“Emma it is then. In private.” “Am I therefore given permission to call you Niall? In private?” “Niall, or Pierce. Whatever suits you. My friends call me either.” “Then it’s settled. I’ll use them both to great effect.” He eyed me for a long moment, then, without any warning, extended his hand. Thinking about it after, I realised that for all our messages between walls, we’d never yet touched one another. I might be deluding myself now that there was a significance as I removed my right glove and extended my hand in return.
