Nina tells Ash she is taking Nick to the newer Paddy’s in Ramsgate rather than the village location to avoid gossip and to get professional advice on improving the struggling branch. Nina explains Nick’s background in hospitality training and frames the visit as necessary to protect jobs and Paddy Swann’s legacy.

Ash considers telling Nina about finding a dog poo bag in Nick’s jacket but withholds it, feeling she has lost credibility with her mother since events the summer before Paddy’s death. She worries that sharing it would expose her snooping and further strain trust.

While Nina gets ready, Nick arrives from work and waits in the kitchen. Ash, conflicted about basic politeness, asks if he has pets. Nick warmly says no, then elaborates that he often walks his neighbor’s Shiba Inu and mentions the couple has a toddler named Max.

The specificity of Nick’s details hits Ash hard, because it could explain both the poo bag and the baby’s pacifier clip she secretly found, yet it also feels like overcompensating. Ash reads his intense eye contact and confidence as signs of a skilled liar who believes he is untouchable.

When Nina comes downstairs dressed for the evening, Nick reacts with quiet admiration and easy familiarity, which makes Ash feel further excluded. Nina calls a taxi and cheerfully says goodbye.

Ash wants to ask Nina to stay but restrains herself, saying a polite farewell instead. After the door closes, Ash is left alone with her unease and suspicion about Nick accompanying Nina to her late father’s restaurant.