Gigi gets up and goes inside the restaurant and Jenna follows her.

I’m playing with the stem of my glass.

‘She was expecting an engagement ring, buddy,’ Ben says, putting his arm around David’s shoulders.

David looks genuinely surprised. ‘Why?’

‘Because you made such a big deal about keeping her present a secret, you berk,’ Max says, his pale eyes hard. He’s angry and I don’t know if this is how they always are with each other, whether this is the normal dynamics of their friendship or not.

‘I didn’t think we were there yet, in our relationship.’

‘She was there. She was never going to want a chopping board, was she?’ Max said. ‘For God’s sake, why do you think she got the photographer?’

David shrugs. ‘I don’t know. Because she’s Gigi. Fuck,’ he says, resting his face in his hands.

I want to be the one to put my arm around his shoulders. I want to tell him she’s an idiot and doesn’t deserve him. I want to tell him that I’d appreciate with all my soul the time, the effort, the craftsmanship, the love that he’s put into it.

I watch Ben slide the empty prosecco bottles towards himself and crowd them together like a visual statement of the amount that we’ve drunk.

I see David looking towards the restaurant.

The photographer’s still hovering. ‘Do you want me to stay?’ he asks David.

‘No. Yes. Hang on a bit will you, mate,’ he says, getting to his feet. ‘I’ll go and talk to her.’

Jenna comes back a few minutes later, fanning herself with her cap. ‘Gigi and David are heading back to the house,’ she says to no one in particular. She picks up the knife and cuts a slice of cake. ‘Anyone else want a slice? It’s a shame to waste it.’

The tension has set up a carb craving in me, too. ‘How is she?’ I ask, holding out a plate.

‘Embarrassed and humiliated,’ Jenna says, cutting me a large wedge. ‘She thought he knew her better than that. That’s what they’re like!’ she said, her voice lifting with frustration. ‘They don’t talk to each other; they both assume they know what the other wants. Like when he’d had a really stressful day at work, Gigi told him to follow his dreams, you know, the kind of thing you say to make a person feel better. And three months later, he’s handed in his notice and they’re living off peanuts.’

‘But David said …’ I start to protest and then change my mind. I could have misunderstood him when he said Gigi was very supportive. I don’t want to take sides.

The only person who seems to notice that I haven’t finished the sentence is Max; he gives me a knowing smirk that makes me feel uneasy.