Crossword Genius

Encountered one returning couple (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

item

'couple' is the definition.
(a romantic couple are 'an item')

'encountered one returning' is the wordplay.
'encountered' becomes 'met' ('meet' can be a synonym of 'encounter').
'one' becomes 'I' (Roman numeral).
'returning' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'met'+'i'='meti'
'meti' back-to-front is 'ITEM'.

(Other definitions for item that I've seen before include "Two people romantically linked" , "Detail (in a list)" , "One thing on a list" , "Object; piece" , "A thing or unit" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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