Hecate took a picture of the dress from every angle, feeling ridiculously excited. Not even for her accomplishment, a quiet satisfaction. But to show the woman in the shop that had so shamelessly offered to take her on holiday.

She wasn't there when Hecate entered the shop. The apprehension threaded itself through her veins as she stopped and considered how silly she'd been, thinking that the woman would really be interested.

'Oh hey!' Dimity emerged from the stockroom with a box of zippers. 'How is the dress coming along? Ada told me you'd bought the entire roll because it didn't go right the first time.'

'I've finished it.'

'Show me show me!'

Hecate held out the phone and Dimity flicked through it with murmurs of appreciation.

'Ada! Come and have a look' she called. Hecate snapped her attention to the woman she now knew the name of, the woman from her recent daydreams. It was a pleasant-sounding name, tripping off the tongue with a melodious purr.

'Hello again.'

Ada looked pleased to see her. The sparkle in her eye seemed directed much more intensely at the woman in black.

'I never caught your name' said Dimity, pretending as if it was her fault that it never came up in conversation.

'Hecate.'

She liked the way the sound of her name fell from Ada's lips.

'Hecate came to show us the dress she reworked.'

Ada flicked through the pictures as Hecate told her about her mother's dress.

'A Schiaparelli' she said wonderingly.

'Ada's mad about vintage. She can usually identify a decade or a designer within seconds.'

Ada looked up. 'I studied the history of fashion for three years. I run a tour of vintage hot spots in the city once a month.'

'Well, I don't know much about vintage or fashion. But I have a few of my mother's dresses and accessories in storage still.'

'Oh, you've carved a trail to Ada's heart' said Dimity mischievously. 'Nothing excites her more than the construction of an Edwardian sleeve or buttons from the 60's.'

'I love what you've done with it, the sleeves look great. And you've picked out the best fabric for the back. Where are you wearing it to?'

'A colleague's wedding. As long as I'm not wearing white, what does it matter what colour I wear?'

Dimity grinned.

'I take it you're not too keen on this colleague.'

'Not quite' said Hecate primly.

'Well enjoy, all the same. Make sure to take the dress to a reputable dry cleaner, it's too precious to ruin' advised Ada.

'Thank you.'

'Next time bring pictures of the other things. We'd love to see them,' said Dimity.

Hecate didn't know if she could wait to think of something to buy soon enough. Dimity was friendly. But it was Ada that she needed more of, needed to see more than just sporadically. It was time to take another risk.

She walked into the haberdashers three days later, right up to the desk where Ada was rolling up some pink ribbon.

'Where would you take me?'

Dimity sniggered and ducked down behind the ladder. On the table seemed the obvious choice but she decided that such a delicate moment needed to be handled carefully. As in, with her silence.

'Sorry?' Ada looked up confusedly, processing the question. Dimity leaned around to see the cogs whirring in her brain. The belated eyebrow raise signified that she'd thought along the same smutty lines as Dimity but she managed to control herself better.

'On holiday.'

'Oh, Cornwall is lovely this time of year' said Ada not missing a beat. 'Unless you prefer something sunnier in which case, I'd take you to the South of France.'

Safe options. But they both sounded fantastic to Hecate.

'I've been to Cornwall' she said evenly. She wasn't intending to fall into Ada's arms at the first hurdle. She could wait for a sure offer. Ada leaned forward, fingers fiddling with the ribbon.

'So you haven't been to the South of France. In that case, I'd book a villa in the countryside. Something low-key and relaxed. To start off with.'

'What do you mean?' Suddenly Hecate became flustered. Gone was her self-assurance and self-control, she was once more fluttering in yearning. Dimity watched her unfurl and ducked down further. She didn't want Hecate to be mortified when she realised that her seduction was being observed. Sensible severe women like that tended to be susceptible to Ada's charms. She melted down their reserves after a while with her warmth and coy playfulness. She got on well with wilder women too, she was good at dating all types but she did tend to bring out the best in women like Hecate. Ada had told her of her rash declaration at the café. Ada didn't regret saying so. She thought that the girlfriend's selfishness had been abominable. And she certainly was interested in taking this mysterious woman out to dinner at the very least.

'We could hop over to a Greek island at some point' she suggested. 'Go swimming at night, look at the stars.'

Hecate, who couldn't imagine sunning herself on an island, would say yes to it if it meant Ada's company, drew a deep breath and decided to stop daydreaming.

'We could start off with Cornwall' she said. 'We could look at the stars from there first.'

Ada's answering smile was like sunshine.

'Then that's where I'll take you.'