He pointed to the phone she’d somehow missed on his desk. ‘Landline.’

‘This place is just too cute for words. I’m still amazed I’ve never been here before.’

‘There’s a saying about Hudsbury,’ he murmured. ‘It’s not a place most people seek out. But it’s always somewhere you find when you need to be here.’

His words were strange, but they settled calmly within her, making undeniable sense.

* * *

Jamie speared another pork ball, swirled it in the probably inauthentic sticky orange sauce and bit into it. The space between him and Amrita was too quiet and heavy, and he was unnerved by whispers that weren’t audible in the usual sense of the word. He knew he had to say something to break the silence before the magical whispers turned into rustling and bangs he couldn’t easily explain away. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he did know he didn’t want their impromptu dinner to end.

She tapped the diagram with the top of her chopstick. ‘I know it’s not part of what I’m here to discuss, but I really like the green roof.’

‘Thank you. We’ve not done one of these before, so it’s been a challenge, but one I’ve really enjoyed. And embedding nature into my designs is pretty much the signature for Greenaway Designs.’

‘Oooh. Green-a-way.’ Amrita smiled. ‘As in there’s a greener way to do things? I didn’t realise until I heard you say it.’

‘I was trying to be a bit clever with the firm’s name.’ He chuckled. ‘It doesn’t always work.’

‘No, I think this one does. So, are you planning a lot of green technology?’

‘Every bit I can fit into the build and budget!’ He grinned. ‘Which, in itself, is a challenge on such a small scale.’

When Amrita reached over to grab another wonton, Jamie watched in horror as sparkling mist appeared by the sticky orange sauce. He snapped at the air with his chopsticks, then grabbed for the sauce and looked around for somewhere to hide it. He didn’t know what had been done to it, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t trusting it.