‘I’m not happy about it, obviously.’ He gazed down into his pint for a second before adopting a resigned look. ‘Katya wants him to get to know her relatives better and I can’t stop her. Connor seems OK with it – or he might be saying that because he doesn’t want to upset his mum. We’ve always tried to be civilised in front of him, no matter what our differences are. She said I can visit him any time, but I know that won’t be very often, with my work. I don’t mind admitting the thought of losing him hurts.’ He sank the rest of his pint. ‘The thing is that I will be able to see Connor, but not as often. I don’t have much family of my own and I know how close Katya is to hers. How can I deny Connor that support network?’

Chloe had never seen the usually laid-back Drew so passionate.

‘I’m so sorry that you’re in this horrible position, Drew. I do understand how it feels to be kept apart from your children. More than you think,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a daughter too.’

Drew smiled gently. ‘I know. Hannah, isn’t it? She’s at uni.’

‘Do I mention her a lot?’ said Chloe.

He smiled. ‘That’s normal. You must miss her.’

‘I do miss her. I miss her a hundred times a day. More than I can say …’ Chloe felt her stomach tighten and her pulse quicken. She had the horrible feeling as if she’d turned on a tap, only a tiny fraction, but a droplet of pain had squeezed out, and now it was going to be impossible to stop the rest from gushing out.

‘You see, I might have been a bit economical with the truth. Hannah’s not at uni.’

‘Oh.’ Drew put his glass down. ‘Come on, spit it out.’

Her hands were shaky but there was no going back. ‘Hannah’s twenty-two now. She actually left uni last year. She lives in Bristol with her baby daughter. Ruby’s my granddaughter.’ She smiled. ‘I’m a granny.’

‘A granny. Wow. That’s a surprise.’ He frowned.

‘No one knows. I haven’t said anything about Ruby. I can’t … it’s too complicated. Too painful.’ She flashed a smile. ‘It’s boring.’

‘I’m not bored and I’m ready to listen if you want to tell me about it?’

‘No.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I mean, yes, I do, but I don’t want to embarrass myself in the pub. That really would set tongues wagging.’

He drained his pint and reached for his coat. ‘Then come back to my house, I’ll make us a proper drink and you can tell me all about it.’

Chapter Eighteen

Once inside his house, Drew started to take off his boots and Chloe reached down to unlace her trainers.