It was true that she had become forgetful over the past months; focusing so intently on the crucial elements meant that everything else fell through the cracks. But she wasn’t the only one whose mood had shifted. Since his return from his trip to Moscow with Layla, Ivan had been so distracted that she had barely seen him at all.

At first she had enjoyed them, these newly expressed mood swings of his: both as a precursor to exhilarating sex, and a demonstration of an emotional range that Tom had always lacked. But recently the outbursts had been replaced by a quiet broodiness.

‘I hope you like it. The spa is new and they have wonderful masseuses,’ Ivan said as they picked up speed a few minutes later, his tone changing completely. ‘I’ve booked you in for ninety minutes tomorrow. Once you’ve had a good night’s sleep. The beds are world-class, not to mention the in-house babysitting and crèche.’

She could tell he was trying to atone for his snappiness and she reached out her hand to touch his, as it moved the gearstick into fourth.

Without turning to her, he said, ‘You know, I haven’t been entirely honest with you.’

‘OK,’ she said.

‘Part of the reason I wanted to take Layla home was that my mother is ill. She’s not dying, not yet, but she is frail and the doctors … Well, they want her to go into a home, but she refuses and …’

There was a moment as he prepared himself to finish his sentence. ‘And I was thinking, with everything that is happening with my business here, it might make sense for us to move there, at least for a few months, or years, while she is getting better, or …’

Gabriela’s hand instinctively pulled away from his and he turned briefly to her in the passenger seat, assessing her reaction.

‘What? I thought you would at least think about it. It makes sense, Gabriela … I mean, what’s holding us here? You have no family here anymore, and my mother is desperate to spend time with her only granddaughter. And I want Layla to know her roots. Besides, I know how much you love Russia …’

‘What is holding us?’ It was the best she could manage to say. ‘What about my work, for a start? For God’s sake, Ivan, you’re not the only one who has a job. What about my life? I mean, Jesus, you can’t just spring something like this on me and expect me to—’

It was then that Gabriela saw her.

Just as the car pulled up to the traffic lights, there was Sadie. So close, Gabriela could have wound down her window and called out to her.