She really is beautiful, a vision in various shades of gold.
'I don't think so,' I say with a tight smile, 'but thanks for the offer.'
I open the passenger door and get out, and as I walk to my front door, fishing in my pocket for the keys – a sadder yet wiser man than I was before all this started – I don't look back, nor do I feel even a twinge of regret.
I may be alone, but sometimes, just sometimes, that's the best thing to be.