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‘What? Are you worried a horror will be too scary for you?’ She couldn’t help but want to tease.

‘You’re into horror movies?’

‘I don’t mind them. But if you’re scared, I can always hold your hand if it’s needed.’

‘I might suddenly be feeling a little more anxious.’ He was probably just teasing, playing along, but Amrita was already thinking about how it might feel to close her hand around his. And she hadn’t figured out exactly what to do with thoughts like that.

‘I’m sure you’ll be fine,’ she said with a laugh.

The ticket booth was a single window with an old brass till, manned by a tiny, age-creased woman with silvery hair, who had smiled broadly at them, winking at Jamie as she’d given them their tickets. She fiddled with something for a few seconds, then launched a paper plane, which twirled around the chandelier before zipping into the kiosk – carrying their refreshment order.

‘Wow, you must have practised that a lot!’ Amrita laughed. ‘That was amazing.’

‘All part of the show.’ The woman grinned and winked again.

A few minutes later warm popcorn was pushed into their hands, along with their drinks and chocolate, and a bored-looking teenager holding a flickering antique lamp ushered them down a corridor decorated with expensive-looking wallpaper – the kind with a heavy pattern that looked like it would be velvety to stroke – and old movie posters that seemed to watch them as they walked by.

The doors – deeply carved dark wood and more gilt – were heavy, and she gasped when they swung open. The theatre – because that was the only word for it – could have come right out of a Bollywood film. It was small, with probably only a hundred or so seats, but every one of them was beautifully carved and covered in lush velvet so deep a red it was edging towards purple. There were huge matching curtains at the end wall, draped over what she guessed was the screen. Little sconces inset to the wall were the only source of light she could see, but the room was brighter than seemed possible for those tiny sparkling lights that reflected over deep – and surely highly impractical – carpet.

‘This is beautiful.’ She looked around again. ‘And very empty.’

‘I guess maybe we’re the only people watching horror tonight?’

‘I guess.’ She looked around the room that suddenly felt a lot more intimate than they’d planned. She shivered slightly, feeling the nip of cold even through her thick scarf and coat, and hoped she wouldn’t be shivering through the whole movie.

‘The other screen here is bigger,’ Jamie explained. ‘And a true double layer theatre. They have plays and dance recitals there sometimes…’

‘And that’s the one showing the rom-com? And probably where all the other customers went?’

‘Seems that way. This hasn’t exactly worked as we’d planned, has it?’

‘Maybe not.’ Amrita smiled.

‘Maybe? We’d agreed to keep things casual but somehow ended up just us in this whole theatre. It’s practically its own rom-com set up!’

‘It is a bit.’ She couldn’t help but giggle.

‘Do you want me to go and ask if there’s tickets left for the other film? Or we could just go get a drink somewhere – though I do have to warn you, Hudsbury is pretty big on Valentine’s Day.’

‘You can just admit it,’ she challenged him.

‘Admit what?’

‘That you really are scared to watch this movie!’

‘Not a chance.’ He headed to the middle of a row and sat in a random seat.

Still laughing, Amrita followed and sat down next to him. She was relieved that the air around them suddenly felt a little warmer, making their seats feel perfectly cosy. Probably some clever central air set-up that she couldn’t see. Or feel.

She jumped when a fanfare exploded out of nowhere. She didn’t even realise she’d grabbed him at first – not until she felt the spark and heat between them and yanked her hand back. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to… The trumpets… I didn’t expect…’

‘It’s OK.’ He winked in the rapidly dimming light. ‘It’s just you and me here.’

She wasn’t sure that might not be part of the problem. She rubbed her hand – her fingers still tingled from where they’d touched his bare arm.

* * *

‘Oh!’ Amrita flinched in the dark and covered her eyes.